Baylor Baseball Evens Series With 4-3 Win Over Houston

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 5, 2025

Baylor Baseball Evens Series With 4-3 Win Over Houston
Riebock singles in winning run in the eighth, Bunch shuts the door in victory
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball evened its series against Houston with a 4-3 victory over the Coogs on Saturday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

The Bears (21-9, 5-6) scored the deciding run in the bottom half of the eighth to pull off the late comeback and even the series with the Cougars (17-13, 4-7). Upperclassmen tallied six of BU’s eight hits and drove in three of the four Baylor runs, as redshirt senior outfielder Enzo Apodaca and senior catcher Cortlan Castle both tallied multi-hit efforts. However, it was the freshman infielder Pearson Riebock who provided the clutch RBI single to give the Bears the lead going into the ninth inning.

Senior right-hander Caleb Bunch was excellent in relief, punching out a season-high four batters in three scoreless innings to earn the win. Bunch piggybacked off a strong outing from freshman southpaw Carson Bailey, who pitched a career-high six innings and fanned six without allowing an earned run.

THE RUNDOWN
Apodaca got things going in the bottom of the first with a line-drive double out of the leadoff spot and later wheeled around on senior infielder Tyriq Kemp’s RBI knock that gave BU an early 1-0 lead.

Bailey started strong with four strikeouts and no hits allowed through the first three innings of work. Baylor added to its lead in the bottom of the third with a two-out RBI double from redshirt senior designated hitter Hunter Simmons to go ahead 2-0 into the fourth.

That’s when UH responded by loading the bases and scoring three runs on a BU error to gain a 3-2 advantage.

Baylor answered back in the sixth as Castle drove in one with an RBI double to deadlock the score at 3-3. Bunch came on to start the seventh and retired the side in order with a pair of punchouts to keep things tied.

In the eighth, Riebock’s clutch two-out single just barely evaded the glove of a diving Cougars shortstop to plate Apodaca and give the Bears a 4-3 lead. That’s all Bunch would need, as he once again retired the side in order with two more strikeouts in the ninth to secure the victory.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor now leads the all-time series, 91-73, against Houston.
• BU pitchers recorded double-digit strikeouts for the 10th time this season.
• The Bears improved to 15-1 when striking out at least nine batters on the mound.
• Baylor is now 8-1 against fellow teams from the state of Texas this season.
• BU is 7-2 this season in games following a loss.
• Redshirt senior OF Enzo Apodaca extended his on-base streak to 14 games and recorded his ninth multi-hit game of the year.
• Apodaca doubled twice for the ninth time in his career. This is his third game in 2025 with multiple extra-base hits.
• Senior OF Wesley Jordan extended his on-base streak to 13 games.
• Redshirt senior DH Hunter Simmons extended his on-base streak to 36 games, dating back to the 2023 season.
• Simmons’ streak is tied for the fifth-longest on-base streak by a Bear in the Statcrew era (since 2003), matching Max Muncy’s 2012 streak.
• Senior INF Tyriq Kemp extended his hitting streak to six games.
• Senior OF Ty Johnson extended his on-base streak to seven games.
• Senior C Cortlan Castle tallied his fifth multi-hit game of the year.
• Freshman LHP Carson Bailey recorded his first-career quality start, striking out six and allowing zero earned runs in a career-high six innings of work.
• Senior RHP Caleb Bunch made his eighth scoreless appearance of the year and struck out a season-high four batters in relief to earn his first win as a Bear.

STAT OF THE DAY
0 – Baylor pitchers Carson Bailey and Caleb Bunch combined to allow zero earned runs and fanned 10 in the win.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On evening the weekend series…
“We were able to bounce back today. I thought we pitched well. Carson Bailey pitched well going six innings. I thought [Caleb] Bunch was awesome in his three innings; he was a real change of speed from what they saw with Carson. We need to clean some stuff up defensively, it’s just a combination of little things that can get you beat, but I’m thankful it didn’t get us beat today.”

Senior RHP Caleb Bunch
On picking up his first win of the season…
“In the bullpen warming up, I felt the curveball today. Normally, the changeup is my thing, but the curveball was really working for me today. Coach [Snedeker] saw that from the beginning of my outing and we kept going back to it and it kept working.”

Senior C Cortlan Castle
On the team’s comeback victory…
“That was a really gritty win. Yesterday didn’t go our way, and obviously we were frustrated. That being said, I feel like our team has responded every game this year, and we were able to respond today, which was good.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (21-9, 5-6) and Houston (17-13, 4-7) return for a rubber match on Sunday, April 6, at 1 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

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 | Director of Athletics Communications (Baseball, Football)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-265-1639

[signature_3183713144]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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