Baseball Swept Away in Lawrence

3 runs. That was the difference this weekend between a 14-6 Baylor team with a 2.5-game lead on the conference and one that was swept by the Kansas Jayhawks. Two of the games, Saturday and Sunday, were walkoffs. The other, the Bears fought to the end and came up one run short. All together, it doesn't really matter how you lose, it matters that you lose, and we lost. 3 runs between a sure spot in the NCAA after another series sweep and another situation rife with turmoil. So here we are.

2 BAYLOR (25-21, 11-7 Big 12) Rank: NR

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 4 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 X 3 4 2 Final Stats Lawrence, Kan. • Attendance: 837

3 KANSAS (28-18, 10-9 Big 12) Rank: NR

Baseball Drops Series Opener at Kansas, 3-2 - Baylor Bears Official Athletic Site - BaylorBears.com
A three-run fifth inning doomed Baylor in its series opener at Kansas as it led to a 3-2 loss on a cold, windy and rainy Friday evening at Hoglund Ballpark.

This was game one. Max Garner did everything he could do in 8 full innings, striking out 10, walking none, and giving Baylor every chance it needed to win. 3 runs in the fifth doomed him, and the offense couldn't put off the executioner. We could lose one.

5 BAYLOR (25-22, 11-8 Big 12) Rank: NR

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 5 16 2 0 2 1 0 1 0 0 1 1 6 11 1 Final Stats Lawrence, Kan. • Attendance: 939

6 KANSAS (29-18, 11-9 Big 12) Rank: NR

Missed Opportunities Cost Baseball at Kansas - Baylor Bears Official Athletic Site - BaylorBears.com
Missed opportunities led to a Baylor 6-5 walk-off loss to Kansas as the Bears stranded 10 runners in another cold, damp game Saturday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark.

This was game 2, one we couldn't afford to lose and shouldn't have given the situation. A bit of a bullpen battle from about the fifth, Baylor's inability to score more runs despite numerous opportunities (10 runners stranded) and two costly errors gave Kansas the chance it needed to steal a game in the ninth. They took advantage.

4 BAYLOR (25-23, 11-9 Big 12) Rank: NR

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 R H E 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 4 6 3 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 1 5 10 2 Final Stats Lawrence, Kan. • Attendance: 1,116

5 KANSAS (30-18, 12-9 Big 12) Rank: NR

Baseball Drops Another Heartbreaker at Kansas - Baylor Bears Official Athletic Site - BaylorBears.com
In yet a third one-run game, Baylor came up on the short side of a 5-4 decision at Kansas as the Jayhawks walked off with a 10-inning win on Sunday afternoon at Hoglund Ballpark. The loss for the Bears marked the first time they've been swept by Kansas in 17 all-time Big 12 series.

Game 3 just added insult to injury. After Baylor took the lead in the top of the ninth on Steve Dalporto's two out single, Kansas strung together two doubles in the bottom half to tie it before walking it off again in extra innings. There was basically one thing the Bears couldn't afford this weekend: getting swept. It happened. Now we are once again so perilously close to the .500 line we've flirted with all season, have dropped off the Big 12 lead we needed to bolster our Tournament claim, and have only four games remaining (UTSA, TTx3) before the conference tournament. Oh, and we have 9 days off for exams to stew about it.

Yeesh.

Well at least we're not Texas.