Walk Off Weekly: Baylor wins series over #22 Oklahoma State
Baylor had a nearly perfect week. When you beat a team that has dominated during conference play that is a big deal. Oklahoma State was 15-3 in conference play and had won all but one conference series. This record includes sweeps over TCU, Kansas State, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Baylor became the second team in the conference to win a series against Oklahoma State.
The Bears started the week with two games against Prairie View A&M. Both games ended in a run-rule in the 7th inning. In the first game Josh Bissonette led the Bears with five rbi’s including a grand slam. Tyler Thomas got the win after pitching 4.0 scoreless innings. Baylor took the win 18-1. Game two was over after a nine run 2nd inning. Bissonette added 4 more rbi’s in this game. The pitching staff took over from there as they gave up zero runs in this one. BU took the win 13-0.
On Friday the Bears began the conference series against Oklahoma State and they started off extremely well. A three-run double by Andy Thomas led to four runs in the 1st inning to get things started. The Bears added four more runs in the 4th to take an 8-2 lead. Baylor added one in the 6th and four more in the 7th which led to the 13-5 final score. Cunningham and Wendzel had 3 rbi’s and Andy Thomas drove in four. Cody Bradford struck out 10 and only gave up three earned runs as he got the win.
In game two the Bears did not get the start that they needed out of Hayden Kettler. He only lasted 3.1 innings and by the time that damage was done Baylor was down 9-4. Baylor could not come back from that start and OSU cruised to an 11-6 victory. This ended Baylor’s 13-game winning streak.
The rubber match on Sunday was probably the biggest game of Baylor’s season so far. A huge start by Tyler Thomas was just what the Bears needed and he delivered. He pitched 5.0 innings of scoreless baseball while the offense delivered seven runs before OSU could get on the scoreboard. Baylor ended up walking away with a 7-3 win and a series victory over the Cowboys.
Slugger of the Week
Richard Cunningham (.328) 11-for-21; 7RBI
The Big 12 Player of the Week had a really good week which included a 5-for-5 game on Friday against Oklahoma State.
Heating Up
Cole Haring (.268) 9-for-18; 7RBI
Big week for Cole. He had some big hits and timely home runs. He won Big 12 Newcomer of the Week.
Andy Thomas (.362) 9-for-19; 10RBI
He continues to be the most consistent hitter on the team. Flat out consistent all year long and it continued this week.
Davis Wendzel (.339) 9-for-18; 6RBI
Wendzel has been extremely hot since conference play began and he has gotten his batting average way above .300 now.
Colling Off
Davion Downey (.274) 3-for-17
Davion had a really rough series against Oklahoma State as he had just one hit in the three games.
Ace of the Week
Tyler Thomas (3-2; 2.38 ERA) 2 Wins; 9.0IP; 5H: 8BB: 12SO
He had his best week of the season and the best performance of his career on Sunday against Oklahoma State.
Heating Up
Andy Philips (5-1; 3.60 ERA) 6.1IP; 8H; 2ER; 8SO
Philips was sensational against Oklahoma State on Saturday and continues to be a major factor for the Bears out of the bullpen.
Cooling Off
Hayden Kettler (6-4; 3.99 ERA) 1 Loss; 3.1IP; 7H; 9ER; 3BB; 4SO
Kettler had his worst outing of the season on Saturday against Oklahoma State.
Postseason Hopes
This weekend helped the Bears tremendously unfortunately the two games against Prairie View A&M hurt a lot as far as RPI goes. The Bears currently rank 51 in RPI and appear to be one of the last teams in the field if the season ended today.
Coming Up
Baylor heads to Morgantown to take on West Virginia in the final series of the year before the conference tournament begins.
Prediction
Baylor will win the series, winning two out of three. This would help the RPI a lot heading into the Big 12 Tournament.