Browsing: Jack Little

When redshirt sophomore second baseman Travis Sanders dug into the batter’s box to lead off the ninth inning, he wasn’t going to be beaten. In a 1-2 count, Sanders drilled the first Baylor baseball walk-off home run since May 19, 2022, pulling the Bears past Houston Christian University, 3-2, Tuesday night at Baylor Ballpark.

Rolling into Sunday afternoon with their first Big 12 series win under their belt, Baylor baseball stumbled, allowing 10 runs in the first inning and falling 11-6 in the series finale against No. 23 Arizona at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Ariz.

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.

On the first pitch of the top of the seventh inning, Baylor baseball freshman third baseman Pearson Riebock smashed a fly ball to right-center field. Primed to trot around the bases for the first time in his career, No. 8 Oregon State junior right fielder Easton Talt had other plans.

It only took one game for Baylor baseball’s pitching staff to dominate under first-year pitching coach Sean Snedeker. Earning the Opening Day start, Calder racked up a career-high 13 strikeouts — the most by a Baylor pitcher since 2011 — and allowed just one run on two hits in five innings of work en route to the Bears’ 10-3 win over Youngstown State.

After an injury-riddled 2024 season, some familiar faces at Baylor Ballpark have worked their way back onto the field for Baylor baseball during fall ball and established themselves as cornerstones heading into the 2025 season.

With a year under his belt, head coach Mitch Thompson enters year two with a new motto: “To be the best, you have to beat the best.” And the Bears will get a chance to do just that as the first month of their season features the most difficult schedule in Division I, based on last year’s win percentage and RPI.