The Kansas State baseball team — who won two games last weekend with the run rule — got a taste of that medicine in Waco, Texas, against Baylor. The run-rule was not in effect, but the Wildcats would have triggered it down by 12 after the team’s turn to bat in the seventh. The Wildcats lost 17-2.
Freshman starter Connor McCullough was tagged for nine runs in the first 2 1/3 innings, only five of which were earned runs. He struck out five and received the loss.
The problem for K-State came in the second inning when back-to-back errors on infielders almost ended the inning after a lead-off strikeout. Baylor punished K-State for its mistakes with a sacrifice fly to score a run and a three-run home run.
McCullough’s day ended when he gave up another three-run home run with one down in the third. He was replaced by freshman lefty Brett Wozniak, who gave up a pair of runs in 1 2/3 innings.
In the fourth, senior designated hitter Chris Ceballos extended his home run streak to five-straight games with a solo shot to dead center to put K-State on the board.
K-State got another when senior center fielder Caleb Littlejim scored on an RBI fielder’s choice by senior third baseman Cam Thompson.
The Wildcats got a pair of runners on in the last chance in the top of the ninth, but never really threatened to score.
Baylor scored twice in the fourth, twice in fifth, once in the sixth and three more in the eighth to make sure that K-State could not come back.
Senior right-hander Luke Hauswirth and freshman righty Nico Rodriquez also got into the game to eat innings in the blowout loss. Hauswirth threw three innings, giving up three runs on five hits and Rodriguez gave up a three spot on two hits in his lone inning.
K-State will have two more chances to steal games from Baylor with sophomore ace Jordan Wicks on the mound at 3 p.m. Saturday and senior Kasey Ford toeing the rubber at 12 p.m. Sunday in the getaway game.
