Three consecutive Baylor errors led to a five-run sixth inning, as the Bears mounted a late comeback but fell short to Arizona, 10-9. Gregg Glime knocked his eighth home run of the year as part of a three-RBI effort, but his team’s ninth inning rally was not enough.
“We had one very poor inning defensively, that in a game like this winds up being the difference,” coach Steve Smith said.
Smith was talking about the sixth inning, in which mistakes cost the Bears five unearned runs. The trouble began after Shawn Tolleson allowed a leadoff walk to Cole Frenzel. Josh Garcia then hit a high bouncing ground ball to shortstop Landis Ware, who would have retired Frenzel on the force play at second. But Ware bobbled the exchange from glove to throwing hand, letting both runners reach safely.
Robert Refsnyder followed with another potential double play ball back to Tolleson, but Tolleson’s mishandling left the bases loaded and with no outs.
Finally third baseman Seth Mejias-Brean delivered another double play ball to Ware, yet Ware’s toss to Raynor Campbell at second went wide as Frenzel scored the inning’s first run.
With three runners on base who all reached on errors, Alex Mejia doubled down the left field line to score Garcia and Refsnyder. Joey Rickard then raced for an infield single, plating Mejias-Brean from third.
Baylor gave up another run in the seventh and ninth innings, which proved crucial in its desperate ninth inning rally.
After a walk and single to start the ninth, Max Muncy delivered an RBI single to right. Glime then grounded out but plated another run in the process, and Chris Slater reached first on a throwing error that brought Muncy home. Landis Ware singled, Logan Vick drew a walk, and Brooks Pinckard slapped a 1-1 pitch through the right side to keep Baylor’s hopes alive.
Glime liked his team’s chances at an improbable comeback as senior Raynor Campbell walked to the plate.
“Raynor’s a guy you want up there in the end. It showed how important every run was earlier in the game that we didn’t get,” Glime said.
Campbell could not keep his team in the game, instead flying out to right field.
Just before the catastrophic sixth, Baylor had turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead. Arizona had its own miscue in the inning, as Mejias-Brean looked to complete a groundout but tripped and fell on his shoelace and could not throw out Joey Hainsfurther. Glime later gave the Bears the lead with a double to right.
Smith agreed that giving the lead right back to an opponent hurt, “particularly in the way that you do it. It’s deflating, but the guys didn’t quit,” Smith said. “The last outs of games can always be interesting.”
The Bears hoped for a longer outing from Logan Verrett but pulled him in the fourth after Steve Selsky and Garcia homered. Verrett lasted 3.1 innings, conceding five hits and three earned runs.
Tolleson took the loss on a 3.2 inning outing, with six runs allowed but only one of them earned.
Baylor plays the loser of the TCU vs. Lamar game on Saturday at 2 p.m. The loser of that game will be eliminated from the NCAA tournament.