HOUSTON — It was not surprising to see one team leave with a perfect record after the three-day Shriners College Classic at Minute Maid Park.
The surprising part is that Baylor finished 3-0, and even more surprising that No. 5 Arkansas went 0-3.
Baylor jumped out to a 3-0 lead, and the Bears made key pitches when they had to in a 3-2 victory against the Razorbacks on Sunday. The Bears stranded eight Arkansas base runners — including five in scoring position — to claim the event’s championship.
Baylor starter Hayden Kettler (2-1) was solid over 5 innings, allowing 4 hits with 5 strikeouts to earn the victory. Kettler pitched around trouble time and again to keep the University of Arkansas off the scoreboard early.
“Anytime you get out of trouble, it always boosts your confidence,” Baylor Coach Steve Rodriguez said. “I don’t care what situation you’re in. But anytime you can get yourself out of a jam, it just tells you that you have what it takes. I think every athlete wants to know that.”
The Razorbacks (7-3) lost to Oklahoma 6-3 in Friday’s opener, then fell 8-7 to Texas on Saturday. On Sunday, the Razorbacks could not escape their three-run hole.
“We came down here thinking we were probably pretty good,” Arkansas Coach Dave Van Horn said. “We have some incredibly tough road swings this year, and if we don’t play better on the road, it is going to be a long year.”
Poor defense haunted the Razorbacks in all three losses, and Sunday’s game started with Baylor center fielder Jared McKenzie reaching on catcher Casey Opitz’s throwing error on a tapper in front of home plate. It was the Razorbacks’ fifth error in two games.
After McKenzie stole second, Arkansas starter Kole Ramage (1-1) got out of the inning without allowing a run after a strikeout and ground out.
The Razorbacks had two on with one out in the bottom of the first. Robert Moore, bumped up to the two-hole and moved to shortstop in place of the slumping Casey Martin, lined a one-out single, and Heston Kjerstad followed by getting hit on the left knee. The Hogs were unable to capitalize after a pair of ground outs.
Martin, a preseason All-America selection, was not in the lineup after seeing his batting average plummet to .182. Martin was 0-for-5 against Texas on Saturday with 4 strikeouts. He had started 102 consecutive games before sitting out Sunday.
In the top of the fourth, Baylor (8-3) broke the scoreless tie after Mack Mueller reached on a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Davion Downey followed with an RBI single to center off Ramage for a 1-0 lead.
Baylor tacked on another run in the fifth as Ricky Martinez singled off Ramage with two outs. Nick Loftin followed with an RBI smash through the left side that went for a double and drove in Martinez for a 2-0 lead.
With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Kjerstad hit a double off the Crawford Boxes in left that was inches from going out, but Kettler got Matt Goodheart looking at a called third strike, stranding Kjerstad at second.
Ramage was replaced in the top of the sixth by Elijah Trest. The junior right-hander allowed 4 hits, 2 earned runs and struck out 6 in 5 innings. With one out, Downey took an 0-1 pitch deep to center for a solo home run off Trest, extending Baylor’s lead to 3-0.
Kjerstad led off the bottom of the eighth with a single off Jimmy Winston, and Goodheart followed with a booming double into the gap in right-center, putting Arkansas on the scoreboard. With two outs, Braydon Webb lined a single to left to score Goodheart from second and make it 3-2. Webb, who raced to second on the throw home, was left stranded at second when Jacob Nesbit took a called third strike.
Baylor closer Luke Boyd breezed through the ninth with a pair of strikeouts to nail down the save.
The Razorbacks will return home Tuesday to host Illinois State at 3 p.m. Freshman Blake Adams is likely to get the start for the Razorbacks. Arkansas will open a three-game home series with South Alabama on Friday.