WACO, Texas – Baylor scored one run in the ninth to beat No. 12 Texas baseball 6-5 in the series opener Friday at Baylor Ballpark.
The Longhorns (20-13, 3-4 Big 12) scored a run in the seventh to tie the game up 5-5 and had the bases loaded with one out in the eighth but were unable to take the lead. Baylor took advantage of two walks and two singles to win it in the ninth.
Bryce Elder started and pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. He struck out five batters and walked two.
Texas took the first lead, pounding out four runs on four hits in the top of the second inning. With two outs, Tate Shaw got the Longhorns rally started with a single to left field.
Masen Hibbeler followed with his first home run of the season, a towering two-run shot to left field. Lance Ford kept the inning going with a single up the middle. He came around to score after Michael McCann reached on an error. Eric Kennedy capped off the inning with an RBI double off the wall in right field.
Baylor tied the game up with four runs on four hits in the third inning. The Bears got on the board with three-straight singles to trim the lead to 4-1. Elder was nearly out of the inning but a two-out walk was followed by a bases-loaded hit batter to make it 4-2. A two-out single up the middle tied the game 4-4.
The Bears took their first lead of the game, 5-4, on three-straight one-out singles in the fifth inning.
Texas scratched out a run in the seventh to tie the game up 5-5. Duke Ellis started the frame with his second double of the game, was sacrificed to second and scored on a grounder by Austin Todd.
Brandon Ivey and Donny Diaz got the Longhorns out of a tough spot in the seventh to keep the game tied. Ivey got a groundout for the second out of the inning and Diaz got a strikeout to end the inning. Diaz finished with 1 1/3 scoreless innings pitched with three strikeouts.
Texas will try to even the series with Baylor on Saturday at 3:05 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.