Baylor Baseball’s Late Comeback Bid Falls Short Against No. 25 Auburn

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 2, 2025

Baylor Baseball’s Late Comeback Bid Falls Short Against No. 25 Auburn
Bears score three runs in the final two innings, but drop 7-4 ballgame to Tigers
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

ARLINGTON, Texas – Baylor baseball dropped its weekend finale at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, 7-4, to No. 25 Auburn on Sunday evening at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

The Bears scored three runs in the final two innings, but left the tying run on deck as Auburn won its 10th in a row and finished off a weekend sweep at GLF.

Redshirt sophomore infielder Jack Little gave the Bears a kickstart with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first, but that’s all the offense BU could muster against Tigers’ starter Christian Chatterton, who struck out nine in five innings of two-hit and one-run work.

Baylor starter fifth-year senior right-hander Cole Stasio couldn’t escape the third, as four runs on six Tiger singles chased him from the ballgame. Auburn added four more singles and a late two-run home run to keep the Bears at arm’s length.

An eighth-inning two-run shot by redshirt senior outfielder Enzo Apodaca provided a late spark and BU showed life in the ninth, getting each of the first two batters on base before Apodaca drove in another with a sacrifice fly. But that would be all as the Bears left the would-be tying run on deck to end the night.

THE RUNDOWN
After Stasio faced the minimum in the first, including a 9-6 putout from Apodaca to senior infielder Tyriq Kemp that cut down a Tiger trying to stretch a single into a double, Baylor threw the first punch in the form of Little’s mammoth leadoff blast.

However, Auburn took the lead in the top of the second after four singles, including two with two outs, pushed across two runs. The Tigers added two more in the third on an RBI single and a hit by pitch with the bases loaded.

In the fifth, two walks and an RBI single increased the Auburn lead to 5-1. Baylor wouldn’t threaten again until the bottom of the seventh, as freshman infielder Pearson Riebock and sophomore catcher JJ Kennett recorded back-to-back two-out singles, but the Bears would leave the duo stranded in scoring position to end the frame.

A two-run blast in the top of the eighth extended the Tigers’ advantage to 7-1, but BU responded with a two-run shot of its own off the bat of Apodaca in the bottom half. The Bears had two runners reach with two outs thanks to an Auburn error and a walk, but Baylor couldn’t cash in and trailed 7-3 heading to the final frame.

In the bottom of the ninth, Kennett reached on an error to start the inning and wheeled around to third base on a Kemp double. After a strikeout, Apodaca delivered a sac fly to trim the deficit to 7-4, but that would be all as a groundout capped off the game.

HIGHLIGHTS
• The all-time series between Baylor and Auburn is now tied, 1-1.
• Baylor hit five home runs on the weekend and has homered in four of its last five ballgames.
• Redshirt sophomore INF Jack Little crushed a leadoff homer, the first by a Bear since Enzo Apodaca left the yard to start the ballgame at West Virginia on April 26, 2024.
• Little also tallied his sixth multi-hit and third multi-RBI games of the season.
• Redshirt senior OF Enzo Apodaca logged his third multi-RBI game of the year and crushed his second home run of the season.
• Apodaca has recorded a hit and an RBI in eight of BU’s 11 games in 2025.
• Senior OF Wesley Jordan produced his fifth multi-hit effort of the season.
• Senior DH Hunter Simmons extended his on-base streak to 18 games, dating back to the 2023 season.
• Senior INF Tyriq Kemp extended his on-base streak to 10 games.
• Redshirt sophomore LHP Caleb Jameson pitched a season-high 2.1 innings of relief.
• Senior RHP Caleb Bunch matched a season-high with three innings of work on the mound.
• Sophomore LHP RJ Ruais made his second scoreless appearance of 2025.

STAT OF THE DAY
8 – Redshirt senior OF Enzo Apodaca notched his eighth game of the season with both a hit and an RBI.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On measuring success after this weekend…
“I thought our guys competed hard today. I was disappointed we couldn’t get the win. We’re trying to win. The only way we can really measure success is if you win or not. This weekend it didn’t go our way enough. We played really good people and we’re learning. We’re learning about our club and one thing we’re learning is that we’ve got a bunch of fighters. We’ve got a bunch of guys who are going to compete. Our intent, our effort and our execution has been really good.”

Redshirt Senior OF Enzo Apodaca
On competing against ranked opponents…
“We had good momentum coming into this weekend and we were able to pick up a win yesterday. We’ll be trying to flush these last two losses and move on to next week. I know this team can bounce back really fast. That’s something special that we have this year, we don’t let it sit. We’re quick to move on and eager to get back for our next win.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (8-3) returns home to start a five-game stretch at Baylor Ballpark on Tuesday against Tarleton (4-8), 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_1019377196]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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