BAYLOR BASEBALL: Bears Take Rubber Match 6-4 to Win Series at Cal Poly

[Caton, Rachel]

BAYLOR ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS – March 8, 2020

BEARS TAKE RUBBER MATCH 6-4 TO WIN SERIES AT CAL POLY
The Bears jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back.
For more information contact: Rachel Caton, (254) 652-2061, Rachel_Caton at baylor.edu<mailto:Rachel_Caton at baylor.edu>

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. – The Bears jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, taking the rubber match of the series at Cal Poly 6-4 on Sunday afternoon at Baggett Stadium.

The Bears tallied six runs on 12 hits and were led by first baseman Chase Wehsener with a three-hit performance and two RBIs from shortstop Nick Loftin.

The Bears wasted no time getting on the board, as Jared McKenzie took the first pitch of the game back up the middle for a single and Wehsener followed with a double down the left field line. With two in scoring position and nobody down, Nick Loftin and Andy Thomas each delivered RBI ground outs to give the Bears an early 2-0 lead.

Loftin added his second RBI of the day in the third inning on a shallow sac fly to right field, making it 3-0 Bears.

Baylor starter Hayden Kettler retired the first eight batters of the day before giving up the first hit of the day, a two-out single to Elijah Greene in the bottom of the third inning.
Kettler had things rolling through the first six innings, facing just three batters over the minimum and holding the Mustangs scoreless with just one hit.

In the top of the seventh inning the Bears doubled their lead, putting up three runs to take a 6-0 lead. Jared McKenzie came home on a wild pitch, MacKenzie Mueller doubled home a run and Davion Downey singled home the third run of the inning.

After the long top half of the seventh, the Mustangs were able to get on the board, plating two runs on a pinch hit double by Brooks Lee to make it 6-2 Bears. The Mustangs tacked on two more runs in the inning, first on an RBI single from Scott Ogrin and then after a throwing error extended the inning, a sac fly in foul territory down the right field line plates the fourth run of the inning to make it 6-4 Bears. Tyler Thomas was able to lock in and got a ground out to third to end the threat.

The Mustangs threatened in the eighth after a leadoff walk, but after Thomas got a foul out for the first out of the inning, he gave way to Logan Freeman who got the final two outs of the inning, stranding the leadoff walk.

BU closer Luke Boyd shut things down in the ninth inning, working around a two-out hit to preserve the 8-6 victory and lock down his sixth save of the year.

Kettler earned the win as he tossed a season-high 6.1 innings of work and struck out a season-best seven batters, improving his record to 3-1 on the year. Cal Poly starter Drew Thorpe fell to 1-1 on the year as he took the loss.

NOTES

  *   The Bears are now 9-2 all-time vs. Cal Poly
  *   The Bears are 4-2 vs. Cal Poly under fifth-year head coach Steve Rodriguez.
  *   For the second-straight day FR INF Kyle Nevin had a 2-hit performance.
  *   SO INF Chase Wehsener tallied a season-high 3 hits, tying his career-high mark.
  *   SO INF Chase Wehsener tallied a career-high 2 doubles on the day.
  *   FR OF Jared McKenzie has hit safely in 13 of 15 games on the year.
  *   FR OF Jared McKenzie has had multi-hit performances in nine of 15 games on the year as he collected two more hits on the day.
  *   JR RF Davion Downey was 2-for-4 with 1 RBI on the day.
  *   SR RHP Hayden Kettler tossed a season-high 6.1 innings, tallying a season-high 7 strikeouts.
  *   JR LHP Tyler Thomas made his sixth appearance of the year, tossing 1.0 inning, allowing 1 hit and no runs while walking one.
  *   SR RHP Logan Freeman made his ninth appearance of the year and third appearance of the weekend, tossing 0.2 shutout innings.
  *   FR DH Cade Currington earned his first collegiate start after making his collegiate debut as a pinch hitter on Saturday.
  *   The Bears have won three-of-four weekend series on the year.

STAT OF THE DAY
3 – Sophomore infielder Chase Wehsener tied his career-high mark with three hits on the day. Two of those were doubles, a single game career high.

QUOTES OF THE DAY FROM HEAD COACH STEVE RODRIGUEZ
On executing to get the two runs home with less than two outs in the first inning…
“For us, that was a really big deal. Just being able to go out there and execute and get the job done, bringing the runs home with the two ground outs, it takes the brain work out of it and just allows you to simplify the task. It lets people relax at the plate and it also allowed Hayden [Kettler] to pitch better, settle in and be more relaxed with the early lead.”

On Hayden Kettler’s performance…
“Hayden was really able to throw the breaking ball for a strike and also got them to swing at it low in the zone. He was also able to mix in the fastball to either side of the plate. He had a great outing. We probably left him in there a little too long, as they had seen him a couple times through the order, but at the same time he had earned it to stay in there. I was really happy with his performance.”

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears head back to Waco to begin a five-game homestand at Baylor Ballpark, starting on Tuesday, March 11 at 6:30 p.m. CT vs. Dallas Baptist.

-baylorbears.com-


__________________________________

Rachel Caton | Associate Sports Information Director
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
O: 254-710-3784 | C: 254-652-2061

[cid:image001.png at 01D5070F.1E7C3CA0]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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