Baylor Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader Against Youngstown State

Sat Feb 15 21:44:41 CST 2025

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Feb. 15, 2025

Baylor Baseball Sweeps Doubleheader Against Youngstown State
Bears complete first Opening Weekend series sweep since 2019
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball won both ends of a doubleheader Saturday against Youngstown State with 16-4 and 12-4 victories, respectively, at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

The Bears (3-0) completed their first Opening Weekend series sweep since 2019, and first such sweep in a three-game series since 2017. BU mashed its way to a pair of wins with 16- and 17-hit performances and received two solid starts out of senior lefty Bryson Bales and senior right-hander Cole Stasio.

Offensively, senior outfielder Wesley Jordan led the way with six hits on the day, including a two-run homer and an RBI triple, finishing with a total of six runs batted in. Four other Bears also tallied multi-hit efforts in both ends of the twin bill.

THE RUNDOWN – GAME ONE
Bales came out of the gates dealing and struck out the first seven batters he faced to start the day. He faced the minimum through three innings without allowing a hit, then Baylor’s offense struck first in the bottom of the third behind an RBI single from redshirt senior outfielder Enzo Apodaca.

The Penguins responded in the top of the fourth with a two-run blast to go ahead 2-1. But, BU answered with a six spot in the bottom half on five hits, two walks and a YSU error. Sophomore catcher JJ Kennett singled in a pair and senior infielder Tyriq Kemp doubled him home, while senior outfielder Ty Johnson, Apodaca and Jordan each picked up RBIs in the inning.

YSU would throw the next punch by scoring two runs in the top of the sixth to cut the Baylor advantage to 7-4. Senior right-handed pitcher Will Glatch got the Bears out of trouble with a big strikeout to strand a pair of runners in scoring position.

BU broke it wide open in the bottom of the sixth with nine runs on seven hits, two walks and three hit-by-pitches. Apodaca tripled in redshirt sophomore infielder Jack Little, then scored on another Jordan RBI base hit. Kennett drove in two with his third hit of the game and later scored on Little’s bases-clearing double. Fifth-year senior designated hitter Hunter Simmons put the cherry on top with a two-run single, pushing the lead to 16-4.

Glatch remained in the game and worked around a one-out walk to seal the run-rule victory.

THE RUNDOWN – GAME TWO
YSU threatened early in the series finale, but Stasio left the bases loaded and allowed the Bears to score first yet again with a pair of runs in the home half. Back-to-back RBI singles by Simmons and Johnson gave BU a two-run lead after the opening frame.

In the second, the Penguins knotted things up with a two-run double, but Baylor responded right back with five runs in the bottom half. Kemp got it started with a solo home run and Jordan left the yard three batters later with a two-run shot, making it 5-2. An RBI double from freshman infielder Pearson Riebock and a balk allowed one more run to cross the plate.

As Stasio put up two more zeroes, the Bears added another run off Jordan’s RBI triple in the third and took an 8-2 lead all the way through to the seventh inning.

After trading scoreless innings, YSU had some life in the top of the seventh with another two-run double, cutting the BU lead to 8-4. Once again, the Bears would answer with consecutive RBI base hits from Little and Apodaca. Another Jordan run-scoring hit capped off the rally with Baylor ahead, 12-4.

Sixth-year senior righty Gabe Craig came in for the ninth and retired the side with two punchouts to secure the series sweep.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor completed its first Opening Weekend sweep since 2019 and first such sweep in a three-game series since 2017.
• BU now leads the all-time series, 5-2, against Youngstown State.
• The Bears tallied at least 13 hits in all three games against the Penguins and scored double-digit runs in three-consecutive games for the first time since April 2-6, 2024.
• Three Bears logged multi-hit performances in all three games of the weekend series in Jack Little, Wesley Jordan and Hunter Simmons.
• Five Bears collected multi-hit efforts in both end’s of Saturday’s doubleheader in Jack Little, Enzo Apodaca, Wesley Jordan, Hunter Simmons and Tyriq Kemp.
• Baylor scored nine runs in a single inning for the first time since April 13, 2024, at BYU.
• BU had nine consecutive batters reach base safely for the first time since March 29, 2022, against UT Arlington.
• Senior LHP Bryson Bales became the first Bear to strikeout at least six batters in a row since April 2, 2024.
• Redshirt sophomore RHP Lucas Davenport made his Baylor debut and collected his first strikeout as a Bear.
• Senior RHP Will Glatch earned his first-career save in game one, pitching 1.2 scoreless innings.
• Fifth-year senior RHP Cole Stasio collected his first win since April 4, 2023, vs. Stephen F. Austin.
• Junior LHP Stefan Stahl made his Baylor debut with a scoreless inning of relief in game two.
• Senior righty’s Patrick Hail and Andrew Petrowski each made scoreless appearances out of the bullpen in game two.
• Freshman RHP Camden Clewett made his collegiate debut.
• Junior RHP Grayson Murry made his Baylor debut and recorded two outs.
• Sixth-year senior RHP Gabe Craig pitched a scoreless ninth inning to end game two and fanned two.
• Senior OF Wesley Jordan extended his on-base streak to 37 games, tying Davis Wendzel and Josh Ford for the second-longest such streak since David Murphy reached in 42 straight in 2003.
• Jordan tallied two extra-base hits in game two, including his first home run of the season.
• Sophomore C JJ Kennett tallied his first hit, RBI, multi-hit game and multi-RBI effort as a Bear.
• Senior INF Tyriq Kemp tied a career-high with two doubles in game one.
• In game two, Kemp crushed his first home run of the season.
• Freshman INF Pearson Riebock recorded his first-career hit, RBI, extra-base hit and multi-hit game in game two.

STAT OF THE DAY
9 – Baylor scored nine runs in an inning for the first time since April 13, 2024, at BYU and had nine consecutive hitters reach base safely for the first time since March 29, 2022.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On sweeping the first series of the season…
“It’s what the doctor ordered. I think we got great performances from the guys on the mound. We had a bunch of guys get out there, and I think we’ll keep getting better and better and better on the mound. And then offensively, there’s a whole bunch of guys that really swung the bat well and it was good to see the lineup keep turning over.

Senior Infielder Tyriq Kemp
On the pitching staff’s dominant weekend…
“That’s an amazing feeling. I mean, during practice we had a rough time sometimes (against the BU pitching staff). [Other teams] will get some hits, but I’m just proud of them.”

Senior Outfielder Wesley Jordan
On what it means to sweep the opening series…
“Just getting back out there with all 40 [players on the team] against somebody else is a blast. We’ve had a lot of competition this fall, so finally getting to see what we have together is a lot of fun.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (3-0) hosts UTSA (0-2) for a midweek matchup scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 18, at 6:30 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_3294401818]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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