Baylor Baseball Shuts Out Utah, Clinches Series Win

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 19, 2025

Baylor Baseball Shuts Out Utah, Clinches Series Win
Bears take no-hit bid into the 8th, Sanders and Pendergrass hits three home runs in 9-0 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 took a combined no-hitter into the eighth inning and hit three home runs in shutting out Utah, 9-0, in the Saturday finale to clinch the weekend series at Baylor Ballpark.

Sophomore southpaw Mason Green and sixth-year senior left-hander Bryson Bales combined for 6.2 hitless innings of work on the mound, though the Utes broke through against junior right-hander Grayson Murry for their first hit of the ballgame to lead off the top of the eighth. That trio, plus senior righty Will Glatch, fanned six in the combined shutout, BU’s third of the year.

At the plate, four different Bears tallied multi-hit performances, including redshirt sophomore infielder Travis Sanders who notched his first-career multi-home run game. Redshirt senior outfielder Enzo Apodaca was a home run shy of the cycle, redshirt senior designated hitter Hunter Simmons added two knocks and redshirt senior first baseman Will Pendergrass launched a grand slam, his first long ball of the year, to power Baylor to victory.

THE RUNDOWN
After Apodaca lined a leadoff triple to center field that narrowly avoided the glove of a diving Ute, red-hot senior shortstop Tyriq Kemp drove him in with a sacrifice fly to give BU the early 1-0 lead.

On the mound, Green retired nine of the 10 batters he faced with one strikeout, allowing just one walk in the first three frames. Bales came on to start the fourth inning and set down the Utah offense in order with a punchout to start his relief outing.

In the bottom half of the fourth, Baylor extended its advantage with three walks sandwiched between two big flies. The first was a solo shot off the bat of Sanders, a laser line-drive over the right-center wall, later followed by Pendergrass’ grand slam, BU’s first salami of the season, that put the Bears ahead 6-0.

Bales continued to mow down the Utes, adding two more punchouts to his total and continuing the staff’s no-hit bid through the fifth. Baylor added some insurance in the home half with another sacrifice fly, this time from Simmons to increase the gap to 7-0.

In the sixth, Kemp made a pair of tremendous plays at shortstop to preserve the no-no, including a Derek Jeter-esque jump throw and a diving play up the middle to snare a short hop.

Murry took the ball from Bales with two away in the seventh and recorded the final out of the frame, keeping the no-hit bid alive into the eighth.

Sanders launched his second solo shot of the game in the bottom of the seventh, swelling the BU advantage to 8-0, before the Utes ended Baylor’s bid for history in the top of the eighth as a pinch hitter delivered a single through the infield to break up the no-hitter.

Murry responded by rolling a double play the ensuing at-bat and struck out the final batter of the inning, getting the Bears back up to the plate where they’d add one more run to their total as Sanders walked with the bases loaded for his third RBI of the day.

In the ninth, BU called on Glatch to get the final three outs on just 11 pitches, securing the 9-0 shutout victory and the series win for the Bears.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor secured its second Big 12 series of the season and tied the all-time series with Utah, 2-2.
• BU collected its third shutout of the season.
• The Bears improved to 16-2 when allowing two walks or less in games this season.
• Baylor recorded double-digit hits for the 18th time this season and improved to 14-4 in such games this year.
• BU hit two home runs in the fourth inning, marking the fifth time the Bears have logged a multi-HR inning this season.
• The Bears allowed just two hits, a season-best.
• Redshirt senior OF Enzo Apodaca extended his hitting streak to six games and tallied his third three-hit performance of the season.
• This was Apodaca’s 13th multi-hit game of the year and third time this season logging multiple extra-base hits.
• Senior INF Tyriq Kemp extended his hitting streak to 15 games.
• Redshirt sophomore INF Travis Sanders recorded his first-career multi-home run game, his 11th multi-hit game of the season and third multi-RBI effort of the year.
• Sanders tied his career high with three RBIs.
• Redshirt senior DH Hunter Simmons collected his 16th multi-hit game of the season.
• Redshirt senior 1B Will Pendergrass launched his first home run of the year, a grand slam in the fourth inning, BU’s first grand slam of the season.
• Pendergrass logged his first multi-hit and multi-RBI games of 2025.
• Sophomore LHP Mason Green worked a season-high three innings without allowing a hit or a run.
• Sixth-year senior LHP Bryson Bales recorded his fourth scoreless appearance of the season, did not allow a hit and fanned four in 3.2 innings.
• Junior RHP Grayson Murry made his ninth scoreless appearance of the year.
• Senior RHP Will Glatch recorded his 11th scoreless outing of the season.

STAT OF THE DAY
6.2 – Sophomore LHP Mason Green and sixth-year senior LHP Bryson Bales combined to no-hit Utah through 6.2 innings and struck out a combined five batters.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On the series win...
“I think this is the best two games we’ve played all year back-to-back like that, just complete games. We pitched, played defense, swung the bats, and really competed well up and down the lineup. It feels great, I mean, Thursday we got punched in the mouth, and seeing the guys respond the way they have the past two days says a whole lot about their character and commitment.”

Sixth-Year Senior LHP Bryson Bales
On the pitching staff's near no-hit bid...
“I made the mistake of looking up at the scoreboard in the fourth inning because I couldn’t remember if [Mason] Green gave one up or not. But his outing was awesome, especially coming back from injury, and [Will] Pendergrass’s grand slam just gave me the confidence to go out there and pound the zone. But overall, it was a huge confidence boost for me, and I hope the other pitchers can see this and roll with it. We know our stuff is good, and we can go put up zeros on the board.”

Sophomore LHP Mason Green
On his start today...
“We knew we, as a pitching staff, needed to get back in it and build some confidence, put some zeros on the board, and win a ballgame. So yeah, it was great, especially after coming back from the injury. It's hard to see everyone else have all the fun while you’re sitting, and you'll take two hits and no runs any day of the week.”

Redshirt Senior 1B Will Pendergrass
On his grand slam...
“It felt really good, I kinda blacked out in the moment to be honest, but I was looking for a ball up, preferably a heater, but it ended up being a cement mixer slider at the top of the zone and I didn’t miss it.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (25-14) takes on HCU (22-15) in a midweek matchup at Baylor Ballpark on Tuesday night, April 22, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m. 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_270955632]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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