Baylor Baseball: Big Eighth Inning Fuels BSB to 6-3 Victory Over West Virginia

[Rhodes, Zach]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 9, 2021

Big Eighth Inning Fuels BSB to 6-3 Victory Over West Virginia
The Bears put up five runs in the eighth to complete their second-straight comeback win
For more information contact: Zach Rhodes, 919-247-7585, Zach_Rhodes at baylor.edu

WACO, Texas – After being down 3-0 from the first four innings, Baylor baseball made its way back and completed the 6-3 come-from-behind victory on Friday night at the Baylor Ballpark. The Bears (20-10, 2-5 Big 12) trailed the Mountaineers (11-13, 3-4 Big 12) until the eighth inning where they scored five runs to secure the win.

After a slow start from both teams, the Mountaineers struck first with an RBI-single to go up 1-0 in the third. West Virginia extended its lead in the fourth with a two-run shot to make it 3-0.

Later in the sixth inning, newcomer Jack Pineda struck one up the middle and hustled to second for a double. In the next at-bat, second-year freshman Jared McKenzie used an infield single with a bunt to third base as second-year freshman Tre Richardson followed with a sacrifice fly, scoring Pineda and cutting the deficit to 3-1 after six.

The Bears exploded in the eighth after starting off with back-to-back singles from the one-two punch of Pineda and McKenzie. After Richardson was hit by a pitch to load the bases, fifth-year senior Andy Thomas came through with the two-RBI single to tie the game at 3-3. Later in the inning second-year freshman Kyle Nevin hit an RBI-base knock deep to right field scoring Richardson putting the Bears in the lead 4-3. Baylor continued to pour it on as fourth-year junior Davion Downey smacked his first triple of the season to the gap in left-center to push the advantage to 6-3.

The Bears brought in fifth-year senior Luke Boyd (6) to shut the door in the ninth and secure his sixth save of 2021. BU fifth-year senior reliever Ryan Leckich (2-0) earned his second-straight win, while WVU starter Jackson Wolf (3-3) was tabbed with the loss. Starting pitcher Tyler Thomas had a solid outing with 6.2 innings of work, allowing three runs and striking out five.

NOTES
• Baylor is now 18-2 at Baylor Ballpark.
• BU has won five-straight against WVU.
• Baylor extended its win streak to seven-consecutive games.
• The Bears earned their first Friday night Big 12 win of 2021.
• Baylor completed its second-straight comeback victory after Tuesday’s come-from-behind win over UT Arlington.
• Pineda, McKenzie and Andy Thomas all finished with two hits apiece.
• Leckich earned his second-straight win in his 14th appearance.
• Boyd earned his sixth save of the year.

QUOTE FROM COACH ROD
“We had some opportunities early and we just couldn’t get the two-out hit and guys in scoring position. The biggest thing was to continue to put pressure on their defense, and we did that and we had a couple things where the pitcher didn’t get over and they couldn’t execute a couple things and we were able to get some hits and string some things together. That’s what I told our guys out there, that’s why we play nine innings. So, I don’t care when we score, we just have to score them.”

WHAT’S NEXT
The two sides will square off in the second game of the series on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.

To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on Facebook (Baylor Baseball), Twitter (@BaylorBaseball) and Instagram (@BaylorBaseball).


-BaylorBears.com-


Zach Rhodes | Associate Director of Athletics Communications
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 919-247-7585 | O: 254-710-3784

[signature_1797533069]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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