By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
In the 10th inning, senior catcher Cortlan Castle hit a soft line drive that popped out of the center fielder’s glove, scoring senior center fielder Ty Johnson to beat UT Arlington 9-8 Tuesday night at Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington.
With one out in the top of the 10th inning, Johnson (2-for-5, 2 R) laid down a successful bunt. Redshirt freshman left-handed pitcher Ty Zahradnik tried to make a play, but his throw went past the first baseman and into the right field corner, sending Johnson to third.
Castle (2-for-4, 2 RBI) stepped up with a blooper into center field that could not be corralled by the diving reach of junior Xander McAfee, sending Johnson home and giving Baylor (23-13, 6-9 Big 12) the win.
Tuesday’s matchup was back-and-forth with two lead changes, three ties and four innings with multiple runs scored.
Senior left fielder Wesley Jordan (3-for-5, 2 RBI) opened the gates in the first inning for the Bears with a one-out double. Senior designated hitter Hunter Simmons drove him in with an RBI double down the right field line. Freshman third baseman Pearson Riebock (3-for-5) followed with a two-RBI single to give the green and gold a 3-0 lead.
UT Arlington (13-20, 5-4 WAC) answered with an RBI single to cut the lead to two runs through one inning. Baylor followed up with an RBI single off the bat of Castle.
The Mavericks started to take control of the game with two sacrifice flies in the second to tie the game. They tacked on four more runs on a solo home run, sacrifice fly and two RBI singles in the bottom of the third to make it a 7-4 ballgame in the blink of an eye.
A 410-foot home run over the batter’s eye from Jordan and three shutout innings from the bullpen shifted the momentum in Baylor’s favor.
Redshirt sophomore first baseman Jack Little scored on a wild pitch to start the scoring in the top of the seventh. Jordan lined a double into the right-center field gap, driving in senior right fielder Enzo Apodaca to tie the game at 7-7. Jordan reached home plate on another wild pitch to take the Bears’ first lead since the second inning.
UT Arlington wasn’t done quite yet, tying the game with a run off of a wild pitch through Castle’s legs in the bottom of the eighth.
A scoreless ninth set up Castle and the Bears for the late-game RBI to top UT Arlington.
Baylor had a bullpen day on the mound, featuring eight pitchers through the ten innings. Junior left-handed pitcher Stefan Stahl started the game with three runs on five hits in his two innings of work. The next five pitchers for the Bears threw a combined five innings, allowing seven hits and four runs. Redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Gabe Craig (1-0) went two scoreless innings and earned the win. Junior right-hander Grayson Murry closed out the game with one clean inning to earn the save.
The group recorded the pitching staff’s 12th game with 10 or more strikeouts, dealing 13 in the winning effort.
The Bears return to the diamond for a three-game series against Utah beginning at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Baylor Ballpark.
