Final Stats

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the second inning, T.J. Raguse doubled with one out and scored on a throwing error at third base off a batted ball by Justin Arrington to tie the game for Baylor.

Then down 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth, back-to-back one-out walks by Steven McLean and Kameron Esthay got the Bears going. Darryn Sheppard followed with an RBI single to knot the game again, 2-2.

BU had a good chance to win it in the ninth as Aaron Dodson led off with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Matt Menard. Then Arrington roped a sharp two-out single to left but Dodson was thrown out at home.

Neither team did much in extras until the Cowboys opened it up in the 12th as four hits and an error led to four runs on three straight doubles by Colin Simpson, Ryan Sluder and Corey Hassel.

BU reliever Joe Heineman (2-3) took the loss, giving up four runs (three earned) on four hits with two strikeouts in three innings. OSU reliever Tyler Buffett (5-1) earned the win with 1.1 perfect innings and one strikeout.

NOTES
*Baylor has won nine of its last 14 games.

*Baylor is 398-177 all-time at Baylor Ballpark and 13-11 under Steve Rodriguez.

*Baylor is 1-1 on its current five-game home stand.

*Baylor trails the all-time series vs. Oklahoma State 43-37 but leads 20-14 in Waco and has gone 10-5-4 in 19 all-time series vs. OSU in Big 12 play -- the Bears are 0-1 in the series under Steve Rodriguez.

*Baylor is 0-2 in extra innings in 2016 and has played both those games in two of the last three games.

*Baylor has won three of its seven three-game series in 2016 and 24 of 51 since 2012.

*Steven McLean has a career-high 20-game on-base streak and career-high 14-game hitting streak (both streaks are the longest of any Baylor player this year) -- he posted his ninth multi-hit game of the season.

*Matt Menard has a career-high 12-game on-base streak and career-high nine-game hitting streak.

*Kameron Esthay has a career-high-tying 10-game hitting streak.

*Aaron Dodson has a career-high five-game hitting streak.

*Darryn Sheppard has a four-game hitting streak as he notched his team-high 12th multi-hit game of the season.

*T.J. Raguse has a three-game hitting streak as he registered his fourth multi-hit game of the season.

*Josh Bissonette has a three-game on-base streak.

*Daniel Castano tossed a season-high eight innings, giving up just two runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks with five strikeouts.

*Joe Heineman tied a career high with three innings in relief.

STAT OF THE GAME
8 -- The amount of innings each starting pitcher tossed in the game, both leaving the game having given up two runs.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"I think we took their best punch and they played a great game -- hat's off to them -- but I think our guys are pretty confident after what they saw tonight. I don't think that we are going to roll over by any means and our guys are going to come out and try to win the series tomorrow." -- Baylor Head Coach Steve Rodriguez

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor resumes its five-game home stand and ends its series against Oklahoma State with two games Saturday, starting at 1:05 p.m. CT on FOX Sports Southwest -- the series finale will start approximately 45 minutes after Saturday's first game. The remaining pitching matchups feature BU RHP Drew Tolson (4-1, 3.68 ERA) vs. OSU RHP Trey Cobb (3-5, 3.38 ERA) in Saturday's first game and BU RHP Kyle Hill (1-1, 3.91 ERA) vs. OSU RHP Jensen Elliott (3-2, 3.40 ERA) in the finale.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

Someday, and hopefully sooner rather than later, Baylor's going to learn how to win these types of games.

For the second time in their last three games, the Bears suffered a frustrating extra-inning loss, dropping Friday night's series opener to the Oklahoma State Cowboys, 6-2, in 12 innings.

"You go so long, and you put so much of your passion and so much of your heart into it, and you're invested n it and it doesn't come out on your side, it's really disappointing," said junior catcher Matt Menard, who put Aaron Dodson in scoring position with a ninth-inning sacrifice bunt. "There's a fine line between getting discouraged and using it as motivation. Coach Rod always says we're right there."

The Bears (17-17, 4-6) had a chance to win it in the bottom of the ninth after Dodson's leadoff single and Menard's sac bunt. After Josh Bissonette drew a two-out walk, Justin Arrington roped a single to left, but Dodson was gunned down at the plate on a perfect peg from leftfielder Jon Littell.

"We even got a hit with a guy in scoring position, and they threw our guy out," Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez said. "We played a really good game. We just did not get the hit when we needed it at the end. We've just got to find a way to come back tomorrow and take the series."

With rain expected Sunday, the series will wrap up with a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 1:05 p.m. Saturday. Drew Tolson (4-1, 3.68 ERA) will get the start for the Bears in the opener and will be opposed by OSU righty Trey Cobb (3-5, 3.38).

Friday starters Daniel Castano and Thomas Hatch both went eight innings, leaving with the score tied 2-2. After giving up a first-inning run on back-to-back hits by Corey Hassel and Donnie Walton and an unearned run in the third, Castano settled in and put up five straight zeroes.

"You can't ask for anything better than what they did," Menard said of Castano and sophomore reliever Joe Heineman, who retired the first nine batters he faced before running into trouble in the 12th. "They both pitched a heck of a game and did everything they could to keep us in the game."

Both of Baylor's runs off Hatch were unearned. In the second, T.J. Raguse doubled down the left-field line, went to third on a groundout and scored the tying run when Arrington reached on a throwing error by the third baseman.

Castano came close to working out of a jam in the top of the third, when he threw out Collin Theroux at the plate on a comebacker by Walton. But Garrett Benge drove in the go-ahead run with a double to center field, scoring Ryan Sluder.

Hatch struck out the side in the fourth and retired eight in a row before consecutive one-out walks in the sixth. After both runners moved up on a passed ball, Darryn Sheppard came through with an RBI single to left, getting thrown out when he got caught in a rundown between first and second.

Baylor threatened again in the seventh, getting back-to-back one-out singles by Raguse and Bissonette. But Arrington lined out to short, with pinch-runner Jonathan Ducoff doubled off second.

After the Bears wasted a golden scoring opportunity in the ninth, a leadoff walk by Sheppard in the 11th was quickly erased when Dodson's sac bunt attempted turned into a 1-6-3 double play, the Cowboys' fourth of the game.

"To be honest, we don't put a great bunt down, so that's part of it," Rodriguez said. "We've got to find a way to execute a little better. But that's part of the game. We had an opportunity to get their guy out at second base, too, but we slip and threw the ball away. We've just got to execute the game better."

Heineman threw three perfect innings, retiring the first nine batters he faced. But pinch-hitter Conor Costello opened the 12th with a bloop single to right and got to second when Menard had a throwing error on a sacrifice bunt.

"I slipped, but I've still got to make a better play. That's on me," Menard said.

Three straight doubles off Heineman (2-3) brought in four runs before Drew Robertson came out of the bullpen to stop the bleeding, retiring three of the four batters he faced.

Tyler Buffett (5-1) worked a 1-2-3 ninth, striking out Steven McLean to end the game. Baylor outhit OSU, 11-10, and got two hits apiece from McLean, Sheppard and Raguse.

"I think we took their best punch," Rodriguez said, "They played a great game, hat's off to them. But I think our guys are pretty confident after what they saw tonight. I don't think we're going to roll over by any means. Our guys are going to come out and have a chance to win the series."