By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
While Baylor baseball’s pitching arms kept the Bears in the game, struggles at the plate and leaving 14 runners on base plagued the green and gold, as it fell 5-2 in 11 innings to Abilene Christian University Tuesday night at Baylor Ballpark.
Following a demoralizing three-game road trip against Big 12 foe and then-No. 15 Oklahoma State University over the weekend, head coach Mitch Thompson and the Bears (9-16, 2-4 Big 12) looked to find the win column once more. Baylor hoped to do so as it hosted the ACU Wildcats (18-6, 7-2 Western Athletic Conference) Tuesday.
“I give Abilene Christian credit, they threw the ball really well,” Thompson said. “We didn’t get enough hits and we didn’t get the ball in play enough. I’m disappointed in the way we swung the bats. We weren’t competitive enough early on. I thought we pitched the ball well enough to win. Anytime you give up two runs in nine innings you should have a shot.”
Junior right-handed pitcher Brett Garcia got the start for the green and gold in a game that had the potential to be a bullpen day. Garcia started the night off strong and finished the day after throwing 2.0 scoreless innings while striking out two batters, walking one, and not allowing a hit.
Garcia was followed up by fifth-year senior right-handed pitcher Blake Helton, who made his first appearance of the year in a reliever role. Helton only fired 1.1 scoreless innings and struck out one and only allowed one hit. He was relieved by junior right-handed pitcher Adam Muirhead in the fourth inning.
Muirhead was able to escape the inning without giving up a run and the game remained scoreless moving into the fifth inning. The Baylor bats stayed stagnant and junior right-handed pitcher Cole Stasio came in to replace Muirhead after he allowed an unearned run to begin the fifth. Muirhead’s line closed at 0.2 innings pitched while walking two, giving up a hit, striking out one, and only allowing a single unearned run to give the Wildcats a 1-0 lead.
Stasio kept the game close and didn’t allow another run. He gave the Bears a spark in his 2.0 scoreless innings in which he struck out one and only allowed a single hit. By the end of the sixth inning, ACU still held tight to a one-run lead.
The Wildcats tacked on one more in the seventh inning when freshman left-handed pitcher Ethan Calder came in for Stasio. Calder allowed a pair of singles, and with runners on the corners and no outs, he got the double play ball he needed, but the runner from third trotted home to score. Calder allowed one earned run and two hits during his 1.0 inning of action.
Baylor’s pitchers fired two more scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth innings. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Gabe Craig threw 0.1 innings and allowed a walk to begin the eighth inning. He was quickly replaced by junior right-handed pitcher Hableton Oliver, who completed 1.1 innings, striking out one and walking one. The ninth was completed by junior right-handed pitcher Grant Golomb, and he helped send the Baylor bats up to the plate, trailing 2-0.
Things looked grim for the green and gold, as ACU’s reliever, 6-foot-9-inch, 253-pound, junior left-handed pitcher Max Huffling quickly recorded two outs in the bottom of the ninth. With two outs, sophomore catcher Cortlan Castle put together a strong at-bat and walked on the payoff pitch to bring the tying run to the plate.
Then, Thompson made a call to the dugout and brought out freshman catcher Walker Polk to pinch hit. Polk dug into the right-handed batters box and smashed a two-run homerun over the right field wall on the second pitch he saw, causing a Baylor Ballpark eruption. The game was tied up at two runs apiece.
“I was proud of Walker Polk stepping up and getting the pinch-hit home run,” Thompson said. “But, it’s a constant battle. The guys are trying and we’re trying to get better.”
The inning wasn’t over yet though, as the Bears loaded up the bases with two outs, the winning run being at third base. Baylor ultimately came up empty and the game moved into extra innings.
Golomb fired a scoreless 10th inning and the Baylor bats went back up to the plate with a chance to walk it off. Sophomore third baseman Hunter Teplanszky led off the inning with a single, and the Bears were back in business. Teplanszky ended the day 4-for-6 at the plate with four singles. Then, with two outs in the inning, the bases were loaded again and the green and gold had another great opportunity.
But once again, the squad came up empty.
To start the 11th inning, Golomb allowed a double and a walk. He stayed on the mound to face the ACU clean-up hitter who made the Bears pay, as he deposited a home run of his own over the right field fence to give the Wildcats a 5-2 lead.
Baylor started off the bottom of the inning with a single and a walk, but came up empty in the end. Golomb (0-1) took the loss as the green and gold struggled to come through in clutch situations.
The Bears will look to get back in the win column this weekend when they travel to take on the University of Kansas for a conference series. Game one has first pitch slated for 6 p.m. Friday at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kan.
“If I had to pick three games that I want to win this week, I want the three this weekend,” Thompson said. “Let’s go get those three.”
