By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
For the first time in 338 days, sophomore left-handed pitcher Mason Green trotted out of the Baylor baseball dugout and started for the green and gold in Tuesday night’s 6-2 loss against Texas State at Baylor Ballpark.
Although he lasted just one scoreless inning in his first appearance back from a lingering injury, head coach Mitch Thompson had plenty to be excited about.
“Mason Green showing back up, being out there and getting through that first inning [was a positive],” Thompson said. “Even though he wasn’t perfectly sharp and he was trying to find some stuff a little bit. But to strike out three guys was big. It was good to have him back out there.”
Green’s outing started rocky, allowing a walk on a full-count pitch that bounced up to the plate and a single five pitches later. As he readied to challenge the heart of the order, Green grabbed at his foot. Initially, Thompson and a trainer quickly jumped out of the dugout to check on him.
The 6-foot-2 pitcher waved them back to the dugout as he took off one of his cleats and tossed it back to the dugout. As the team scrambled around looking for another shoe that would fit right to replace the torn one, Green waited eagerly on the dirt.
Five minutes later, it was back to baseball. And the fresh kicks worked wonders.
“The lace went through, and it was kind of loose,” Thompson said. “[He needed a] 12 1/2 so Carson Bailey threw them off and here we go. I haven’t seen that one at all. It was kind of weird.”
Green struck out the next three batters he faced to escape the two-on, no-out jam he found himself in. As the 21st consecutive left-handed starter for the Bears, Green utilized his breaking pitches efficiently and had at least two strikes in the count against all five batters he faced.
Baylor’s unprecedented run of left-handed starting pitchers is the only time in program history such a string has come together. With the addition of Green into the fold, there is no sign of the streak snapping this season.
Junior Ethan Calder and freshman Carson Bailey have been fixtures in the rotation since Opening Weekend, while redshirt senior Bryson Bales, junior Stefan Stahl and redshirt sophomore Caleb Jameson have all seen time on the bump as starters. The only left-handed pitcher on the roster who hasn’t started at least one game this year is sophomore RJ Ruais, who started two games in 2024.
Baylor and Cincinnati are the only two teams in the Big 12 rostering seven left-handed hurlers. Arizona State and West Virginia are the only other teams nearby with six. With the fourth-best ERA in the Big 12 (4.27) and the fewest walks allowed, Thompson has been pleased with the different vantage points the Bears’ pitching staff brings.
About 25% of Major League Baseball pitchers are left-handed, a number that mirrors the estimated 20-25% population in the NCAA. However, MLB found that only 10% of the population is left-handed, making elite left-handed pitching hard to find and extremely valuable.
Coming into Tuesday, 46.8% of Baylor’s innings had been thrown by left-handed pitching, a number that will only increase if Green can stay active and efficient.
After retiring the side in the first, Green came off the field with a smile. Sophomore catcher JJ Kennett sprinted over to the foul line to meet him, patted his chest and hugged the left-hander to signal the end of the outing.
“He’ll give us a lift and give us another quality arm to use from here on out,” Thompson said.
The Bears (21-10, 5-7 Big 12) will be back in action at 6:30 p.m. Friday to open a three-game series against Texas Tech (9-20, 5-7 Big 12) at Rip Griffin Park in Lubbock.
