By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor, Video by Nate Smith | Broadcast Reporter No. 12 Baylor football is walking into a burning house coming off a bye week and a big win against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla. After a weekend of upsets, in which all favored teams in the Big 12 were defeated, the undefeated Bears sit alone on top of the conference and are one of eight teams in the nation without a loss so far. But according to head coach Matt Rhule, the rankings and hype are just outside noise. For Rhule and his team, it’s all…
Author: Dj Ramirez
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor soccer returns to Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field this weekend for its final homestand of the regular season, hosting No. 17 Texas Tech on Thursday and Iowa State on Sunday for Senior Day. The Bears come off a 4-0 shut out over TCU on Sunday in Fort Worth where senior forward Raegan Padgett netted two goals against the Horned Frogs, recording her first career multi-goal match. The Bears managed to put up an impressive game on both sides of the ball despite going through another lightning delay at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium. Padgett said Baylor…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor men’s golf rounded out its fall schedule Tuesday with a second-place finish at the Royal Oaks Intercollegiate after shooting 10-under-par 274 and jumping one spot from Monday’s round at the Royal Oaks Country Club in Dallas. Baylor entered the day at third but finished with a three-round total of 16-under 836. All five members of the Bears lineup recorded top-20 individual finishes and combined to shoot 8-under on the back-9 with 11 birdies against only three bogeys after the turn. Senior Colin Kober led Baylor, tying for eighth at 5-under 208 after shooting 1-under…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports WriterAs the controversy between the NBA and China grows after the tweet sent out by Rockets general manager Daryl Morey in early October, I have been thinking more about the relationship between sport and politics and whether the two should even intersect. There is a reason I prefer writing about sports rather than politics. Politics tend to create rifts within society rather than bring people together the way that sports do. Trust me, I don’t care if you’re a Republican or a Democrat, but if you’re a Yankees fan, we cannot be friends. But as…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorNo. 14 Baylor football was not supposed to win in Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday. But even with several of their veteran players missing from the field, the Bears managed to score 21 unanswered points against Oklahoma State in the fourth quarter to take a 45-27 victory. This is only the second time in the Big 12 era that Baylor has won a game in Stillwater, Okla. The last win came in 2015, but before then the Bears had not won an away game against the Cowboys since 1939. Head coach Matt Rhule knew it…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorAfter a tough 2-1 loss at home to the Texas Longhorns, Baylor soccer bounced back with a 4-0 shutout against TCU Sunday in Fort Worth. Another lightning delay pushed back kickoff to almost three hours, but the Bears were able to play this one out, having already rescheduled the match once. Head coach Paul Jobson said the team played dominantly against a good Horned Frogs squad.“Really proud of our team’s performance tonight. Even after a long lightning delay, they were ready to play,” Jobson said. “These girls put together a dominant 90 minutes against a…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorIn preparation for the 2019 Big 12 Championship, Baylor cross country heads back down Highway 6 to College Station for the Arturo Barrios Invitational at Texas A&M’s Dale Watts Cross Country Course. There will be 18 men’s teams and 17 women’s teams running in the race Saturday morning for a total of 35 ranked squads. Baylor associate head coach Jon Capron said he is excited to see his team compete in a bigger race against some new faces, as well as against teams they have faced all through the fall. “I think it’s going to…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorIt was a tale of two games Saturday at McLane Stadium as No. 18 Baylor hosted Texas Tech for Homecoming, defeating the Red Raiders in their first trip to the banks of the Brazos 33-30 in a double overtime battle. Rather than a shootout, the first half was a defensive standoff with very little offensive production from either team. It wasn’t until the second half that the tides changed and the contest became a “shootout in every sense of the word.”“I’ll say this. I said to Matt [Wells] at the end of the game, ‘I…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor When October comes to Waco, so does the Heart O’ Texas Fair & Rodeo. While many flock to the grounds of the Extraco Events Center to fill up on fried fair food and take a spin on the Ferris wheel, the inside of the coliseum is where all the excitement takes place. A practice that finds its roots in the cattle industry of the old American West, rodeo competitions remain a staple of Texas culture and the H.O.T. Fair & Rodeo. According to Kelly Lovell, Wednesday night’s barrel-racing champion in the All American ProRodeo…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorSlow and steady wins the race and after walking on to Baylor’s cross country team as a freshman, slow and steady is how Peoria, Ill. senior Lindsay Walton became one of the Bears’ best runners. Being a walk-on is a difficult journey for any athlete no matter the sport. For Walton it was a “slow progression” to the top, but the senior said she felt she had the potential to improve over time. “We came in with a lot of super-fast girls and I don’t ever think that I was like gunning for them but…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor Baylor soccer will host West Virginia for its first home conference match of the season tonight at Betty Lou Mays Field. The Bears return to Waco after a 1-1 week in the Sunflower State that saw a 1-0 overtime win against Kansas State and a 4-1 loss to then-No.17 Kansas (now No. 21). The win over the Wildcats marked Baylor’s first Big 12 opening win since the 2015 season. The Bears have now played six overtime matches this season and are now 3-0-3 in overtime matches. Eleven of Baylor’s 15 goals this year have…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor women’s basketball opened practice for the 2019-2020 season on Monday afternoon at the Ferrell Center where, according to head coach Kim Mulkey, the reigning national champions got off to a fast start, despite the fatigue that comes with the first practice of the year. “It’s always good to get them back on the floor. It’s hard to believe that this season is already here,” Mulkey said. “Without a doubt, we are farther along today than we were this time a year ago. We had five freshmen last year and because I had them two…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorThe Big 12 is a conference of quarterbacks and going into Saturday’s matchup between Baylor and Iowa State, all eyes were on the Bears’ Charlie Brewer and the Cyclones’ Brock Purdy. Ranked fifth and sixth respectively in conference passing efficiency, it could be said that both signal callers played in similar ways. But Brewer and Purdy had two completely different games in their Big 12 opener.Purdy’s numbers looked formidable coming into the game, averaging 362 yards of total offense per game and breaking an Iowa State school record against Louisiana-Monroe last weekend with 510 yards…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor soccer finished its nonconference schedule with a 2-1 overtime win against Gonzaga Sunday afternoon at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field. The Bears played a total of 206:12 over the weekend after tying No. 2 USC on Friday night.Head coach Paul Jobson was happy with the way his team relentlessly pushed through the game.”A lot of resiliency from our team today. We could’ve bowed out at any moment. We could’ve used any excuses. We rode some momentum from Friday night’s match,” Jobson said. “Gonzaga’s a great team, they pushed us to the brink today. They…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor football scraped by with a 21-13 victory over Rice University Saturday night in Houston. The Bears finished their nonconference schedule 3-0 after a tough game against the Owls. Baylor dominated the first half, scoring all three of their touchdowns before halftime, but fell flat in the second half. The Bears’ defense carried the load throughout the night as the Owls had possession of the ball for 32:15, a 5:45 edge over the Bears. Head coach Matt Rhule said that the role the defense played was essential for the win. “You know first half we…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor If you’re tired of the predictable, cookie-cutter superhero action story line and are still nursing your disappointment from “Deadpool 2,” then Amazon Prime’s “The Boys” is definitely the show you need. Based on the Garth Ennis/Darick Robertson comic of the same name, the show was brought to life by executive producers Eric Kripke (“Supernatural” and “Timeless”), Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen follow a mismatched group of vigilantes as they try to bring down The Seven, the world’s most elite superhero squad, and the mega corporation behind them. In this reality, the good guys are…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor cross country will be heading to College Station today to compete in the Texas A&M Invitational after having the week off. The Bears started the season at home in the Bear Twilight Invitational where they took second behind the University of Texas. Associate head coach Jon Capron said he’s excited to race some new teams, especially the Aggies. “It’s going to be pretty familiar. There’s a lot of the teams that were at our first meet so that’s going to be nice, but there are some new faces too. I’m kind of excited about…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorI don’t know if I really have the words to describe how much I love my job. I always knew I wanted to be a writer, but I was never really sure what kind of writer I wanted to be. I finally decided I wanted to go into sports journalism when I was working for my high school yearbook. I always had more fun working on the sports pages than anything else. There’s an indescribable feeling I get when I cover games — when I’m sitting in the press box trying to gather every detail,…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor, Video by Drake Toll | Broadcast Reporter Baylor men’s tennis head coach Brian Boland walked into the Hurd Tennis Center on Monday morning with a cup of coffee in his hand, despite the fact that it was Labor Day, after having returned from New York City. The second-year head coach had spent the last week watching his top recruit compete in one of the biggest tournaments the sport of tennis has to offer: the US Open. Eighteen-year-old Jenson Brooksby, who signed a letter of intent last December to play tennis for Baylor, made an…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor women’s golf is ready to hit the green. The Lady Bears, who finished their last season tied for eighth in the NCAA East Lansing Regional, begin a heavy fall schedule with a trip up to Dallas to compete in the Trinity Forest Invitational. While head coach Jay Goble is excited to get his team back on the course, the most important work will be done when the spring comes. “Our message always stays pretty consistent this time of year. You know, we don’t need to be playing our best golf in September. We’re looking…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorNo. 20 Baylor volleyball went for back-to-back sweeps this weekend in the Husker Invitational after defeating No. 18 Creighton 25-20 in all three sets Saturday afternoon at the Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln, Neb. The Bears swept the unranked UCLA Bruins in three sets on Friday night and achieved their first ranked win of the season with their victory over Creighton. Head coach Ryan McGuyre said that he thought the team earned their points against a well-trained Bluejays squad. “Creighton is such a good team, a trained team. They are low error, so naturally it…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor cross country enjoyed some pleasant running weather as they took second in the Bear Twilight Invitational on Friday afternoon, falling behind Texas in the both the women’s 4,000-meter and men’s 6,000-meter races at the Heart of Texas Soccer Complex. Head coach Jon Capron was happy with the way his team ran, especially the freshmen. “It’s kind of hard to see who’s running full strength, we sat a good number too, but I was really pleased,” Capron said. “I challenged the younger crew, ‘Hey if there’s a hole, I want you to just step into…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorThe best stories are meant to make you uncomfortable. They’re meant to stir something inside you. They’re meant to start a conversation. From the very beginning of its controversial existence, Netflix’s “Thirteen Reasons Why” has attempted to do just that. Whether they have actually succeeded in starting the conversation they were aiming for after the release of its third season still remains to be proven. Like in previous seasons, the show attempts to bring to light difficult topics such as sexual abuse, abortion, family separation due to legal status, drug abuse, mental health and toxic…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorWith new threads and a new field, Baylor soccer opened the official season with a 4-2 win over Northwestern State on Sunday afternoon at Betty Lou Mays Field, making it the eighth opening victory for the Bears in the last nine years. Although the Bears started out aggressive, outshooting the Lady Demons 7-2 in the first half, head coach Paul Jobson felt his team played better in the second half. “I think we gave a little bit too much,” Jobson said. “Defensively, we weren’t as good as we needed to be today, for sure. The…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor volleyball is not taking the easy road into the fall. Before heading north for back-to-back tournaments in Nebraska and Wisconsin from Friday to Sept. 6, the Bears will be taking a trip a little closer to home for an exhibition match against Texas A&M Saturday. According to redshirt senior middle blocker Shelly Fanning Stafford, it will be just like any other away game. “We’re going a night early, going to get a good night sleep, Coach [Ryan McGuyre] is going to give us a bedtime story,” Stafford said.Coming off its highest finish in Big…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor For the first time in the history of Baylor’s baseball program, two of its players were selected in the first round of the 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft on Monday night. Junior starters Shea Langeliers and Davis Wendzel heard their names called the day after they donned their Baylor uniforms for the last time. With the ninth overall pick, the Atlanta Braves selected Bears catcher Langeliers, who finished his final season as a collegiate ballplayer with a .308 batting average, 10 homeruns and putout 14 would-be base stealers despite a hamate injury in his…
By Cameron Stuart | Reporter LOS ANGELES- The No. 2-seeded Baylor baseball team suffered a defeat in the first game of the Los Angeles regional 3-1 to Loyola Marymount on Friday, making it the third straight year they have started the NCAA tournament with a loss. The Bears offense, which led the Big 12 conference in batting average at .314, was held to just four hits, behind a baffling performance from LMU starter Codie Paiva. Paiva earned the win by going 7.2 innings and giving up just one run on four hits and striking out five. Baylor head coach Steve…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports Editor For the second year in a row, Baylor baseball’s “Road to Omaha” begins on the West Coast. The Bears are taking on “the city of stars” after being named the No. 2 seed in the Los Angeles regional, which will be hosted by the No. 1 nationally ranked UCLA Bruins. While the team was surprised by their spot in the bracket, senior second baseman and California native Josh Bissonette said that they are excited to play there again. “Last year we didn’t really expect to go to Stanford’s regional and so this year we…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorBaylor baseball will be leaving Bricktown Ballpark empty handed this year as they fell 5-2 to the TCU Horned Frogs in a suspended elimination game of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament. After seven innings on Friday night, the Bears found themselves trailing by three runs, but a rain delay kept their hopes of catching up alive. Game play resumed at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning with redshirt sophomore Daniel Caruso sending the Frogs down in order in the top of the eighth and senior closer Kyle Hill continuing his scoreless inning streak with a…
By DJ Ramirez | Sports EditorAfter dropping the final series of the regular season to No. 3-seeded Oklahoma State last weekend, the No. 2-seeded Baylor baseball team bounced back with an 8-2 victory over the No. 7-seeded Oklahoma Sooners on Wednesday afternoon as they looked to defend their Big 12 Tournament title. But where they chased OU starter Cade Cavalli with two home runs, the Bears were held hitless through five innings by Cowboys’ starter Jensen Elliot and were shutout 5-0 on Thursday night. According to head coach Steve Rodriguez Baylor didn’t take the opportunities they needed to against Oklahoma…
