Baylor Baseball Falls to ASU in Series Finale, 8-6

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – May 4, 2025

Baylor Baseball Falls to ASU in Series Finale, 8-6
Bears spark late comeback bid, but come up short
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball fell to Arizona State, 8-6, in its series finale on Sunday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

Despite an eighth-inning comeback bid sparked by redshirt sophomore outfielder Gavin Brzozowski’s second extra-base hit of the day, the Bears couldn’t overcome a five-run seventh inning by the Sun Devils.

Junior left-handed pitcher Ethan Calder (3-5) took the loss, allowing six hits and three runs in four frames. Redshirt senior righties Patrick Hail and Gabe Craig each made scoreless appearances, keeping BU within striking distance in the late frames.

Freshman infielder Pearson Riebock notched three hits and drove in two runs, while Brzozowski finished the day with a solo home run and a two-run double to lead the charge offensively.

THE RUNDOWN
After Calder stranded two baserunners in the top of the first, redshirt senior outfielder Enzo Apodaca got things going quickly in the home half with a leadoff double and came around to score on senior outfielder Wesley Jordan’s RBI single up the middle, giving the Bears an early 1-0 lead.

However, ASU responded right away in the top of the second with a run-scoring double and an RBI single to take a 2-1 advantage. Senior catcher Cortlan Castle snuffed out an attempted double steal to limit the damage and bring BU back up to the plate.

Both sides went quietly over the next few innings as Calder settled in and retired the side in order in each the third and fourth frames. Baylor threatened in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases for the top of the order, but an inning-ending strikeout kept runs off the board.

The Sun Devils added to their lead in the fifth, plating an unearned run to make it 3-1. In the home half, senior shortstop Tyriq Kemp doubled, advanced to third on a groundout, then scored on Riebock’s sacrifice fly to pull the Bears back within a run.

Redshirt sophomore right-hander Lucas Davenport kept ASU quiet with three strikeouts in his 2.2 innings of work, but the Sun Devils tacked on another unearned run with a sacrifice fly that made it 4-2 to chase him from the ballgame. After back-to-back two-out walks, a bases-clearing double broke the game open and another RBI single followed to give ASU an 8-2 lead at the stretch.

In the home half, Brzozowski sparked some life with a solo shot to the opposite field, then was in the middle of the rally in the bottom of the eighth inning as the Bears fought back. Brzozowski bounced a hard grounder over the head of the ASU first baseman for a two-run double, passing the bat to Riebock who singled in another and brought BU within two runs at 8-6.

With the game within reach, Baylor called on sixth-year senior closer Gabe Craig to put up a zero as the native of Tyler, Texas, fanned two of the four batters he faced and got some outstanding defensive help from Kemp at short with a jaw-dropping diving backhand for the final out of the inning.

However, BU was unable to get to the Sun Devils in the ninth and ultimately dropped the rubber match, 8-6.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor hitters eclipsed double-digits in hits for the 22nd time this season.
• Redshirt senior OF Enzo Apodaca extended his hitting streak to 14 games.
• Redshirt sophomore INF Travis Sanders extended his on-base streak to a career-high nine games.
• Senior INF Tyriq Kemp extended his on-base streak to a 23 games.
• Senior OF Wesley Jordan collected his 15th game of the season with both a hit and an RBI.
• Freshman INF Pearson Riebock extended his hitting streak to six games and collected his eighth multi-RBI game of the year.
• Riebock also recorded his 16th multi-hit effort of the year and his 19th game of the season with both a hit and an RBI.
• Senior OF Ty Johnson extended his on-base streak to six games.
• Redshirt sophomore 1B/OF Gavin Brzozowski hit his second home run of the season and logged his third multi-hit and fourth multi-RBI games of the year.
• Redshirt sophomore RHP Lucas Davenport made his 10th appearance of 2025 with at least two strikeouts.
• Sixth-year senior RHP Patrick Hail made his ninth scoreless appearance of the season.
• Sixth-year senior RHP Gabe Craig made his 17th scoreless appearance of the season and struck out two batters, marking his 14th multi-strikeout performance of the season.
• Craig also worked his seventh-consecutive scoreless outing, a streak of 12.1 innings.

STAT OF THE DAY
17 – Sixth-year senior RHP Gabe Craig made his 17th scoreless appearance of the season.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On today’s ballgame…
“I’m disappointed that the game got away from us there in the seventh inning. I thought we were close. Obviously, we were one pitch away from getting out of it, so it’s disappointing we couldn’t do it. Not everything’s going to be perfect, it never is for either team, and I’m glad our guys kept going but it is what it is. It became very difficult for us to come back because we were playing a really good team over there.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (29-18) continues its seven-game homestand with its final midweek matchup of the season against UTRGV (33-15) on Tuesday, May 6. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.

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_4126450879]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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