WACO, Texas — Nebraska’s poor history in Baylor Ballpark didn’t stop the eighth-ranked Huskers from having another solid weekend.

But one day after they swept their first-ever Big 12 Conference road doubleheader to double their previous win total in the Bears’ stadium, another relevant and mood-souring trend popped up again.

NU’s 8-3 loss to Baylor on Sunday marked the fourth time in its last six league series that it failed to secure a series sweep.

“You have a chance to sweep, you need to get it done. And that needs to be, I guess, more of a mentality all around the whole team,” senior second baseman Jake Opitz said. “I think we do, at times, and I guess today we just didn’t come ready to go.”

Nebraska did look uninspired at the start of Sunday’s series finale, delayed because of a wet field and begun in a light mist. After going down 1-2-3 in the first against Willie Kempf, the losing pitcher in Saturday’s series opener, the Huskers fell behind 4-0 in the bottom half.

Aaron Pribanic was nowhere near being on top of his game, as he allowed four hits and three walks. But even with that, had the right-handed junior had just a tad of luck, he easily could have gotten out of the frame unscathed.

With one out and the bases loaded, Aaron Miller, who finished with four of the Bears’ 16 hits, got a blooper to fall just over the shoulder of shortstop Ben Kline and in front of center fielder Bryce Nimmo. Had either caught the ball, the bases still would have been full and Raynor Campbell’s ensuing fly out to center would have ended the inning instead of driving in the second run.

And so Paul Miles never would have had the opportunity to deliver his two-out single that glanced off Opitz’s glove and produced the first two of five runs the Bears scored with two outs.

“The pop-up falls, but I just wasn’t throwing strikes,” Pribanic said. “I wasn’t making my pitches. Whenever that happens, it’s going to be bad.”

Or at least make things a lot tougher.

“We make those plays, we don’t give up any runs in that inning,” Opitz said. “Being down 4-0 in the first, that’s hard to come back from and we couldn’t do it.”

With Kempf and left-hander Mace Thurman combining to scatter six hits and strike out 11, the Huskers never could get closer than two runs after the opening inning.

Kempf and Thurman had the NU hitters so off balance that none of the Bears’ outfielders had to record an out.

“We played very relaxed. It helps when your starting pitcher sets a tone for you,” Baylor coach Steve Smith said. “Nothing helps relax you more than that. That’s really what got away from us in the second game yesterday (when Nebraska scored seven first-inning runs), and it got away from them today. Their guy kind of put them in a hole.”

Sunday’s result — combined with Texas A&M’s league-record 15th straight win (against Missouri) and fifth consecutive series sweep — means the Aggies will bring a 21/2-game lead into Lincoln when the teams meet in two weekends. Both clubs play non-league series this coming weekend.

“I don’t know if we were hooked up as much as we needed to be, but … even if we’re not ready to play, if I do my job in the first inning, then we’ll wake up,” Pribanic said.

Opitz promised that Nebraska, now 32-8-1 and about to begin an eight-game homestand, will have no trouble moving beyond Sunday’s effort. The Huskers play Western Illinois on Tuesday and Wednesday, then a three-game set against Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday and Saturday before taking time out for final exams and preparing for Texas A&M.

“We didn’t come out ready, (but) that’s it,” Opitz said. “We took the loss. We’ll come back Tuesday and we’ll be ready to go.”

Reach Curt McKeever at 473-7441 or cmckeever@journalstar.com.