4 MICHIGAN STATE (5-6) Rank: NR

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E 0 0 1 0 0 2 1 0 0 4 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 2 Box Score | Quotes Waco, Texas • Attendance: 2,254

0 BAYLOR (9-6) Rank: NR

STATS COMPARISON Runs 4 0 AB 35 30 Hits 8 6 RBI 4 0 BB 10 5 SO 6 9 LOB 16 10 STAT LEADERS Keur/Pickens 2 H 2 Towey Jones 1 2B -- None None -- 3B -- None None -- HR -- None Four Players 1 RBI -- None Three Players 1 SB -- None PITCHING IP H R ER SO W - Garner (1-1) 6.0 3 0 0 4 L - Kuntz (1-2) 3.1 3 1 1 4 POSTGAME NOTES Josh Ludy (career-long 14 games), Lawton Langford (career-long 11-games) and Michael Howard (career-long 9 games) all had on-base streaks come to an end ... Logan Vick drew his 101st and 102nd career walks - he needs nine more to crack Baylor's all-time top 10 ... Cal Towey (22nd career) had the Bears' only multi-hit game ... Austin Stone made his Baylor debut as the game's starting pitcher ... Michael Howard pitched for the first time in a Baylor uniform ... The game was the first-ever meeting between Baylor and Michigan State ... Baylor is now 7-3 at home this season and 45-21 in its last 66 games at Baylor Ballpark.

March 7, 2012

WACO, Texas - Baylor dropped its third straight game to fall to 9-6 on the season, as Michigan State held the Bears to six hits in a 4-0 win on Wednesday night at Baylor Ballpark.

The loss was the second time the Bears have been shut out in the last five days, doubling the total number of times Baylor was shut out at home last season.

"There's no shame in playing hard and losing, and I thought that's what we did," head coach Steve Smith said. "We hit a couple of balls right at them and they turned double plays. When you're making plays defensively, it's a good feeling and it energizes your club. You can just as easily throw those away and it does the opposite, but that's not what happened tonight. They made the plays."

Baylor (9-6) pushed only one runner past second base and stranded 10 runners on base. The Bears issued 10 walks and hit two batters in the game, but Michigan State (5-6) left 16 runners on base, tying a Baylor Ballpark record for opposing teams.

Brad Kuntz (1-2) took the loss despite allowing only one run in 3.1 innings of relief. He came out of the bullpen with the game scoreless in the second and the bases loaded with two outs. Kuntz struck out Justin Scanlon to escape that jam, but a bunt single and error led to Ryan Jones' RBI double in the third gave the Spartans a 1-0 lead, and that's all the support the MSU pitching staff would need.

Michigan State starting pitcher David Garner (1-1) earned the win by allowing three hits and five walks while striking out four in 6.0 shutout innings. Three MSU relievers each pitched 1.0 scoreless inning to close out the win.

The Bears put the leadoff man aboard in three of the first four innings, but they were unable to scratch across any runs. Baylor's best scoring opportunity came when they loaded the bases with one out in the second inning on walks to Logan Vick and Jake Miller and a Cal Towey single, but Garner struck out Logan Brown and got Nathan Orf to line out to right field.

Kuntz held the Spartans scoreless in the fourth and fifth innings before turning the ball over to Michael Howard for his first pitching appearance as a Bear. Howard gave up two hits and a walk in 0.2 innings, and Kolt Browder came on in relief. A slow roller on the left side of the infield gave Michigan State its second infield hit of the inning and brought home Anthony Cheky to extend the Spartans' lead to 3-0.

MSU added an unearned run in the seventh against Ryan Smith, who allowed only one hit in 2.0 innings of relief. Baylor freshman Austin Stone started on the mound in his Baylor debut and did not factor in the decision after walking three in 1.2 scoreless innings.

The Bears had a chance to rally in the ninth when Towey reached on an infield single for his second hit of the game and Josh Turley delivered a two-out pinch-hit single, but Tony Wieber struck out Orf to end the game.

Orf walked and was officially hit by a pitch two times in the game, though he was called back to the batter's box after being hit by a third pitch in the fifth inning. Orf has officially been hit by a pitch five times in the last two games, as he tied a school record when he was hit by a pitch three times on Tuesday night.

Baylor returns to action when it hosts Memphis for a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark over the weekend. First pitch in Friday's series opener is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. Josh Turley is slated to start on the mound for the Bears on Friday, Trent Blank is scheduled to be Saturday's starting pitcher and Sunday's starter is to be determined.