A four-run advantage proved too difficult for the Missouri baseball team to cling onto Saturday at Taylor Stadium, as the Tigers saw their lead slip through their fingers in a rainy game versus Baylor. The Bears mounted back to back four-run innings in a rain-shortened game, managing to keep their Big 12 Conference record unscathed with a 12-7 victory.

Senior pitcher Jeff Emens started on the mound for the Tigers (16-14, 3-6 Big 12 Conference). The Bears jumped on him early, notching three hits in the first inning, leading to a run on the scoreboard.

The Tigers managed to tie the game at one in the bottom of the second with sophomore second baseman Dillon Everett’s slice to left with runners at both corners.

After the first, Emens seemed to calm down a bit and kept Baylor scoreless for the next two frames.

But Baylor came back to haunt him in the fourth, and coach Tim Jamieson was forced to put freshman pitcher John Miles on the mound with the bases loaded and two outs.

Miles would last until midway through the sixth. The good news for the Tigers was that by that time they had built a 6-2 advantage off a few timely offensive hits, including a deep double off the centerfield fence by sophomore outfielder Blake Brown. The bad news was that the Bears notched a four-run inning before reliever Jake Walsh could stem the flow.

Jamieson said the team needed better pitching performances, especially after solid outings in the first two games of the series.

“We’re playing without much confidence right now, particularly when we don’t have Rob (Zastryzny) or Blake (Holovach) on the mound,” he said. “We’re struggling with that. We needed more out of Jeff and we needed more out of Miles before we even got to Jake. It’s not one guy. Everyone contributed.”

From the sixth inning on, it was Baylor’s ball game. The Bears broke the tie in the seventh when outfielder Dan Evatt hit a solo home run off Walsh, and they didn’t look back from there.

When the game was called in the eighth for travel curfew the scoreboard read 12-7.

The loss brings MU to 1-5 throughout the previous six games, certainly not the way the team anticipated the start to its conference play.

“Obvously, you never want to get swept and we’re frustrated about that,” Everett said. “We’re in every game. That’s probably the most frustrating thing. Every game you walk out knowing you could have done something else to win it.”

Despite the frustrations, Everett believes the Tigers can find their groove for the rest of the season.

“I don’t feel like we’re playing bad,” he said. “We can get it rolling with this team. We need to keep our confidence up, and once we get rolling we’ll be really good.”

The Tigers will try to sweep the memories of this series under the rug when they play Arkansas-Little Rock at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Taylor Stadium.