Final Stats

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas -- Baylor baseball dropped the rubber match of its season-opening, three-game series against Washington, 7-1, on Sunday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears (1-2) were unable to hold onto and build on an early 1-0 lead as the Huskies (2-1) took control in the middle innings.

The day started off well for Baylor with a first-inning run. Levi Gilcrease led off with a nine-pitch walk and Kameron Esthay and Matt Menard followed with walks to load the bases. After a pitching change, Darryn Sheppard pushed a run in on a sacrifice fly to center field, but that was all the Bears could muster from the rally.

From there, BU left runners in scoring position in the third, fifth, sixth and seventh innings. Meanwhile, the Huskies tied the game in the third on an RBI single by Jack Meggs.

In the fifth and sixth innings, UW created separation as Meggs struck with another RBI single in the fifth and Gage Matuszak and Chris Baker had consecutive RBI doubles in the sixth for a 4-1 edge.

BU ran into control issues on the mound in the ninth that helped UW score three more runs. Matuszak had an RBI walk and Levi Jordan singled home two runs to put the game out of reach for Baylor.

UW reliever Alex Nesbitt (1-1) earned the win in relief after two scoreless innings while giving up one hit with one strikeout. Troy Rallings earned his first save, tossing the last 2.1 frames while allowing one hit with three strikeouts. BU starter Nick Lewis (0-1) took the loss, surrendering two runs (one earned) on six hits and one walk with four strikeouts in five innings.

NOTES
*Baylor is 386-168 all-time at Baylor Ballpark.

*Baylor and Washington met for the first time ever Friday, and UW leads the series 2-1.

*Steve Rodriguez is now 4-5 against Washington as a head coach.

*Kameron Esthay went 2-for-3 for his second multi-hit game of the season and in as many games.

*Josh Bissonette went 2-for-3 for his first career multi-hit effort.

*Andrew McInvale, Kyle Hill, Tyler Shumpert and Blake Allen all made their Baylor debuts on the mound.

STAT OF THE GAME
9 -- The amount runners left on base for Baylor.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"I thought it was great to be able to see guys go out and compete and find out what they can do against people who aren't there during intrasquad scrimmages. To find out when the lights are on and everybody is out there, who kind of rises to the occasion and who kind of stresses out a little bit. So, overall, as a coaching staff we're going to be able to go and watch them and kind of evaluate everybody throughout the week and see who's going to be out there for us." -- Baylor head coach Steve Rodriguez

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor continues its seven-game home stand with a 5:35 p.m. CT game against UT Arlington on Tuesday.

By Larry Little
Baylor Bear Foundation

Jack Meggs' one-out RBI single in the top of the fifth inning snapped a 1-1 tie and propelled Washington to a 7-1 victory over Baylor in the final game of a three-game series Sunday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark.

The Huskies won two of three in the season's first series, winning Friday's opener, 7-2. The Bears won Saturday's game, 9-5.

"It was great seeing guys go out and compete, find out what they can do ... when the lights are on," first-year head coach Steve Rodriguez said of the opening series. "Find out who rises to the occasion and who stresses out a little bit. As a coaching staff, we'll be able to evaluate everyone and see who's going to be out there for us."

Sunday's loss was clearly disappointing for Rodriguez, who spent the past 12 seasons as head coach at his alma mater, Pepperdine. It especially was disappointing given a solid outing from starter Nick Lewis.

"Nick threw an unbelievable game for us," Rodriguez said. "He did exactly what we wanted him to. He gave us an opportunity to win. We just couldn't execute offensively today. We'll continue to work on it and get better."

Lewis allowed two runs--one earned--on six hits and a walk with four strikeouts. He struck out cleanup batter Josh Cushing and got M.J. Hubbs to fly out with runners at second and third to escape unscathed in the first.

Baylor had a chance to do significant damage in the bottom of the first but managed only one run. Washington starter Will Ballowe walked the bases loaded before being yanked in lieu of reliever Greg Minier.

Darryn Sheppard plated Levi Gilcrease with a sacrifice fly, but Minier induced an infield fly from Joe Sabatini and a Richard Cunningham groundout to limit the damage.

"Getting one run is always good, especially in the first inning," Rodriguez said. "We should have gotten two, but we didn't. Our guys know the level of execution we didn't have today is the biggest issue. They understand, and we'll get better."

Washington tied the game in the top of the third when two Baylor errors set the stage for Meggs' first RBI single of the day. He was 2-for-4 with a walk on the afternoon. Consecutive RBI doubles from Gage Matuszak and Chris Baker in the sixth pushed the Huskies' lead to 4-1. Washington tacked on three runs in the ninth; Matuszak drew a bases-loaded walk and Levi Jordan later delivered a two-run double. Meanwhile, Baylor managed only eight bases runners after the three consecutive walks to open the game--seven hits and a hit batsman. Sheppard's leadoff double in the sixth was the Bears' lone extra-base hit; he was stranded at third.

"We just couldn't execute as well offensively as we did (Saturday)," Rodriguez said. "That was the determining factor in the game today."

Cunningham, who had one of Baylor's seven hits Sunday, capped a seven-run Baylor sixth in Saturday's win with his first career homer--a two-run shot to right. That inning erased a 3-1 deficit as the team that scored first lost each of the series' three games.

"He buried a couple changeups, and I didn't think he wanted the at-bat to go any longer," Cunningham said of Washington pitcher Spencer Jones, who surrendered the homer. "He left a fastball up, and when I hit it, I knew it had a chance."

Justin Arrington legged out an infield single to spark the seven-run inning, advancing to second on an errant throw. Josh Bissonette followed with an RBI single. It was the freshman shortstop's first hit and first RBI.

After Gilcrease was hit by a pitch, Kameron Esthay's RBI single tied the game, 3-3. Sheppard put the Bears ahead with a two-run single that Meggs misplayed in center and allowed another run to score. "I knew a fastball was coming at some point, and I was able to explode on it," Sheppard said of his game-deciding hit, adding the win was a bit of a tension breaker. "We had a lot of stress going on in the first game--new coach, new season. We did what we needed to do late in the game."

Baylor's entire offensive outburst came with two outs, starting with Arrington's infield single. "That third out is tough to get," Rodriguez said. "We strung together some good hits, and then (Cunningham) caps it off with a home run. Those are just great things because the guys have been working so hard. It's good to get the tension out."

Arrington tacked on an RBI double in the seventh, pushing Baylor's lead to 9-3. Cushing's two-run homer in the eighth pulled the Huskies within four, but they could get no closer.

Starter Drew Tolson allowed three runs on six hits and a walk with eight strikeouts over five innings in a no-decision. Reliever Joe Heineman picked up the win, allowing two runs on three hits over three innings with three walks and three strikeouts.

Baylor continues a season-opening, seven-game home stand Tuesday, hosting UT Arlington (2-2) for a 5:35 p.m. first pitch at Baylor Ballpark.