By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Baylor baseball didn’t allow an earned run and reached base 22 times to defeat Stephen F. Austin 9-4, wrapping up an eight-game homestand Tuesday night at Baylor Ballpark.
Every batter in the starting lineup reached base at least once, and the team loaded the bases in four separate half-innings. In year three under head coach Mitch Thompson, the Bears are off to a 7-1 start for the fourth time since 1994.
“I’m excited,” Thompson said. “I think the guys are building confidence, [and] we’re gaining confidence every day. We believe in ourselves.”
Freshman left-handed pitcher Carson Bailey started his second game of the year on the mound for the Bears. With his pitches dancing in the mid-90s, Bailey allowed four runs, all unearned, and picked up seven strikeouts in five innings.
“I thought [Bailey] was really good,” Thompson said. “I was real impressed with him.”
The first three Baylor batters reached in the bottom of the first, helping the Bears jump out to a 2-0 lead. Redshirt senior right fielder Enzo Apodaca, who finished 1-for-3 with a walk, knocked in a run with a double before senior designated hitter Wesley Jordan hit a single to right field to score him two pitches later.
Jordan was the only Bear to pick up three hits, going 3-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored. Sophomore catcher JJ Kennett (1-for-3 with two walks), redshirt senior designated hitter Hunter Simmons (1-for-3 with a walk and hit by pitch) and redshirt sophomore second baseman Jack Little (0-for-2 with three walks) each reached base three times, combining for seven of Baylor’s 12 free passes.
“Coach [Zach] Dillon always talks about not trying to do too much, and I think that’s showing,” Jordan said. “[When] we’re up there, we’re gonna swing if it’s in the zone but if it’s not, we’ll take our base and let the next guy to do it because we’re confident.”
The Bears loaded the bases in the bottom of the second inning with no outs but added only one more run to the tally as senior shortstop Tyriq Kemp lofted a sacrifice fly to left field. Kemp kept his team-high batting average at .520 and went 1-for-2 with a walk, RBI and run scored.
Bailey cruised through the first three innings with just 31 pitches before hitting a road bump in the fourth. An error to open the inning by Little was followed by a hit by pitch and a flyout before redshirt sophomore third baseman Travis Sanders booted a ball to load the bases. With Bailey poised to escape the inning, the second hit batter and a bases-clearing double one pitch later gave SFA (4-5) a 4-3 lead, but all runs went down as unearned.
Following the three-run double, the next 14 Lumberjack batters were retired in order. Junior right-handed pitcher Grayson Murry (1-0) earned the win, dealing two scoreless innings of relief with a strikeout. Redshirt sophomore left-handed pitcher Caleb Jameson delivered 1 2/3 scoreless innings with a strikeout, and redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Drew Leach recorded the final out.
“Oh, man, our staff is awesome,” Murry said. “All the guys are great. It’s awesome having so many people in there who you can count on each and every day, no matter what.”
Despite loading the bases in the fifth, the Bears came up empty. They loaded the bases again in the sixth, and this time, the green and gold broke free. Jordan and Simmons clubbed RBI singles. Apodaca also tried to score on Simmons’ base knock but was tossed out with a perfect throw from center field. Johnson capped the inning with a two-run double to take a 7-4 lead.
“I think coach [Jim] Blair made the right call in sending Enzo to the plate,” Thompson said. “It just took a perfect throw to throw him out. And then, it was nice to see Ty Johnson pick us up with that big two-run double off the left-center field wall as well to kind of make up for it.”
Baylor tacked on two more in the eighth inning when junior pinch runner Caleb Bergman swiped home on a wild pitch, and redshirt senior first baseman Will Pendergrass lofted an RBI sac fly to left center.
The Bears will return to action against No. 8 Oregon State (5-2) at 7 p.m. Friday for the first of three games at Globe Life Field in Fort Worth.
