By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor, Braden Murray | LTVN Sports Director
ARLINGTON, Texas — On the first pitch of the top of the seventh inning, Baylor freshman third baseman Pearson Riebock smashed a fly ball to right-center field. Primed to trot around the bases for the first time in his career, No. 8 Oregon State junior right fielder Easton Talt had other plans.
LTVN’s Braden Murray breaks down the Bears’ narrow loss at Globe Life Field.
Talt chased it back to the warning track and timed his running jump in front of the home bullpen. He set his feet and leaped, crashing against the wall where he snowconed the ball halfway leaning over the fence –– home run robbery at its finest.
The catch-of-the-year candidate proved to be the difference-maker as Baylor fell to No. 8 Oregon State 4-3 in the first game of the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series Friday night at Globe Life Field.
“I thought we played well, I thought we pitched well and I thought we competed really well at the plate,” head coach Mitch Thompson said. “They’re a really good ballclub, they play the game really sound and really well. I thought it was a good college baseball game.”
Looking for its first win over a top-10 opponent under Thompson and first since taking down No. 8 Oklahoma State 13-11 at Baylor Ballpark on May 19, 2022, the Bears (7-2) took a top-10 team to the wire. The pitching staff delivered five 1-2-3 innings, and the green and gold reached base with a hit or walk eight times compared to six for Oregon State.
The Beavers (6-2) pounced on junior left-hander Ethan Calder out of the gate, swatting a two-strike single to open the game. Calder walked the next batter he faced, and a groundout set up a two-run, two-strike single to put Oregon State ahead 2-0. After the runs came home, Calder shut down the next nine Beavers batters.
“The game was a little fast early, but Ethan really settled in and pitched well, “ Thompson said. “That’s a top-10 team in the country with big, physical, strong dudes and if you make a mistake, they can hurt you.”
Junior left-hander Nelson Keljo retired the first seven Baylor batters in order before senior catcher Cortlan Castle walked. He was promptly doubled up on the next play, and the Bears waited until the fourth inning to find their first base hit when redshirt senior right fielder Enzo Apodaca ripped a single into right field.
Senior left fielder Hunter Jordan one-upped Apodaca after the single, blasting a 445-foot two-run home run to the second deck in left field. Following his monster swing, Jordan casually flipped his bat toward the Oregon State dugout and ran around the bases to even the game at 2-2.
The Beavers responded with a solo homer to left field on a full-count pitch to junior first baseman Jacob Krieg in the following half inning, breaking Calder’s streak of retiring nine straight batters. Calder (2-1) took the loss, finishing his outing after giving up a double in the bottom of the sixth. The junior allowed four runs on four hits and a walk with four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings and retired 15 of the last 17 batters he faced.
Back-to-back walks with two outs in the top of the fifth set up Apodaca for a game-tying base knock, but a fielder’s choice kept Oregon State on top after a replay review. After the three-hit fourth inning, the Bears wouldn’t tally another hit until the seventh.
Junior right-hander Grayson Murry relieved Calder following a one-out double in the bottom of the sixth inning and fanned the first batter he faced. Before escaping the inning, Krieg rolled an RBI single to left field to give the Beavers a 4-2 lead.
After Riebock’s robbed home run in the top of the seventh, a two-out error on an infield pop-up that nearly skimmed the roof put senior shortstop Tyriq Kemp on second base. Redshirt sophomore second baseman Jack Little singled Kemp in two pitches later to trim the deficit to 4-3.
Murry retired the side in order in the seventh inning, thanks to a diving starfish catch in foul territory by Kemp with two outs. Murry finished his day with two strikeouts and no runs allowed in 1 2/3 innings.
Senior right-handed pitcher Will Glatch needed just 10 pitches to cruise through a scoreless eighth inning, setting up the bottom half of the Bears’ order to make magic in the bottom of the ninth. However, a five pitch, one-two-three inning sealed Baylor’s fate and a 4-3 loss at the hands of No. 8 Oregon State.
“We knew we’d get punched, so we were able to punch back,” Jordan said. “We’re not going to quit. We get 27 outs and we’re going to take every single one of them. You’ve got to get us out. They’re a great team. Not the result we wanted, but we’re going to learn from it and grow.”
Baylor continues the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series against Ohio State (1-6) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
