Baylor Baseball Battles No. 21 DBU, But Falls 6-5

Tue Apr 11 22:54:47 CDT 2023

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 11, 2023

Baylor Baseball Battles No. 21 DBU, But Falls 6-5
Patriots make leaping catch on Simmons’ bases-loaded line drive in the ninth to escape with a win
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

DALLAS – Baylor baseball (12-21) loaded the bases and had the tying run just 90 feet away with two outs in the ninth, but came up just short to No. 21 Dallas Baptist (24-9), 6-5, Tuesday night at Horner Ballpark in Dallas.

A leaping catch in center field snagged junior OF Hunter Simmons’ screaming line drive that would have cleared the bases and given the Bears the lead, but instead resulted in the game’s final out. After being down to their last strike, junior INF/OF Cole Posey notched a two-out single, then sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky blooped one in and freshman INF Kolby Branch worked an impressive walk to give Simmons the chance to do damage with the bases full of Bears.

In the back-and-forth affair, Baylor battled to tie the ballgame twice after trailing, and even took a 5-3 lead into the bottom of the fifth. BU did well to keep things tied until the bottom of the eighth, when DBU scratched across what proved to be the game-winning run.

THE RUNDOWN
The Patriots plated the game’s first run in the bottom of the first with an RBI single, but Baylor answered right back in the top of the second with a solo shot from Simmons, his second of the year.

DBU broke the first deadlock in the bottom of the second thanks to a solo home run, then added another on a sacrifice fly to make it 3-1.

In the top of the third, the Bears scored three to charge ahead. Branch drove home a pair with a sharp single to right field, then sophomore 1B John Ceccoli delivered a sacrifice fly to make it 4-3, Bears.

Junior RHP/OF Cole Tremain beat out an infield single in the top of the fifth that allowed Branch to score and extended BU’s lead to 5-3. But, a two-run homer by DBU evened the scoreline once again in the bottom of the inning.

The game would remain tied until the bottom of the eighth, after junior RHP Cole Stasio got five big outs, including a pair of punchouts, before handing the ball off to fellow junior righty Grant Golomb. He had DBU’s Jace Grady fooled on two changeups, but couldn’t put him away as the Patriots’ center fielder came through with the go-ahead RBI double that proved to be the game-winner.

In the ninth, down by a run and facing one of the nation’s best closers, Baylor rallied to load the bases and bring Simmons to the plate. Unfortunately, a line drive clocked at 105 miles per hour off the bat found Grady’s glove in center and ended the game inches away from extra bases.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor logged 10 strikeouts for the 17th time this season.
• BU tallied 10 hits for its 15th double-digit hitting performance of the year and 11th time in its last 17 games.
• Sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky extended his on-base streak to 21 games and his hit streak to nine games.
• Freshman INF Kolby Branch recorded his 14th multi-hit game and eighth multi-RBI performance of the season.
• Junior INF/OF Cole Posey collected his 11th multi-hit game of 2023.
• Junior OF Hunter Simmons hit his second home run of the year.
• Junior RHP Anderson Needham worked his ninth scoreless outing of the year and fifth in a row.
• Junior RHP Cole Stasio pitched his eighth scoreless outing of the season.
• Sophomore RHP Gabe Craig worked his eighth scoreless outing of 2023.

STAT OF THE GAME
10 – Baylor had 10 hits and 10 strikeouts for the sixth time in the same game this season.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On tonight’s game…
“Just a really good college baseball game. Two teams really competing hard. We had a great environment on a great night, great weather and a packed house. Guys were getting after it. Disappointed that last swing didn’t get another foot over his head and turn in to three runs, it was that close. It’s never over until it’s over. Our guys understand that and were competing until the last pitch. That was inches from being three runs and taking the lead. It was a fun game. I hate that we lost, but we couldn’t have competed any harder.”

On takeaways heading into a big weekend at home…
“We’re going to play in a great environment here at home against a great team. It’s going to be a fight. I’m excited for our guys and excited for our fans. I can’t wait to see how it goes this weekend.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (12-21, 4-8) hosts No. 12 Texas (24-11, 6-3) for a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark in Waco, beginning Friday night at 6:30 p.m.

To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.

-BaylorBears.com-

__________________________________

Max Calderone | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (BSB, FB, EQ)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-265-1639

[signature_1943012977]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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