Sam Houston State baseball dropped a 4-3 back-and-forth game against Baylor in 10 innings Tuesday.

The game was the first in the head-to-head series between Baylor and SHSU, with the series concluding on Wednesday in Waco.

Baylor got things started as senior leadoff hitter Logan Brown hit an infield single, stole second on the next pitch, and was knocked in by freshman designated hitter Cameron Miller. The Bears added another run in the second inning to take a 2-0 lead.

The Kats were making good contact at the plate throughout the game but had a hard time finding the open hole in the field or fell victim to great defensive plays by the Bears. The Kats also found themselves with slight mistakes that would later cost the game.

“When you’re playing a bunch of close [games] everything is magnified,” SHSU head coach Matt Deggs said.

SHSU put a run on the scoreboard in the fourth inning as junior catcher Collin Yellich knocked a RBI single to bring in the Kats’ first run of the game. The Kats took a 3-2 lead after Hunter Courson hit a monster home run in in the sixth. The Bears tied it back up in the top of the seventh and the game went to extras tied at three.

The Kats dug deep into their bullpen using five pitchers in the loss with none of the pitchers throwing at least four innings.

In the tenth inning, Baylor was able to add a run to their resume and take care of business on defense. The win snaps the Bears’ 10-game losing streak.

With the loss, the Kats fall to 9-13 in the season, their fourth loss in five games.

The Kats and Bears meet again on Wednesday in Waco to conclude the home-and-home series.

“We’re still trying to find our stride, hovering around .500,” Deggs said. “It’ll be a good test for us tomorrow night on the road, but I think both teams are very evenly matched, so it’ll come down to who takes care of the baseball.”

First pitch is scheduled to take place at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark as the Kats look to even the series.