By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
Making a push for the postseason, Baylor baseball handled Sam Houston with a 15-4 victory Tuesday night at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville.
Tying a season-high 14 strikeouts on the mound and seeing four players tally multi-hit games, head coach Mitch Thompson’s Bears (28-16, 9-12 Big 12) moved to 9-1 in midweek contests.
“Virtually every guy that went out there for us today was really good,” Thompson said. “I could start naming names — [Stefan] Stahl, [Grayson] Murry, [Andrew] Petrowski, [RJ] Ruais — were all really good towards the end of the game. [Caleb] Jameson was pretty good, too. They all filled up the strike zone and made pitches. You’ve got to be pleased with that for sure.”
In his first career start, redshirt freshman first baseman John Youens went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and two runs batted in. Redshirt senior right fielder Enzo Apodaca, redshirt sophomore second baseman Travis Sanders and redshirt sophomore left fielder Gavin Brzozowski all recorded two-hit games and combined for seven runs scored.
“I was really excited; just blessed for the opportunity that Coach Thompson gave me,” Youens said. “My heart was pounding; I was just super stoked for the opportunity. Right when the first pitch was thrown, I felt like I was locked in from there and felt pretty good. Just really blessed to be in a spot where I had guys in front of me doing their job, getting on base, that’s what makes the game fun.”
Redshirt sophomore left-handed pitcher Caleb Jameson (2-0) earned the win, going two scoreless innings while racking up three strikeouts. Senior right-handed pitcher Hunter Teplanszky followed, going a career-long two innings and allowing two runs on one hit and two walks.
Redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Cole Stasio allowed the final two runs for Sam Houston on four hits in his lone inning of work. Left-handers Stefan Stahl and RJ Ruais and right-handers Grayson Murry and Andrew Petrowski all delivered one scoreless inning and combined for nine of Baylor’s 14 strikeouts.
The green and gold opened the scoring with four runs in the second inning, capped off by a two-run home run by Sanders. A five-run fifth boosted the Bears’ lead to 9-2 as Brzozowski and Youens swatted two-run singles after senior shortstop Tyriq Kemp drove in a run with a single two batters earlier.
Baylor added three more in the seventh and ninth innings as the pitching staff continued its dominance. With a road victory under their belt, the Bears are set to host seven games as they make a push toward the postseason.
“We’re excited to go back to Waco and play here now,” Thompson said. “We need to go take care of business, create a great atmosphere, pack that ballpark and have a lot of fun with it in the next week and a half. I’m looking forward to it.”
The Bears will open a three-game series against Arizona State (28-16, 14-7 Big 12) at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Baylor Ballpark.
