By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor Dear Readers,I don’t even know where to begin. Y’all know that moment when you’re sleeping and all of a sudden it feels like you’re falling so it startles you awake? I keep waiting for that moment. I keep waiting to wake up and realize it was all just a really annoying dream. But so far that hasn’t happened. Even before I became a sports journalist, sports had a big impact on the rhythm of my life. I know that a lot of people will relate when I say everything just feels out of sync…
Author: Dj Ramirez
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor baseball has been placed in self quarantine after coming into indirect contact with three TSA agents that tested positive for COVID-19 in San Jose, Calif., during the team’s return from San Luis Obispo, Calif. where they played a series against Cal Poly last weekend. According to a statement released by the university, the 14-day quarantine period dates back to the team’s arrival on Monday and will continue through Sunday, March 22. Players, coaches and staff will remain in quarantine in Waco or at their permanent residences, and all activities have been suspended. No symptoms…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorThe Big 12 has canceled both its men’s and women’s basketball tournaments in Kansas City amid concerns about the spread of COVID-19, also known as coronavirus. The conference announced Thursday morning that will cancel all tournaments through April 15, including the equestrian and gymnastics championships. “After consultation with our Board of Directors it was decided that canceling these championships was in the best interest of the health and safety of our student-athletes,” said Commissioner Bob Bowlsby, according to the release. The Baylor women’s basketball team received word of the tournament cancellation before its flight left…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorNo. 2 Baylor women’s tennis earned its 10th win of the spring with a 6-1 conference victory over West Virginia Saturday at the Hurd Tennis Center. After 11 matches, the Bears have already surpassed their win total from the 2019 season (9). Head coach Joey Scrivano said Baylor’s success this year isn’t surprising. “We could see the team building to this,” Scrivano said. “Even last season, the culture was really healthy and everything was going in the right direction, but it wasn’t showing up on the scoreboard. This season, we have great depth and an…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorNo. 27 Baylor women’s tennis opened conference play with a 6-1 victory over Iowa State Friday night at the Hurd Tennis Center, playing outdoors for the first time this season. The Bears got the doubles point to set the tone for the match with two of three wins on courts one and three. Senior Angie Shakhraichuk and sophomore Paula Barañano dropped the Bears’ only doubles loss 6-2 to Cyclones freshmen Thasaporn Naklo and Christin Hsieh on court two. Juniors Mel Krywoj and Alicia Herrero Linana grabbed the first half of Baylor’s doubles point with a…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorThe 8-4 Baylor baseball team hits the road for the second straight weekend in its first true road test of the season, taking on Cal Poly in a three-game series. The Mustangs made the trip to Waco last year, falling to the Bears in two of three games at Baylor Ballpark. Baylor will be looking to erase a 12-2 midweek loss to Texas State, which the Bears suffered coming off a sweep of the Shriners College Classic in Houston. Senior Sunday starter Hayden Kettler, who had a clean and effective outing against No. 13 Arkansas…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor baseball’s senior righty Luke Boyd earns the Lariat Sports Athlete of the Weekend, recording three of his five saves this season during the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston this past weekend. The senior closer sealed Baylor’s wins over Missouri, No. 21 LSU and No. 13 Arkansas as the Bears swept their three SEC opponents. Boyd struck out two batters in each of his outings and only one hit across the last three games. The California native holds a 0.00 ERA through seven outings this season. Boyd was…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorUnder the bright lights of a big-league stadium and the cheers of a mostly hostile crowd, Baylor baseball swept the SEC to earn the Shriners Hospitals for Children College Classic tournament crown with a 3-2 victory over No. 13 Arkansas on Sunday night. It was the first time the two teams met since the Razorbacks put an end to Baylor’s magical 2012 season in the Waco Super Regional eight years ago. This time, it was the Bears’ turn to crush the Hogs’ hopes of leaving Texas with a win as they had been upset by…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorLast time the Baylor Bear baseball team walked into Minute Maid Park, it saw the end of their early season winning streak with a 5-2 loss to Texas A&M in the opener of the 2019 Shriners College Classic.Hitting the road for the first time in the 2020 season, the Bears are hoping to carry on the momentum from Wednesday’s 2-0 victory over UT Rio Grande Valley into this year’s Shriners Classic as Baylor faces a stacked field of SEC teams.With some younger faces in the infield, who aided the Bears with three double plays against…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorAfter taking a 7-4 win Saturday to even up the series against Oral Roberts, Baylor Baseball dropped the rubber match 4-2 Sunday at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears are 4-3 seven games into the season.Baylor played two clean defensive games over the weekend after an uncharacteristic performance Friday, with only a throwing error in the column on Sunday, and pitching remained strong for the Bears. Although Baylor wasn’t able to get it going offensively to close out the series, head coach Steve Rodriguez said he was happy with what he saw out of the defense.“Friday was…
Redshirt sophomore first baseman Chase Wehsener took metal to leather on a 2-0 fastball to blast a 397-foot home run over the left-center field wall and open the scoring Friday night at Baylor Ballpark, but ultimately Baylor baseball fell 7-3 to Oral Roberts in the series opener. After Wehsener’s bomb in the second inning, the Bears managed to bring in runs in the fifth and eighth but nine walks and six defensive errors were Baylor’s undoing as the Golden Eagles capitalized to bring in seven runs on eight hits. Head coach Steve Rodriguez said the team was “on their heels…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorThe Baylor Lariat contacted University Daily Kansan sports editor Jack Johnson to inquire about his thoughts on the highly anticipated matchup between No. 1 Baylor men’s basketball and No. 3 Kansas: As someone who’s covered this team, and obviously Kansas has been a powerhouse for a really long time, what do you think has contributed to its success over this season? Johnson: I definitely think it’s been the health of Udoka Azubuike. They lost him last year, the beginning of conference play, and that really sent them into a nosedive. They really struggled to find…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorSometimes you just have a bad inning. After Baylor baseball got over a horrible 42-minute first inning in which they gave up 11 runs to Nebraska in the season opener, the Bears bounced back to take the series from the Huskers and then run-ruled Arkansas Pine-Bluff 10-0 on Tuesday. Now, as they prepare to take on Oral Roberts this weekend, junior shortstop Nick Loftin said the team learned just how resilient they are, particularly after the opening loss. “We could have let that dictate what we did the rest of the series, but we came…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorI think all of us baseball fans took big, deep breaths as soon as we entered our respective ballparks, relishing in the sights, sounds and smells that indicated the beginning of baseball season. And then a lot of us immediately wished we were watching from the warmth and comfortable safety of our couches. Friday night was brisk to say the least, but the Texas Tech bats were hot. The Red Raiders bulldozed through their opponents over the weekend, totaling up 65 runs over four games, including 46 on Saturday alone. Tech got major breakout performances…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorAfter flushing away Friday night’s opening loss, Baylor baseball evened up the series against Nebraska with an 8-7 walk-off win Saturday and then took the series with a 7-2 victory Sunday in the rubber match. Head coach Steve Rodriguez said that he doesn’t really put too much importance on the season opener because he understands there’s going to be first-game jitters for a lot of his players. “I told them after Friday’s game that I don’t give a lot of credence to the first game of the year,” Rodriguez said. “It’s kind of a nerve-racking…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorThe University of Nebraska had the win in their back pocket before Baylor could even record an out as the Bears dropped the season opener to the Huskers 19-9 Friday night at Baylor Ballpark. Nebraska plated 11 runs in the top of the first inning, taking advantage of three Baylor errors to blow open the game. It took the Bears 42 minutes to come out for their first at-bat. Head coach Steve Rodriguez said it was one of the most “bizarre” first games he’d ever been a part of. “It wasn’t pretty by any stretch,”…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaseball’s in the air as the Baylor Bears open the 2020 season against Nebraska tonight, looking to go 3-0 this weekend after dropping the series to the Huskers 2-1 in last year’s meeting. Head coach Steve Rodriguez said the team is healthy and full of excitement to start the season after a long winter of work. “I think these guys have been working really hard for a lot of months now and tomorrow is just a fun day, it really is,” Rodriguez said. “It’s really nice [to play in front of a home crowd], especially…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorCollege baseball starts Friday and I’d be lying if I said I wasn‘t counting down the hours until the first pitch of the season. With five teams nationally ranked in the Top 25 by several publications, the Big 12 is shaping up to be highly competitive this season. So, here’s a look at where the teams stand in the preseason. 1. Texas TechWith six first place votes in the Big 12 Preseason Poll, the Red Raiders are an obvious No. 1. Despite having lost third baseman Josh Jung, first baseman Cameron Warren and outfielder Gabe…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorFourteen members of the Baylor baseball team have been suspended for parts of the upcoming season due to a hazing incident that took place in February 2019. The suspensions were announced by Baylor vice president and director of intercollegiate athletics Mack Rhoades Friday through a press release. Each student-athlete involved will be suspended two games over the next three weeks, beginning with the season opener against Nebraska next Friday. Rhoades said the university does not take hazing incidents lightly. “Our priority is to provide a safe and caring environment for all student-athletes,” Rhoades said. “This…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor With less than a month to put together a new coaching staff and hit the recruiting trail, Baylor football head coach Dave Aranda brought in five new signees to the Bears’ 2020 recruiting class for National Signing Day Wednesday. “I’m so blessed to have all the help of the university and the campus in this recruiting process,” Aranda said in his press conference Wednesday afternoon. “I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been having kids on campus and parents and families that come tour inside and talk about the people here, how they’re…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorThe Big 12 Baseball Championship is coming back to Texas. Globe Life Field, the Texas Rangers’ new ballpark, will serve as the site for the Big 12 Baseball Championship Tournament from 2022 to 2024, the Big 12 Conference announced Wednesday morning. But Big 12 baseball fans don’t have to say goodbye to Oklahoma yet. Oklahoma City’s Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark will still be host to the tournament at the end of the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The league has played 20 of its 23 championships in Oklahoma City, with Tulsa, Okla., serving as host in 2015…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorAfter five years at Baylor, Shelly Stafford is one step closer to achieving her dreams. The All-American middle blocker signed her first professional contract Thursday to play for the Puerto Rican professional women’s volleyball league. “It’s always been a dream of mine to play professionally,” Stafford said in a phone interview with the Lariat, on Friday before her departure. “Obviously it’s a huge dream of mine to play in the Olympics. This is a stepping stone for me and I’m super excited.” Stafford is joining the Indias de Mayagüez, who were league champions in 2013.…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorFor the past few weeks, every time I open my closet in the morning to get ready for the day, I’ll see my Astros jersey hanging there, the blue and orange peeking from in between my jackets and flannels, and feel a pang of disappointment. I wonder when I’ll be able to wear it proudly again without feeling slightly heartbroken and angry about what’s transpired in the past few months.But one of the things that frustrates me the most is that people are using Houston as a scapegoat for something that happens all over baseball.I’m…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorUnder clear blue skies and a little afternoon sunshine, Baylor baseball took to the field for the first official spring practice Friday as the Bears prepare for their season opener on Valentine’s Day. After losing two power bats to the major league draft in Shea Langeliers and Davis Wendzel, Baylor’s biggest strength coming into the 2020 season is a deep and experienced pitching staff. According to head coach Steve Rodriguez, the Bears won’t have to wonder about who they put on the mound. “We have two weekend starters coming back. Possibly three,” Rodriguez said. “The…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorAs the news that NBA superstar Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna had perished in a helicopter crash shocked the world, the baseball community also suffered from the heartbreaking events that unfolded in Calabasas, Calif., Sunday afternoon. Among those that lost their lives in the crash were Orange Coast College head baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and youngest daughter Alyssa, who was a basketball teammate of Gianna Bryant. Baylor baseball’s volunteer assistant coach Mitch Karraker, who coached with Altobelli on the national collegiate team in 2016 and was a former teammate of…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorNo. 5 Baylor men’s tennis already had a full arsenal of talent and competitive edge. Add to that the most sought-after recruit in the nation and the Bears could be on their way to their best season yet. Sacramento, Calif., freshman Jenson Brooksby has already faced one of the biggest challenges in tennis on one of the biggest stages: the U.S. Open. The then-18-year-old made headlines when he defeated former Wimbledon finalist Tomas Berdych 6-1, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the opening round of the main draw at Flushing Meadow in New York City. And even…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor softball isn’t used to being anywhere near the bottom of the totem pole. Yet with four Women’s College World Series appearances and 13 NCAA regional appearances in the last 15 years, head coach Glenn Moore and his team were put through the ringer in 2019. The Lady Bears finished the year with a 18-31 overall record and missed the postseason for only the third time in the last 16 years. But according to Moore, that adversity is why this year’s squad is going to be better than ever. “It was a tough year of…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorNo. 5 Baylor men’s tennis opened the season with doubleheader wins over Boise State and UT Arlington Saturday at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center. The Bears’ 7-0 sweep of the Broncos marked head coach Brian Boland’s 600th career victory, making him one of three Baylor coaches (softball’s Glenn Moore and women’s basketball’s Kim Mulkey) to reach the landmark. Baylor returned to give Boland his 601st win with a 6-1 defeat of the Mavericks. After the final match, the second-year head coach thanked the fans for showing up to support his team in the opener. “That…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor Baylor women’s tennis shut out Georgia State 7-0 in its season opening match Friday night at the Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center to improve to a 15-3 record in season openers under head coach Joey Scrivano. Scrivano said he was proud of his team for playing disciplined and handling the match well. “They did a great job with the mental aspect,” Scrivano said. “Georgia State came out and they competed really hard. We knew they were going to be a feisty, loud and really competitive team. Our team did a great job of handling that.…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorThe reigning Big 12 Men’s Tennis Tournament Champions don’t have time to look to the past. As the No. 5 Baylor men’s tennis team prepares to begin the 2020 spring season, the Bears are looking to add more success to the Baylor name this year. “I think the guys are very excited to compete,” head coach Brian Boland said. “This is a competitive group of guys. They’ve worked really hard. We added a ton of depth this year, some new blood to the program, so I think that’s made things even more exciting and we’re…
