By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
Riding a seven-game losing streak, Baylor baseball headed home for the first of four-straight home games. The Bears came out strong as the bats and arms fired on all cylinders to snap the skid against Stephen F. Austin State University, 10-3, Tuesday at Baylor Ballpark.
Junior outfielder Hunter Simmons, nicknamed “Scoob,” and sophomore first baseman John Ceccoli had career nights in the Bears’ (10-19, 2-7 Big 12) big win over SFA (13-14, 7-5 WAC). Simmons finished the day 4-for-4 at the plate with a double, three singles and a walk while scoring three runs himself to go with two RBI.
Ceccoli also reached base in every at-bat, and he went 3-for-4 with a two-run home run, a double, a single, a hit by pitch and he reached on an error. He led the team with a season-high four RBI on the night.
Head coach Mitch Thompson trusted junior right-handed pitcher Jared Matheson to get the start. Matheson gave up one run in the first inning with two outs but then fired a scoreless frame in the second. During his 2.0 innings pitched he allowed three hits, one walk and one run while striking out one batter. But his second inning was the first of seven consecutive zeros put up by Baylor’s pitching.
“The bullpen was sharp and we kept everybody down enough pitch count wise that we’ll be in good shape for this weekend,” Thompson said.
The Bears trailed 1-0 heading into the bottom of the second inning, but they quickly evened up the ballgame when Simmons and Ceccoli hit back-to-back doubles to right center field. Baylor only scratched across one run in the inning.
Junior infielder and outfielder Cole Posey slapped a single to left field with one out in the bottom of the third. He advanced to second base when sophomore infielder Hunter Teplanszky roped a single in front of the left fielder. Another out was recorded, but with two down in the frame, Simmons smacked a run-scoring single up the middle to give the Bears the lead.
Baylor only scored the lone run in the third, but it never looked back. Junior right-handed pitcher Grant Golomb threw the third and fourth inning for the green and gold. In his 2.0 scoreless innings of work, he allowed just two hits and struck out two batters.
After keeping the Lumberjacks in check, Golomb was relieved by junior right-handed pitcher Anderson Needhamn in the top of the fifth. Needham went on to hurl 1.2 scoreless frames even though he allowed two hits and two walks.
Holding tight to a 2-1 lead, the Baylor bats found the scoreboard once more in the bottom of the fifth inning. Posey led off the inning with a single before Teplanszky took one for the team to give the Bears two runners with no outs. Then, freshman infielder Kolby Branch stepped up to the plate looking to cash in.
He saw two strikes and then fouled off a couple pitches before spanking a line drive to third base. SFA junior third baseman Peyton Parker laid out and made a highlight reel catch to rob Branch of extra bases. Simmons and Ceccoli decided to take matters into their own hands, as they each hit an RBI single with one out in the next two at-bats. The green and gold scored one more off a sacrifice fly and extended its lead to 5-1.
Junior right-handed pitcher Cole Stasio came in for Needham with two outs in the top of the sixth when the bases were loaded. Stasio erased the threat by forcing a fly out.
Stasio came back out to throw in the seventh inning. He made it through the side and finished the day with 1.1 scoreless innings pitched, giving up only one hit and recording a strikeout.
After a relaxing seventh-inning stretch, Simmons drew a walk and the five-hole hitter stepped into the left-handed batters box. It was Ceccoli who worked the count to 2-2 before crushing a moonshot deep into the Brazos River. The two-run home run furthered the Baylor lead to 7-1.
“Anytime your offense is able to click one through nine, it’s really fun to watch it happen and be a part of it,” Ceccoli said.
The Bears added three more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to take a 10-1 lead. Teplanszky knocked in a run on a sac fly, Branch recorded a single to score one more, and an error in the field allowed Ceccoli to reach base and brought Branch home to score. After recording a single in the eighth, Branch has now reached base in 27 of his 28 games as a Bear.
Junior right-handed pitcher Brett Garcia threw up the last shutout inning in the top of the eighth for Baylor. Garcia gave up one hit but struck out the other three batters he faced. In the ninth, Thompson turned the ball over to sophomore right-handed pitcher Gabe Craig. Only two runs were given up by Criag, just one of them earned, on two hits in the final inning. He was able to work out of a jam and lift the Bears to the midweek victory, 10-3.
Despite allowing a baserunner in every inning, the Baylor pitching staff handled business and only gave up three runs. SFA was just 2-of-16 with runners in scoring position on the night. Golomb (1-1) earned his first win of the year after his strong performance on the mound.
“We took pretty good at bats,” Thompsin said. “We had a good plan [and] the guys felt confident, they took good swings. Up and down the lineup we were pretty competitive and the offense was clicking tonight. It’s a fun way to go into the weekend.”
The Bears will be back in Big 12 action Thursday for game one of a pushed up three-game set against the University of Oklahoma. The series will start Thursday and end Saturday due to the Easter holiday.
First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Baylor Ballpark.
