<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
p.p2, li.p2, div.p2
{mso-style-name:p2;
mso-margin-top-alt:auto;
margin-right:0in;
mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;
margin-left:0in;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman",serif;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style>
</head>
<body lang="EN-US" link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style="word-wrap:break-word">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal" align="right" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:right">
<a name="_Hlk490052374"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS –
</span></b></a><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">April 8, 2023<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;color:black">Pitching and Defense Helps Baylor Baseball Hold Off Oklahoma in 5-3 Victory<br>
</span></b><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black">Rigney, BU bullpen work out of jams to help Bears take the series<br>
</span></i><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">For more information contact:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"> Max Calderone, 254-265-1639,
</span><a href="mailto:Max_Calderone@Baylor.edu"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Max_Calderone@Baylor.edu</span></a><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">
</span><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;color:black"> </span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"><br>
<br>
</span><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">WACO, Texas –
</span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">Baylor baseball (12-20, 4-8) clinched its series against Oklahoma (17-16, 3-6) Saturday with a 5-3 win at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">In front of a season-high attendance, BU starter RHP Will Rigney gave the Bears five quality innings of work and scattered six hits, allowing just one run to the Sooners and
striking out five. Freshman INF Kolby Branch, junior OF Hunter Simmons and freshman C Walker Polk each came up with timely RBI hits in the win.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">Sophomore RHP Gabe Craig worked a solid 1.1 innings of scoreless relief before handing it over to junior righty Hambleton Oliver, who picked up his second save of the weekend
with a clean ninth.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">THE RUNDOWN<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">After Rigney retired the side in order with a pair of punchouts, Baylor struck first in the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back doubles by sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky
and Branch to open the scoring. Simmons drove in Branch with an RBI groundout to make it 2-0 after the first frame.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">Despite OU scratching across one in the second, the Bears put up a three spot in the third as Simmons singled home Teplanszky, then later scored on Polk’s RBI knock that also
drove in Branch to make it 5-1.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">Rigney continued to put up zeros before passing the torch to junior RHP Adam Muirhead and freshman southpaw Ethan Calder, who each gave up a solo home run in their outing,
accounting for OU’s final two runs of the ballgame.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">But, Craig and Oliver combined to shut it down in the late innings, allowing just two baserunners on a pair of hits, to seal the series victory.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">HIGHLIGHTS</span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Baylor won its second Big 12 series of the year and improved to 4-8 in conference play.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• This is BU’s first win when scoring fewer than six runs and second win of the season when out-hitting its opponent.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Junior RHP Will Rigney worked a season-high five innings on the mound and struck out five for the third time this season, earning his third win of the season.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Junior RHP Hambleton Oliver earned his third save of the season and second of the weekend with his sixth scoreless outing of the year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Sophomore RHP Gabe Craig worked his seventh scoreless outing of the year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky extended his on-base streak to a team-high 20 games and also improved his hitting streak to eight games.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Freshman INF Kolby Branch recorded his 13<sup>th</sup> multi-hit game of the season with two doubles against the Sooners.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Junior OF Hunter Simmons collected his seventh multi-RBI effort of the year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Sophomore C Cortlan Castle produced his fifth multi-hit game of the 2023 campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">STAT OF THE GAME<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">5 – Will Rigney tossed a season-high five innings and struck out five in the win.<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">QUOTABLE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">Head Coach Mitch Thompson<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">On Will Rigney’s efforts…<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;background:white">“Well, we hoped he would [go that long]. We’re trying to get four, five, six innings out of guys every time. Thankfully, he did, and I thought he was great. He competed really
hard, we made some plays behind him. I remember the big catch that [Caleb] Bergman made out in center field. I remember the double plays that we turned. We won this game on the mound, and we won it play defense.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;background:white">On the three-spot in the third inning…<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;background:white">“Really big. That’s how you win games. Just to extend the lead and go up 5-1, especially when they had just come back with a run in the second. To go up 5-1, that put everybody
pretty much at ease. Just got to keep fighting and pitching. We threw up a whole bunch of zeros up there on that scoreboard today, and that’s big for us. I’m really proud of the staff.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;background:white">Junior RHP Will Rigney<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;background:white">On his performance…<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;background:white">“I felt a lot better early on, a lot better than at Kansas, but you know I haven’t gone five innings in a long time. Those last couple innings were definitely a grind to say the
least, but I was happy with how I felt and happy with the win.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;background:white"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;background:white">Junior OF Hunter Simmons<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="p2" style="margin:0in;background:white"><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">On the importance of this series win…<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="p2" style="margin:0in;background:white;caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: auto;text-align:start;widows: auto;-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;font-stretch: normal;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">“It was huge. Starting off with SFA, we take that one, then coming in here with a win on Friday, obviously we lose yesterday, but coming in here today to win the series after losing
to Kansa I think it was huge. Obviously a lot of confidence going into next week, we just gotta keep it up. Pass the torch.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">WHAT’S NEXT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">Baylor (12-20) hits the road for its first midweek game away from Baylor Ballpark to take on Dallas Baptist (23-9) on Tuesday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Horner Ballpark in
Dallas.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;text-align:center;background:white">
<i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><br>
-BaylorBears.com-</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
<div>
<div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;color:black">__________________________________</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:6.5pt;color:black"> </span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:#154734">Max Calderone</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black"> | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (BSB, FB, EQ)</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">Department of Athletics | Baylor University</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:black">C: 254-265-1639</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;color:black"> </span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://baylorbears.com/" title="http://baylorbears.com/"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"><img border="0" width="160" height="44" style="width:1.6666in;height:.4583in" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.png@01D96A4B.79006220" alt="signature_2719053851"></span></a><span style="font-size:12.0pt;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>