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Trailing 1-0 after a sloppy first inning, Baylor bounced back in the second to take the lead for good. Darryn Sheppard led off with a single, and after an Aaron Dodson walk and Matt Menard HBP, T.J. Raguse hit a two-run single for a 2-1 lead.

BU added to the lead in the sixth as Menard led off with a double. Following a productive out by Raguse to put Menard at third, a wild pitch gave the Bears a 3-1 edge. Josh Bissonette then walked, and after a pitching change and sacrifice bunt, Steven McLean hit a two-out RBI single for a 4-1 advantage.

Kansas' lone run came in the eighth on a solo homer by Devin Foyle, but the Bears countered in the bottom of the inning with a two-out RBI single by Kameron Esthay that scored Justin Arrington after a leadoff double.

Hill (1-1) earned the win, giving up one run (unearned) on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts in seven innings. Troy Montemayor picked up his sixth save with a scoreless ninth. KU starter Jackson Goddard (2-2) took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits and five walks with two strikeouts in 5.1 innings.

NOTES
*Baylor won its third three-game series of the season in six series played so far in 2016.

*Baylor has won five of its last seven games.

*Baylor is 395-176 all-time at Baylor Ballpark and 10-10 under Steve Rodriguez.

*Baylor leads the all-time series vs. Kansas 50-18 and 28-8 in Waco -- BU is 2-1 in the series under Rodriguez.

*Steven McLean has a career-high 13-game on-base streak and career-high seven-game hitting streak.

*Josh Bissonette has a career-high 12-game on-base streak.

*Richard Cunningham has an 11-game on-base streak.

*Darryn Sheppard has a career-high 10-game on-base streak as he notched his team-high eighth multi-hit game of the season.

*Matt Menard has a five-game on-base streak as he had his fourth multi-hit game of the season.

*Kameron Esthay has a three-game hitting streak.

*Justin Arrington has a four-game hitting streak.

*T.J. Raguse has a career-high eight-game hitting streak as he posted his fourth multi-RBI game of the season.

*Kyle Hill picked up his first collegiate win as he tossed a career-high seven innings.

*Troy Montemayor gathered his sixth save of the season and of his career in as many attempts.

STAT OF THE GAME
0 -- The amount of earned runs Kyle Hill gave up in his first Big 12 start in seven innings.

QUOTE OF THE GAME
"One of the biggest things, and every baseball person will tell you, is if you can get a strong pitching performance out of your starter then it just eliminates a lot of the pressure off of your offense knowing you have the opportunity to take some better at-bats and some quality at-bats. You don't have to rush into it. [Kyle Hill] just did a great job for us." -- Baylor Head Coach Steve Rodriguez

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor continues its six-game home stand with a 6:35 p.m. CT vs. Wofford on Tuesday.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

Kyle Hill gave the Baylor Bears exactly what they needed.

Going seven innings in just his second start, the freshman pitcher held the Kansas Jayhawks to one unearned run on six hits and three walks with four strikeouts as the Bears won the Sunday rubber match, 5-2, and took the best-of-three series at Baylor Ballpark.

"Every baseball person will tell you, if you can get a strong pitching performance, it eliminates a lot of the pressure off your offense," said Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez, whose team improved to 13-14 overall and 3-3 in the Big 12. "He just did a great job for us, being able to keep hitters off-balance, throwing strikes, being able to get the first out of the inning. Those were huge."

Hill (1-1) was far from dominant, striking out just four and getting four groundball outs in his career-long, seven-inning stint. The Jayhawks (10-15, 1-4) had runners on base every inning, but he was able to wiggle out of what trouble he got into and finished his day with a strike-them-out, throw-them-out in the seventh.

`I definitely had runners on, they were a very aggressive team," Hill said. "Props to them for coming to our ballpark and playing the way they did. They definitely showed up ready to. I definitely couldn't have done it without my defense."

Kansas got on the board first with a pair of flair singles and a throwing error in the top of the first inning. Hill had a chance to get out of the inning unscathed when he retired cleanup hitter Michael Tinsley on a shallow fly to left with runners on the corners, but Kameron Esthay's throw got away from third baseman Steven McLean, allowing pinch-runner Tommy Mirabelli to score.

After being retired in order in the first, the Bears loaded the bases in the second when KU starter Jackson Goddard gave up an infield single to Darryn Sheppard, walked Aaron Dodson and plunked Matt Menard in the helmet.

Freshman T.J. Raguse delivered with a two-run single through the left side, giving him 12 RBI in his first 17 games.

"He just finds a way to do it," Rodriguez said. "He's one of the quirkiest guys we have, but quirky still works for me when they're able to execute and they play hard. He knows exactly what's expected out of him, and he takes quality at-bats every time he goes up there."

Menard led off the sixth with a double down the leftfield line, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a wild pitch. Josh Bissonette drew a one-out walk, moved up to second on Justin Arrington's bunt and scored on McLean's single through the left side off reliever Blake Goldsberry to give the Bears a 4-1 lead.

Baylor threatened again in the seventh, loading the bases on a pair of singles and a walk, but reliever Stephen Villines left the runners stranded when he struck out Bissonette.

Reliever Kyle Ott gave up a solo home run to Devin Foyle just inside the right-field foul pole leading off the eighth, then walked the next two batters to put the potential tying runs on base. But Colby Wright hit into a 4-6-3 double play and Joven Afenir lined out to short, keeping the lead at 4-2.

The Bears got that run back in the bottom half of the eighth when Arrington led off with a double to left and scored on Esthay's two-out RBI single through the left side.

"When we have to execute, it's so important that we take the percentages and get those guys in scoring position and then get them in," Rodriguez said. "We work hard on it, so hopefully they understand the importance of it now."

Sophomore closer Troy Montemayor ran into some trouble in the ninth, walking the leadoff batter and giving up a two-out single to pinch-hitter Ryan Pidhaichuk to bring the tying run to the plate. But he picked up his Big 12-best sixth save in as many chances when Foyle flied out to center field.

"It's always big getting the series win," Raguse said. "We would have liked to get the sweep, but we'll just come out next week, play well and hopefully take it to OU and keep it going."

The Bears welcome the Wofford College Terriers (16-13) for midweek games Tuesday and Wednesday before facing Oklahoma (14-14-1, 2-4) in a three-game series next weekend in Norman, Okla.