Matthew McCarroll | Lariat Photographer
By Greg DeVries
Sports Writer
The Baylor baseball team remained perfect at home with a 6-2 win Tuesday over the Sam Houston State Bearkats.
The winning pitcher was senior right-handed pitcher Trent Blank (4-0). Blank threw five innings and allowed one run on three hits. With this win, the Bears moved to 7-2 on the season.
“I thought [Blank’s performance] was great,” head coach Steve Smith said. “Trent has just gotten off to a great start. He’s just throwing strikes.”
Blank credited his teammates behind him for his performance.
“With the help of my teammates, I thought it was a great win. I’m just glad to be out there,” Blank said. “If I can get a comfortable lead, I can just go out there and throw strikes and let the defense work.”
Junior first baseman Max Muncy extended his on-base streak to a career-high 27 games with a first-inning double to the right field wall.
In the third inning, sophomore second baseman Lawton Langford reached on an error.
Freshman right fielder Logan Brown’s bunt advanced Langford to third, and Brown also reached on a fielder’s choice. Junior designated hitter Nathan Orf’s RBI single to left field scored Langford to make it 1-0. Junior third baseman Cal Towey drove in Brown on an RBI single to right field.
Muncy then grounded out, but drove in the third run of the inning for the Bears. Senior catcher Josh Ludy also grounded out, but scored Towey from third.
Junior shortstop Jake Miller opened the fourth inning with a double down the right field line. Langford followed with a single. With runners at the corners, Brown laid a bunt down the first base line to score Miller. A double steal with Orf at the plate would lead to an error on a throw.
Langford crossed home plate to extend Baylor’s lead to 6-0.
“Up and down the lineup, everybody is confident in the box. I think we had 11 hits tonight. That’s pretty good,” Miller said. “I think we had quite a few positive plate appearances, which is what we’re looking for. Everybody is comfortable. Everybody is swinging it good. You put six runs up, you should win the game.”
The shutout wouldn’t last, however.
In the top of the fifth inning, Bearkat right fielder Jake Arrington’s single scored first baseman Ryan O’Hearn from second base for Sam Houston State.
A Bearkat RBI triple by left fielder Luke Plucheck would cut Baylor’s lead to four. The Bears would end the inning on the next play, holding a 6-2 lead.
The score remained 6-2 until junior right-handed pitcher Miles Landry recorded the final out for the Bears.
Baylor will next play at 6:05 p.m. Friday at Baylor Ballpark against the University of California-Irvine to kick off the QTI Baylor Classic. The Bears will play three games in four days.
“We scheduled it, so we look forward to it. It’ll challenge us pitching-wise,” Smith said. “Everybody is going to go through it. We’ve still got a couple of young guys, more than a couple, that need to get out there.”
