Baylor Baseball Drops Series Opener to Utah

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 17, 2025

Baylor Baseball Drops Series Opener to Utah
Bears fall in 13-1 ballgame on Thursday night
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball dropped the first of its three-game series against Utah Thursday night at Baylor Ballpark in Waco, 13-1.

BU was unable to keep up with Utah’s performance at the plate, as the Utes racked up 13 runs on 16 hits, including eight for extra-bases. Sophomore right-hander Colter McAnelly fanned seven in seven innings of one-run work to hold the Bears’ bats at bay.

Redshirt senior outfielder Enzo Apodaca and redshirt sophomore Travis Sanders tallied multi-hit performances, while sophomore southpaw RJ Ruais collected his sixth scoreless appearance of relief in 1.2 hitless innings.

Junior left-handed starter Ethan Calder was sharp early on, recording five strikeouts in his first four innings pitched. The Bears trailed 2-1 until the Utes broke it open in the fifth with five runs and went on to score in each of the next three frames to pull away.

THE RUNDOWN
After trading scoreless innings, Utah struck first in the top of the third with back-to-back doubles that scored a pair of runs. But, Baylor answered right back in the bottom half as Apodaca crossed the plate on a wild pitch.

In the fifth, the Utes added to their lead with a five-run frame that included an RBI single to the opposite field, a bases-clearing double and a sacrifice fly. Two more came across for the visitors in the sixth on a two-run single and a solo home run extended the lead to 10-1 in the seventh. Back-to-back long balls capped off Utah’s scoring in the eighth.

Ruais entered to collect the final two outs of the eighth inning and retired the side after a leadoff walk in the ninth for his sixth scoreless outing of the year. Utah had faced the minimum over the final three innings to seal the series opener.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Redshirt senior OF Enzo Apodaca recorded his 11th multi-hit game of the year.
• Senior INF Tyriq Kemp extended his hitting streak to 13 games.
• Redshirt sophomore INF Travis Sanders extended his hitting streak to eight games and recorded his 10th multi-hit game of the year.
• Senior OF Ty Johnson extended his hitting streak to five games.
• Sophomore LHP RJ Ruais made his sixth scoreless relief appearance of the year, pitching a season-high 1.2 innings.

STAT OF THE DAY
11 – Redshirt sophomore infielder Travis Sanders has 11 hits in his last five games, and redshirt senior outfielder Enzo Apodaca notched his 11th multi-hit game of the season.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On the team leaning on each other after tonight’s loss…
“That’s all we have is each other, and we’re going to wrap our arms around each other. I think we have enough to compete, and I think we can compete better than we did tonight. That game got away from us. We put some good swings on some balls, hit some on the money right at them. But you have to handle the game in the little circle in the middle of the field and you have to compete every pitch at the plate. When you don’t, then all of a sudden things get away sometimes.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (23-14, 6-10) looks to even the series with Utah (16-17, 5-11) on Friday night at Baylor Ballpark in Waco. First pitch is scheduled for 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 | Director of Athletics Communications (Baseball, Football)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-265-1639

[signature_2249043371]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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