Big Inning Propels Baylor Baseball Past UTRGV, 10-7

Tue May 6 23:14:59 CDT 2025

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – May 6, 2025

Big Inning Propels Baylor Baseball Past UTRGV, 10-7
Castle’s slam in nine-run 3rd inning lifts Bears to 30th win of the season
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – Behind a nine-run third inning, Baylor baseball propelled past UTRGV, 10-7, Tuesday night at Baylor Ballpark in Waco to collect win number 30 of the season.

Bolstered by three multi-hit performances and a grand slam from senior catcher Cortlan Castle, the Bears (30-18) finished their midweek slate in style with their 11th win on a Tuesday night in 2025. Castle tied a career high with four RBIs, all coming on his second-career big fly – a third-inning grand slam. Meanwhile, senior infielder Tyriq Kemp continued his breakout season with his fourth three-hit performance of the year and also drove in three runs.

On the mound, senior right-hander Caleb Bunch tallied his 10th scoreless appearance of the season, setting up for sixth-year senior closer Gabe Craig’s ninth save of the year. Redshirt senior righty Cole Stasio earned the win after tossing two innings and allowing just one run with two strikeouts.

THE RUNDOWN
After trading scoreless frames in the opening inning, the Vaqueros struck first with a two-run homer in the top of the second. UTRGV later added to its lead in the top of the third with an RBI single to make it 3-0.

BU erased the deficit in the home half of the third, as Kemp got the nine-run frame started with a two-RBI single up the middle. Redshirt senior designated hitter Hunter Simmons kept the line moving with another RBI base knock to knot the score. After back-to-back free passes brought in two more runs, Castle capped off the inning with a grand slam, BU’s third of the year, to go ahead 9-3.

The Vaqueros got one back in the top half of the fourth with a solo shot over the right-field wall, then cut in to the Bears’ lead some more in the sixth with a two-run blast. Baylor answered right back in the bottom of the sixth on Kemp’s third hit of the ballgame that brought home a run to make it 10-6 through six full frames.

An RBI fielder’s choice brought UTRGV within three runs in the seventh, but that’s all the Vaqueros would get as BU turned to its most reliable arms in Bunch and Craig late. Bunch worked out of danger and struck out one in a scoreless eighth before Craig faced the minimum in the ninth to shut the door.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor reached the 30-win mark for the first time under third-year head coach Mitch Thompson and the first time as a program since 2021.
• BU improved to 23-29 all-time against UTRGV.
• The Bears finished the 2025 regular season with an 11-1 record in midweek ballgames and a 14-7 record against fellow Texas teams.
• The Bears have won 16 of their last 17 midweek games, dating back to the 2024 season, and went 20-4 against non-conference foes this season.
• Baylor improved to 21-3 when striking out nine or more batters this year.
• BU is now 20-3 when allowing two walks or fewer in 2025.
• Baylor’s nine-run third inning marked the sixth time this year that the Bears have scored nine or more runs in a single inning.
• Redshirt senior OF Enzo Apodaca extended his hitting streak to 15 games.
• Senior INF Tyriq Kemp extended his on-base streak to 24 games and his hitting streak to seven games.
• Kemp also recorded his 16th multi-hit game and ninth multi-RBI effort of the year.
• Redshirt senior DH Hunter Simmons logged both a hit and an RBI for the 24th time this season.
• Redshirt sophomore OF Gavin Brzozowski notched his third consecutive multi-hit game and his fourth of the season.
• Senior OF Ty Johnson extended his on-base streak to seven games.
• Senior C Cortlan Castle matched his career high with four RBIs on his first-career grand slam.
• Castle logged his ninth multi-hit and third multi-RBI games of the season.
• Redshirt sophomore LHP Caleb Jameson tied a career-high in strikeouts with four.
• Senior RHP Caleb Bunch made his 10th scoreless appearance of the year.
• Sixth-year senior closer Gabe Craig earned his ninth save of the season, the most by a Bear since Troy Montemayor’s 11 in 2018.
• Craig worked his 19th scoreless outing of the season and extended his scoreless innings streak to 13.1 innings.

STAT OF THE DAY
9 – Baylor scored nine runs in the third inning, marking its sixth time as an offense to score nine runs or more. Nine also represents the amount of saves that Gabe Craig has this year – the most by a Bear since Troy Montemayor’s 11 in 2018.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On tonight’s win…
“I thought the difference in the game was the free bases – we drew a lot of walks to open the door, then we ran through it. The big nine-run inning is a tough one for any team to overcome, and our guys did a nice job on the mound making sure they didn’t. It was a good bounce-back win against a good club, they [UTRGV] are a team that’s used to winning and have won some big games on Tuesday nights at some big places, so this was a good win.”

Senior Catcher Cortlan Castle
On his grand slam…
“It felt so good. Whenever I saw it off the bat, my first thought was that it would get caught or hit off the wall, but then I saw it go over and I was pumped. My first move was to turn to Coach [Zach] Dillon and ask if he saw that because he likes to doubt my power, so tomorrow in BP, I’ll be a home run only guy.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (30-18, 10-14) welcomes Oklahoma State (22-21, 10-11) for a three-game series to round out the 2025 home slate at Baylor Ballpark, beginning Friday night, May 9, at 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_3885985691]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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