By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Baylor baseball fell just short of a series sweep Sunday afternoon, dropping a 10-inning battle to Gonzaga 8-7 at Baylor Ballpark. The game featured six lead changes, but four fielding errors proved too much for the Bears (6-1) to overcome.
After starting the season 6-0 for the first time since 2019, Baylor suffered its first loss, while the Bulldogs (2-4) capitalized on key mistakes. Despite struggles at the top of the lineup, consistent hitting from the bottom third and a strong two-out approach kept the Bears competitive.
“I thought the competitiveness was outstanding by both teams,” Head coach Mitch Thompson said. “As an early season game, both teams wanted to win. You win a series on Saturday, you’re playing for the sweep on Sunday — if you don’t get it done, you walk away (and) you feel like junk. And we don’t feel good about it.”
For the first time this season, the Bears failed to score the game’s first run as Gonzaga junior second baseman Hundson Shupe reached base for the seventh time in the series Shupe’s knock was the only hard-hit ball allowed by senior right-hander Cole Stasio, who worked four innings, allowing two runs on two hits and three walks while tying a career-high with four strikeouts.
Freshman third baseman Pearson Riebock redeemed himself after two early fielding errors, ripping a two-run single in the fourth to give Baylor a 2-1 lead. Sophomore catcher JJ Kennett followed with an RBI single, extending the lead to 3-1. The duo combined for four hits, three runs scored and five RBIs.
“JJ Kennett had a big home run, Pearson Riebock came up big [with] a swing or two.,,” Thompson said. “Our guys battled as well. And it’s just a hard-fought, competitive game. I don’t know that anybody lost it. I think they won it. And that’s the way I feel about it.”
After Stasio walked the first batter he faced in the fifth inning, Thompson called on sophomore left-handed pitcher RJ Ruais to face the red-hot Shupe. The Bulldogs came alive for the first time during the series, and Baylor’s two-run lead evaporated in the 55-degree weather. Ruais only faced four batters and failed to record an out, allowing three runs on four hits, including a three-run home run over the left-field fence.
Senior right-handed pitcher Will Glatch picked up the slack, stranding a runner in the frame with three quick outs. Glatch worked three scoreless innings of relief, allowing two hits and picking up two strikeouts.
“Will Glatch was fantastic out of the bullpen,” Thompson said. “I thought that’s a really positive thing for us. You see those kinds of outings and you go, ‘OK, this is another guy we can count on. This is another guy that we can believe in.’ And [he] pitched in some big moments.”
The green and gold struck the board again in the sixth inning as Kennett crushed a two-run home run over the left-center field wall to pull the game back to 5-5. Senior right-handers Patrick Hail and Caleb Bunch combined to keep Gonzaga scoreless in the eighth, with Bunch stranding the bases loaded after Hail allowed a hit and two walks.
Three Baylor walks in the bottom of the eighth set up former Bulldog Enzo Apodaca with the bases loaded and two outs. The first pitch Apodaca saw smacked his right shoulder and plated to a go-ahead run for the Bears 6-5.
Needing just three outs, Thompson made defensive switches and turned to redshirt senior closer Gabe Craig, who allowed back-to-back singles to open the ninth. A sacrifice bunt and a groundout evened the game 6-6, but an error by Craig on a bunt for hit chance allowed the Bulldogs back on top 7-6.
“It was tough for us,” Glatch said. “I mean, we played hard, fought [for] a good 10 innings. Sucks to see it, but I’m glad that we got to face this today, and I think that it’s going to definitely help us grow as a team and just continue to keep playing together.”
Still, Baylor fought back. Redshirt senior designated hitter Hunter Simmons led off the ninth by getting hit by a pitch. Simmons went hitless on Sunday but earned three free passes with a walk and two hit-by-pitches. Two batters later, senior center fielder Ty Johnson smoked an RBI triple down the first base line to even the game. Johnson went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
A pop-out and a flyout retired the side, and Baylor turned to its seventh pitcher of the game — redshirt senior right-hander Andrew Petrowski (0-1). He allowed two hits and an unearned run as a passed ball put Gonzaga on top 8-7.
Senior shortstop Tyriq Kemp reached base on a hit-by-pitch to open the bottom of the 10th inning, but a double play wiped all progress as the Bears came up short. Kemp was the final Bear with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 with a walk and hit-by-pitch.
“The guys had every intention of winning,” Thompson said. “They believed it even until the end of the end. That’s always exciting to see. It’s a good weekend. You come out of this, two out of three, we’ll take it.”
The Bears will cap off an eight-game homestand at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday against Stephen F. Austin at Baylor Ballpark.
