By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Overcast skies and 15-mile-per-hour gusts of wind had no chance to cool off junior left-handed starting pitcher Ethan Calder.
It only took one game for Baylor baseball’s pitching staff to dominate under first-year pitching coach Sean Snedeker. Earning the Opening Day start, Calder racked up a career-high 13 strikeouts — the most by a Baylor pitcher since 2011 — and allowed just one run on two hits in five innings of work en route to the Bears’ 10-3 win over Youngstown State.
“The reason we gave him the ball is because he’s consistent with everything he does,” Thompson said. “We wanted him to take it this Opening Day. We knew that, ‘Hey, who on our staff do you know for sure can take the ball on Opening Day [and] be the guy that you need him to be?’ Well, it was Ethan, and he went out and did that.”
Behind Calder’s dominant performance and the return of three bats who missed the entirety of the 2024 season, head coach Mitch Thompson and the Bears (1-0) sit above .500 for just the second time in his tenure. The green and gold reached base 22 times on 13 hits and nine free passes, two of which were hit by pitches, to back up a steady pitching staff.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Carson Bailey and senior right-handed pitcher Caleb Bunch joined in on Calder’s big day as the green and gold struck out 14 Penguins while only walking one batter. Bailey tossed a scoreless sixth inning, picking up his first career strikeout on a 97 mph heater. Bunch (1) earned the save, allowing two runs and six hits over the final three frames.
“You can’t beat Opening Day,” Calder said. It’s the best thing ever. Even on a cold day, it feels electric. We fill up the zone. I think you’re going to see it this year. We have a lot of guys that have quality stuff.”
Redshirt sophomore second baseman Jack Little, redshirt senior designated hitter Hunter Simmons and redshirt junior first baseman Gavin Brzozowski returned to the starting lineup after missing the 2024 season with injuries. The trio went a combined 6-for-11 with four walks, each reaching base at least twice.
“It’s pretty evident quickly to go, ‘Oh yeah, they did lose some guys that could have helped him last year.’ No kidding, right?” Thompson said. “The thing that you see with guys coming back off injury too is you see them just playing free, with freedom and this attitude of gratitude… They played loose, they swung the bats well and we had a good day from them.”
Simmons led the charge, going 3-for-3 with two walks and reaching base in all five plate appearances. Little went 2-for-5 and Brzozowski 1-for-3 with two walks against three separate Youngstown State arms.
“I had a little sway of emotions before starting,” Simmons said. “It feels really good to be out there… We get to throw everything we’ve been practicing on someone else. I mean, you saw it today; it was wonderful.”
Senior left fielder Wesley Jordan (3-for-4) and senior center fielder Ty Johnson (2-for-4) also picked up multi-hit games. Jordan scored a team-high three runs and launched two doubles while Johnson demolished the first Baylor home run of the season — a solo shot over the right-field fence to lead off the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Bears jumped on the board in the bottom of the first, scoring two runs off back-to-back RBI doubles from Jordan and Simmons. Baylor extended its lead to 3-0 in the third inning after Brzozowski knocked in Jordan with a sharp single up the middle. Meanwhile, Calder finished three scoreless innings with eight strikeouts.
“I mean to come out and score a couple runs right off the bat, and bang, bang, bang… that was fun to see,” Thompson said. “It’s always good to put up a zero early, score and take a lead. So, we’ll see if we can do it again tomorrow.”
The Penguins got on the board in the fourth inning with one out on a solo home run off the bat of senior left fielder Kyle Fossum. His longball over the left field fence was the only time Youngstown State squared up a pitch against Calder, as he wrapped up his outing with five straight strikeouts after the homer.
Led by Jordan, the Bears hit around in the bottom of the sixth inning as six consecutive batters reached base. After a Jordan double, Simmons, Brzozowski, Johnson and senior catcher Cortlan Castle drew walks. Senior third baseman Hunter Teplanszky roped an RBI single to give the green and gold a 6-1 lead.
Johnson finished with a team-leading four RBIs as he drove home one run in the seventh inning on a 370-foot home run and knocked in two more in the eighth inning with a single. The Penguins scored one run in the eighth and ninth, while Simmons drove in the Bears’ final run in the eighth to hand the green and gold the 10-3 victory.
The Bears will wrap up Opening Weekend with a doubleheader against Youngstown State on Saturday. First pitch for the afternoon contest will occur at 1 p.m., while the nightcap is scheduled for approximately 5 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.
