By Rachel Caton
WACO, Texas – No. 17 Baylor continued its winning ways in Big 12 conference play with a 3-2 walk-off win in 12 innings over Oklahoma Sunday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark. It was the Bears’ fifth walk-off win and third extra-inning victory of the season.
Josh Bissonette provided the game-winning hit, an RBI single that scored Shea Langeliers. Langeliers led the way at the plate, going 3-for-5 on the afternoon, while Richard Cunningham added another two hits for the Bears and Bissonette drove in two runs.
Freshman RHP Blake Helton made his first career start and went 3.1 innings, allowing one unearned run on two hits and striking out two batters before turning the ball over to the bullpen. The quintet of Daniel Caruso, Logan Freeman, Ryan Leckich, Luke Boyd and Kyle Hill tag-teamed it the rest of the way, putting up seven zeros from the sixth inning on to prevent Baylor from ever trailing.
For the 20th time this season and third time this weekend, the Bears got on the board first, as Chase Wehsener knocked in Cole Haring with a single in the bottom of the second inning. Baylor extended its lead in the third as Bissonette was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it 2-0.
The Sooners (25-12, 6-6 Big 12) got a run back in the fourth via a Baylor throwing error that cut the Bears’ lead to 2-1 and later tied it in the fifth with an RBI double. Kyle Harper and Nick Loftin teamed up to cut down a runner at the plate that would have given OU the lead, but instead kept the game knotted at 2-2.
Baylor (24-10, 8-3 Big 12) threatened in the bottom of the fifth, but stranded two runners on base as Bissonette lined out sharply to left field after a nine-pitch at-bat. In the sixth, the Bears squandered another opportunity as Harper was thrown out at the plate trying to score on a Cunningham infield single to end the inning.
The score remained deadlocked until the bottom of the 12th, when Langeliers led off with a sharp single to left field. He advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Andy Thomas and moved up to third on a Haring fly out. That’s when Bissonette delivered the first walk-off hit of his career and sent the Bears home with the win.
The Bears remain at home for a Tuesday night tilt with Sam Houston State, April 16 at 6:35 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.