Baylor Baseball Drops Regular-Season Finale at UCF, 11-7

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – May 17, 2025

Baylor Baseball Drops Regular-Season Finale at UCF, 11-7
Bears launch season-high five home runs in loss
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

ORLANDO, Fla. – Baylor baseball was unable to finish off a sweep of UCF in the 2025 regular-season finale, dropping an 11-7 contest on Saturday at John Euliano Park in Orlando, Fla.

Despite crushing a season-high five home runs, BU couldn’t overcome eight-straight UCF runs scored in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings as the Knights pulled away and avoided the series sweep.

Five Bears logged multi-hit games in redshirt sophomore infielder Travis Sanders, senior infielder Tyriq Kemp, senior outfielder Wesley Jordan, freshman infielder Pearson Riebock and senior outfielder Ty Johnson, while redshirt sophomore left-hander Caleb Jameson made his seventh start of the season and pitched a career-long four innings.

THE RUNDOWN
Baylor wasted no time jumping out to an early lead, as Sanders and Kemp both walked with one down in the top of the first. Next, Jordan singled to load the bases and Riebock drove in the game’s first run with a sacrifice fly.

In the home half of the opening frame, UCF plated two on a two-out throwing error by the Bears to go in front, 2-1. The Knights scored another unearned run in the bottom of the second to extend their lead to 3-1.

BU answered loudly with three solo home runs in the top of the third, the program’s first three-home run inning since 2009. Sanders, Kemp and Riebock each drove baseballs over the wall to climb in front, 4-3.

The two sides continued to trade early swings as UCF countered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth, retaking a 5-4 advantage on three hits, including an RBI double and a run-scoring single. A solo home run made it 6-4 in favor of the Knights in the bottom of the fifth and another RBI single padded their lead at 7-4. Two more came in on UCF’s fifth hit of the inning to push the score to 9-4.

The Knights continued to pull away in the sixth with a two-run blast extending the lead to 11-4 before Kemp crushed his second homer of the day in the top of the seventh, another solo shot that made it 11-5.

In the ninth, Jordan blasted his 10th home run of the season, a two-run long ball to make things interesting at 11-7, but that’s as much as the Bears would get as UCF finished off the victory.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor’s 33 wins are its most in a regular season since 2017 (34).
• BU hit a season-high five home runs in today’s ballgame, its most in a game since June 1, 2019, vs. Omaha.
• The Bears hit three home runs in the same inning for the first time since April 5, 2009, at Kansas.
• Baylor reached double figures in hits for the 25th time this season.
• Redshirt senior OF Enzo Apodaca extended his on-base streak to 21 games.
• Redshirt sophomore INF Travis Sanders collected his 16th multi-hit game of the season.
• Sanders hit his eighth home run of the year and second of the weekend series.
• Senior INF Tyriq Kemp reached base for the 30th-straight game.
• Kemp also recorded his team-leading 20th multi-hit game and 10th multi-RBI game of the season.
• Kemp crushed his sixth and seventh home runs of the season, his second two-homer game of 2025.
• Senior OF Wesley Jordan extended his on-base streak to 10 games.
• Jordan also tallied his 16th multi-hit game and 11th multi-RBI effort of the year.
• Jordan became the first Bear to hit 10 home runs in the Thompson Era – the last Bear to reach double-digit home runs was Jared McKenzie (11) in 2022.
• Jordan is just the seventh different Bear to reach double figures in homers since 2012.
• Freshman INF Pearson Riebock extended his on-base streak to 17 games and logged his 18th multi-hit effort and 10th multi-RBI game of the season.
• Senior OF Ty Johnson notched his 14th multi-hit game of 2025 and second three-hit game of the year.
• Redshirt sophomore LHP Caleb Jameson made his seventh start of the season and pitched a career-long four innings.
• Sixth-year senior RHP Patrick Hail made his 10th scoreless appearance of the season.
• Sophomore LHP RJ Ruais made his ninth scoreless appearance of the year.

STAT OF THE DAY
10 – Wesley Jordan hit his 10th home run of the season, the most by a Bear since 2022 and the first double-digit homer season of the Mitch Thompson era.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On winning the series and booking a spot in the Big 12 Championship…
“That’s what I just told the team – this is a good weekend. We played hard. It’s really hot down here and we handled that. The guys got the first two, those were hard-fought wins, so we’re going to get on the plane, go home and get ready for Arlington.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (33-21, 13-17) opens play at the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship on Wednesday, May 21, at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Game time and opponent are still to be determined.

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_2656916576]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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