By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
After being deadlocked at two through the first four innings, Baylor started to get early traffic in the top of the fifth.
Redshirt sophomore catcher Brayden Buchanan got hit by a pitch, freshman outfielder Bo Caraway walked and sophomore infielder Cade Dodson singled in his return to UTA to load the bases with no outs. Redshirt junior infielder Travis Sanders cashed in for two runs with a ground ball that snuck its way into center field.
With a new pitcher inserted after the Sanders single, fifth-year outfielder Ty Johnson singled to fill the bases for the second time in the inning. Freshman outfielder Brady Janusek drew a six-pitch walk to extend Baylor’s lead to 5-2.
The three-run fifth inning lifted Baylor (19-13, 7-5 Big 12) over UT Arlington (13-18, 2-1 WAC) 5-2.
The Mavericks jumped out to an early lead when second baseman Xavier Melendez launched a 406-foot shot to give his team a 2-0 lead.
It was all Baylor after the first-inning home run. Buchanan drove in sophomore infielder Pearson Riebock from second base to cut the deficit to one in the second.
Freshman outfielder Bo Caraway led off the next inning by dodging a tag from UTA first baseman Noah Fields, who had trouble gathering a chopper. Caraway stole second base, setting up Johnson (2-for-5) to hit an RBI single to tie the game 2-2.
Sanders’ two-run single in the fifth extended his on-base streak to 35 games, stretching back to last season. The mark ranks eighth in the program since 2003.
“As a leadoff hitter, the goal is to get on base,” Sanders said. “Getting on base, coming up at the top of the lineup, being that table setter, it’s cool to have done it 35 times.”
While Dodson finished 1-for-2 with a run scored, the other UTA transfer — redshirt senior first baseman Tyce Armstrong — went 1-for-5 in his first game back in Arlington.
Baylor utilized seven arms throughout Tuesday’s contest. The six relievers dealt seven shutout innings with five strikeouts after redshirt freshman right-hander Cayden Baker allowed the two runs in the first.
“We’ve got some dudes that every time we go out there, we’re confident in our abilities,” said redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Brayden Bergman, who threw two scoreless innings. “For me, I went out there, threw strikes, trusted my pitches, trusted [pitching coach Sean Snedeker’s] pitch calling and did my thing.”
The Bears travel north to face off against Cincinnati with the first game of the series starting at 5 p.m. Friday at UC Baseball Stadium.
