By Foster Nicholas | Sports Editor
When junior outfielder Caleb Bergman stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning as a pinch hitter, the last thing on his mind was leaving the yard. But as fate would have it, on a full count pitch, Bergman put a charge into a 376-foot solo home run — his first longball in a real game in four years.
“[That was] amazing — nothing I’ve ever felt before in baseball,” Bergman said. “I’ve only had one in intersquads, and that really doesn’t mean much. It means so much to have the few at-bats I have and let it rip.”
Bergman’s blast capped off Baylor baseball’s 13-4 win over UT Arlington Tuesday night at Baylor Ballpark. Head coach Mitch Thompson’s Bears reached base 23 times and had four players pick up two or more hits, but no at-bat was more impressive than Bergman’s.
“That was a good one, wasn’t it?” Thompson said. “The dugout reaction was a lot of fun. Bergie doesn’t hit many, you can count them on hand in [batting practice] — and probably count them on one or two fingers in BP in three years. It was a special deal, and everybody on the team loved it.”
The Bears (17-7, 2-4 Big 12) hit around in the bottom of the second inning, scoring the game’s first six runs after loading the bases with one out. A walk and a hit-by-pitch plated the first two before redshirt senior left fielder Enzo Apodaca clubbed a two-run single to right field. A fielder’s choice then set up redshirt senior designated hitter Hunter Simmons and freshman third baseman Pierson Riebock, each adding a run to the tally with singles.
Simmons extended his on-base streak to 30 games, spanning across the past three seasons, going 2-for-3 with two runs and a hit by pitch. Riebock went 2-3 with two runs, two runs batted in and two walks.
“We’re not worrying about the future at all,” Apodaca said. ‘The most important game is the game we’re playing right now. That’s just how we talk about every game, and it’s been working out so far. I think that’s why we have so much success in midweek [games].”
With Thompson opting for a bullpen day, junior left-handed pitcher Stefan Stahl and redshirt senior left-handed pitcher Bryson Bales (2-2), who earned the win, opened the game with a scoreless inning each. Tuesday marked the 13th consecutive game started by a left-handed pitcher, something Thompson guaranteed was a program record.
“That’s never happened in my career, never even close! It’s 13, Jiminy Christmas,” Thompson said. “There aren’t many [streaks] all-time in college baseball like that. So that’s pretty cool.”
Redshirt senior right-handed pitcher Cole Statsio struggled in the third, going 1.0 inning and allowing two runs off a solo home run and three singles before retiring to the side. Freshman right-handed pitcher Camden Clewett was tasked with the fourth but only recorded two outs before being pulled after allowing a run on two walks, a hit-by-pitch and two wild pitches. Sophomore lefty RJ Ruais relieved Clewett and ran into similar trouble, escaping the fourth but allowing an RBI in the fifth and lasting just 0.2 innings.
Baylor added insurance in the fourth inning as Simmons roped a leadoff double and Riebock plated him with a triple off the left-field fence. Redshirt sophomore left fielder Gavin Brzozowski, who went 2-for-4 with two runs, smoked a single through the right side to score Riebock and later scored on a fielder’s choice.
The Simmons and Riebock show continued in the fifth, as they reached on a hit-by-pitch and walk with two outs, respectively. Redshirt sophomore Jack Little came through in a 1-0 count, dropping an RBI single into right field to bump Baylor’s lead to 10-4.
Redshirt sophomore second baseman Travis Sanders, (3-for-3, two runs and a walk) and senior center fielder Ty Johnson (1-for-3, two runs, three RBI, two BB) hit back-to-back doubles to open the bottom of the sixth inning. Two pitches later, Johnson stole third, and the throw glided into left field, allowing him to score. Despite adding two more runners with no outs, the Bears couldn’t tack on more, heading to the seventh on top 12-4.
Senior right-handed pitchers Caleb Bunch, Will Glatch, Gabe Craig and Drew Leach combined to strike out six across the final 4.2 scoreless innings. Bunch and Glatch each fired 1-2-3 innings, with Glatch striking out the side in the seventh.
“We’re continuing to try and give guys opportunities to pitch and to get experience and improve,” Thompson said. “We’re doing that earlier in the game, it seems like, because I don’t want to be doing it late in the game, depending on how it’s going.”
The Bears will be back in action opening up a three-game series against No. 12 Arizona (18-5, 5-1 Big 12) at 8 p.m. Friday at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Ariz.
