From excitement to disappointment and back to elation again.
That was the path the Kansas University baseball team took to a 4-3 victory over Baylor Saturday at Hoglund Ballpark. And that was just in the final two innings.
Tied at 3 in the bottom of the eighth inning, with runners on first and second, KU junior Chris Manship ripped a pitch to shortstop for an apparent go-ahead hit.
One problem: Baylor’s Landis Ware made a leaping stab and doubled off the KU runner at second to get the Bears out of the inning.
After Baylor was retired with ease by relievers Scott Heitshushen and Wally Marciel in the ninth, Brandon Macias drew a bases-loaded walk in the ninth to secure the KU triumph.
“I think they’re growing up,” KU coach Ritch Price said of his team. “We’ve been talking all week about being mature and being more competitive.”
It showed in the ninth.
Freshman Ka’iana Eldredge (0-for-3, run scored) led off the inning by being hit by a pitch. Leadoff hitter Jason Brunansky (1-for-4) followed with a sacrifice bunt, on a 3-2 pitch, to move Eldredge up to second. From there, the Bears put right fielder Casey Lytle (3-for-4) on first with an intentional walk and loaded the bases by issuing an intentional pass to Jimmy Waters (1-for-4) after a wild pitch moved Eldredge and Brunansky into scoring position.
That set the stage for a dramatic final two at-bats. It also gave the Jayhawk hitters an extra dose of confidence.
“It’s good to see that teams with very good pitching like that are intimidated by the Kansas Jayhawks,” Lytle said. “It feels good. There’s no doubt about it.”
With one out and the winning run standing on third base, Jake Marasco lifted a shallow fly ball to center field, but Eldredge never even went back to the bag to tag up.
“Not with that kid’s arm,” said Price of BU center fielder Brooks Pinckard. “He’s 96 (mph) on the mound. We’ve seen him pitch.”
That left KU’s fate in the hands of shortstop Brandon Macias. After working the count to 2-2, Macias checked his swing on a change-up that hit the spot it was aimed at.
“It was out,” Macias said. “It kind of tailed away a little bit. I had some pretty tough calls go against me early in the game, and I guess they rewarded me back. I thought it was a ball, and I held my swing just long enough.”
Next up, with the count full, Baylor’s Jon Ringenberg fired a pitch high and tight, and Macias picked up the walk and the walk-off RBI.
“Anyone wants to end the game on a hit,” Macias said. “But a walk’s still pretty cool. I’ll take the win any day.”
The victory was KU’s second straight against 19th-ranked Baylor. Though the Jayhawks already have secured the series victory, the idea today is to pick up the sweep.
“Now we’ve got a chance to do something really special,” Price said. “To sweep a top-20 team doesn’t happen very often in this league.”
KU (12-14 overall, 4-4 Big 12) and Baylor (16-12, 3-5) will play the series finale at 1 p.m. today.
