By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Following two losses to Kansas State earlier in the weekend, Baylor baseball struck for 17 runs in the fifth and sixth innings to salvage the series finale 19-4 in seven innings Sunday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark.
In a game that was tied 2-2 heading into the bottom of the fifth, Baylor (16-7, 2-4 Big 12) lit up the scoreboard when senior left fielder Wesley Jordan cranked a solo home run over the left field fence, taking a one-run lead over the Wildcats (15-8, 5-1).
“It just tells you a little bit about [our] character,” head coach Mitch Thompson said. “We have a choice, we either lay in the mud or we get up and dust ourselves off and come back and fight.”
After Jordan’s home run, back-to-back singles from sophomore second baseman Travis Sanders and senior center fielder Ty Johnson kept the inning alive. Redshirt sophomore first baseman Gavin Brzozowski loaded the bases for sophomore catcher JJ Kennett, who drilled a line drive into the right-center field gap, scoring three.
Senior shortstop Tyriq Kemp and senior right fielder Enzo Apodaca followed up with two more RBI base hits, bolstering the Bears’ lead to 8-2 by the end of the fifth inning.
“Hitting gets contagious,” Thompson said. “We had a couple of balls drop in, put some really good swings on balls, and then they’re down the line and then their pitching staff runs a guy up to out there that you know they’re trying to get some innings and they struggle a little bit.”
The Wildcats answered with two runs in the top of the sixth inning, but Baylor followed with another dominant inning to keep the game out of reach. The Bears began the inning with two walks and a double to load the bases for Johnson, who notched a two-run double to keep the momentum going. Brzozowski brought another run home before a double-play put two outs on the board.
A walk, error and RBI single set up redshirt senior designated hitter Hunter Simmons, who crushed a three-run home run to Baylor an 11-run lead. Two more walks and a hit-by-pitch kept the bases loaded. The final three runs of the ballgame were sent in by three consecutive walks, ending the inning with a 19-4 Baylor advantage.
“Everyone’s really hooked up today for sure,” freshman third baseman Pearson Riebock said. “We’re seeing the ball well as a team. You could tell, one through nine, a lot of competition about bats and everyone’s just getting it to the next guy and getting a timely hit when we needed it.”
The offense was rolling all together, with every batter recording a hit besides redshirt senior first baseman Will Pendergrass, who was pitch-hit for in the fifth inning. Jordan and Riebock, who was celebrating his birthday, led the team with three hits each and drove in a combined four runs.
“You’re always a little happy on your birthday,” Riebock said. “Then coming out here getting a really good win and going 3-for-4, no complaints at all.”
Freshman left-handed pitcher Carson Bailey dealt 4 1/3 innings with two runs and five hits while striking out a career-high seven batters. Junior right-hander Grayson Murry (2-0) earned the win with 1 1/3 innings of two-run baseball. Senior right-handed pitcher Will Glatch closed out the game with another 1 1/3 scoreless innings.
“Our guys are going to bounce back. I got full confidence [Ethan] Calder and [Bryson] Bales that they’re going to help us out,” Thompson said. “At the same time, we needed somebody to give us that opportunity Carson did, we had three pitchers going and they really kept them off.”
The Bears will be back in action against UT Arlington at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Baylor Ballpark.
