Baylor Baseball Takes Opener Over Arizona State, 7-4

Sat May 3 00:24:12 CDT 2025

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – May 2, 2025

Baylor Baseball Takes Opener Over Arizona State, 7-4
Six-run seventh inning propels Bears to series-opening 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 topped Arizona State, 7-4, Friday night at Baylor Ballpark to open up a three-game series in Waco.

Behind a six-run seventh inning, the Bears (29-16, 10-12) claimed their 11th come-from-behind victory of the season, overcoming a 4-1 deficit to take the series opener. Senior outfielder Wesley Jordan had two hits and drove in three runs, including a game-tying double in the seventh, to lead BU offensively.

Three ASU (30-17, 14-8) errors in that same six-run seventh frame aided in the comeback win, as Baylor called on sixth-year senior closer Gabe Craig to lock down a six-out save, his eighth of the year. Sophomore southpaw Mason Green was sharp early on for BU on the bump, tossing a season-best four scoreless innings before handing the ball off to the bullpen.

Junior lefty Stefan Stahl got the win, his second of the season, while four more Bears had both a hit and scored a run in the victory.

THE RUNDOWN
Green was good from the get-go, retiring the first six he faced on just 15 pitches. The Bears threatened for the first time in the bottom of the second, loading the bases with two outs, but were unable to cash in on the run-scoring opportunity.

Senior center fielder Ty Johnson made an outstanding catch to start the top of the third, bringing back a potential solo home run and helping Green retire the side in order for the third inning in a row. In the home half, BU got on the board with Jordan’s RBI double that gave the Bears a 1-0 lead.

ASU had its first baserunner reach via a walk to begin the fourth inning, but he was later erased on a lineout double play that ultimately capped off Green’s outing. The product of Cypress, Texas, faced the minimum across four clean frames and handed the ball off to sixth-year senior lefty Bryson Bales with a 1-0 advantage.

Bales made use of an inning-ending double play in the fifth, but was tagged for four runs in the top of the sixth on a pair of two-run blasts that put the Sun Devils ahead, 4-1.

Back-to-back singles got Baylor going in the bottom of the seventh and after two outs, the Bears plated one run on a Sun Devil error to make it 4-2. Then, Jordan missed a go-ahead home run by mere inches, but doubled in two runs with a laser off the top of the left-center wall to knot the scoreline at 4-4. Two more Sun Devil errors and a clutch two-strike knock from Johnson accounted for three more runs, as BU climbed back in front at 7-4.

>From there, it was all Craig on the mound as he slammed the door shut with four strikeouts in two scoreless innings, putting the stamp on the series-opening victory for the Bears.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Tonight’s win marked Baylor’s 11th come-from-behind victory of the season, having erased a 4-1 deficit.
• BU improved to 6-8 all-time against Arizona State.
• Redshirt senior OF Enzo Apodaca extended his hitting streak to 12 games.
• Redshirt sophomore INF Travis Sanders extended his hitting streak to seven games.
• Senior INF Tyriq Kemp extended his on-base streak to 21 games.
• Redshirt senior DH Hunter Simmons reached base for the eighth-consecutive game.
• Senior OF Wesley Jordan delivered his 12th multi-hit and 10th multi-RBI efforts of the year.
• Freshman INF Pearson Riebock extended his on-base streak to eight games.
• Senior OF Ty Johnson collected his 100th-career hit.
• Sophomore LHP Mason Green worked four scoreless frames, his longest outing of the year and third scoreless appearance of 2025.
• Junior RHP Grayson Murry recorded his 12th scoreless appearance of the season.
• Junior LHP Stefan Stahl notched his seventh scoreless outing of the year and picked up his second win of the season.
• Sixth-year senior RHP Gabe Craig collected his eighth save of the year in his 17th scoreless appearance, 12th hitless outing and 13th multi-strikeout performance of 2025.

STAT OF THE DAY
6 – Baylor scored six runs in the seventh inning to erase a 4-1 deficit; it’s BU’s 11th six-run or better inning of the season.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On keys to tonight’s victory…
“The big thing was we put balls in play. The guys they [Arizona State] were running out of the bullpen have been phenomenal this season. When you put balls in play, good things happen, and for me, the difference in the game was the defense tonight. You think of TyJo’s catch in center field, Wesley [Jordan] had a catch in left, you think of [Travis] Sanders throwing them out at home plate on a double steal attempt. You look back and you say defense is a big deal. We played pretty good defense tonight, and of course Gabe Craig was great at the end.”

Sixth-Year Senior RHP Gabe Craig
On the bullpen’s performance in late innings…
“Stefan [Stahl] and Grayson [Murry] have been awesome all year, coming in and keeping them right where they were and giving our offense a chance to come back. I wouldn’t have gone out there and done what I did without those guys before me. So it’s because of them, and I can’t give them enough credit.”

Senior OF Ty Johnson
On getting a Friday-night win…
“Especially at this point in the season, it’s crucial for us and shows the character of our team. If we can just keep putting those wins together, bats start to get hot, pitchers keep throwing like they are, defense is playing good, this is a good stepping stone.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (29-16, 10-12) and Arizona State (30-17, 14-8) return for game two of the weekend series on Saturday, May 3, at 2 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_4212682864]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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