Baylor Baseball Quieted by K-State, 8-2

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 21, 2025

Baylor Baseball Quieted by K-State, 8-2
Bears outhit Wildcats, but drop series opener
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 its Big 12 home opener to Kansas State, 8-2, Friday night at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

Though the Bears out-hit the Wildcats, 8-7, BU left 11 men on base and couldn’t overcome a four-run second inning by K-State, which included a three-run home run. Two Wildcats combined to hold off the Baylor offense for 8.2 innings in starter Jacob Frost and reliever James Guyette, who earned his second win of the season.

Three Bears collected multi-hit games in redshirt senior outfielder Enzo Apodaca, who doubled in both of Baylor’s runs in the fifth inning, redshirt senior designated hitter Hunter Simmons and senior catcher Cortlan Castle.

Senior right-hander Caleb Bunch was solid out of the bullpen, fanning a season-high four batters in four innings of one-run work. His only blemish was a solo home run in the top of the ninth, despite not allowing a walk in his four frames.

THE RUNDOWN
After both sides were held to zeros in the first, K-State opened the scoring in the top of the second after a run crossed the plate on an RBI fielder’s choice. One batter later, KSU catcher Bear Madliak hit a three-run homer to give the Cats a 4-0 lead.

K-State extended its advantage in the third thanks to an RBI groundout and added two more in the fifth on a sacrifice fly and RBI single, taking a 7-0 lead into the bottom of the fifth.

That’s when Apodaca lined a two-run double into the right field corner, scoring Castle and redshirt sophomore infielder Jack Little to get the Bears on the board. However, that’s as much as they would get as Guyette entered and halted the rally.

Bunch came on in the top of the sixth and retired nine in a row to put up three zeros and kept Baylor with a chance to get back in it, but a solo home run in the top of the ninth cushioned the K-State lead at 8-2.

Baylor loaded the bases with two outs after being down to its last strike twice in the bottom of the ninth, but a flyout kept BU from scoring and sealed the series-opening win for the visitors.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor still holds a 55-34 advantage in the all-time series against Kansas State.
• The Bears are 2-2 against the Wildcats under third-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
• BU pitchers recorded double-digit strikeouts for the ninth time this season.
• The Bears allowed just two walks on the mound, marking the 12th time this season that the pitching staff has walked two or fewer in a game.
• Redshirt sophomore INF Jack Little extended his on-base streak to 16 games.
• Redshirt senior OF Enzo Apodaca recorded his sixth multi-hit and sixth multi-RBI game of the season.
• Apodaca logged his 13th game of the 2025 season with both a hit and an RBI.
• Senior OF Wesley Jordan extended his on-base streak to six games.
• Redshirt senior DH Hunter Simmons extended his on-base streak to 27 games, dating back to the 2023 season, and extended his hitting streak to a team-leading 13 games with his 10th multi-hit effort of the year.
• Freshman INF Pearson Riebock extended his on-base streak to 11 games.
• Redshirt sophomore INF Travis Sanders extended his on-base streak to six games.
• Senior C Cortlan Castle extended his on-base streak to five games and recorded his third multi-hit game of the year.
• Senior RHP Caleb Bunch fanned a season-high four batters in four innings of one-run relief.

STAT OF THE DAY
12 – BU pitchers allowed two walks or fewer for the 12th time this season.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On missing a big hit with runners in scoring position…
“We had a couple opportunities, we didn’t have many, but we had a chance to kind of get back in it. Caleb Bunch did a great job of throwing up zeros and giving us a chance to come back. But, we have to do it with the bat too, and that’s where I’m saying it’s either a total team win or a total team loss. Tonight was definitely a loss. I give K-State credit. Their guys threw the ball well. They didn’t make any mistakes. We did, and they ended up winning the game.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (15-6, 1-3) and Kansas State (14-7, 4-0) return for game two of the weekend series on Saturday, with first pitch set for 2 p.m. from Baylor Ballpark. The Bears will recognize the 20th Anniversary of their 2005 College World Series team with a special pregame ceremony.

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_73482184]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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