Baylor Baseball Takes Down No. 23 Duke In Series Opener

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Feb. 25, 2022

Baylor BSB Takes Down No. 23 Duke In Series Opener
Thomas shines on the mound, leads Bears to 4-2 win
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (2-3) took down No. 23 Duke (3-2) by a final of 4-2 Friday at Baylor Ballpark.

Senior LHP Tyler Thomas (1-1) threw six scoreless innings and picked up five strikeouts, while holding the Blue Devils to just one hit en route to his first victory of the season.

BU opened the scoring in the bottom of the second following a Chase Wehsener single and a Duke two-base error. Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo drove in the game’s first run with an infield hit to give Thomas some run support.

One seemed to be all he needed, as Thomas took a no-hitter into the fifth before DU got their first tally of the day.

In the bottom of the sixth, Baylor plated three more runs off two hits and three walks in an inning that saw five pitching changes for the Blue Devils. Wehsener collected his second base hit, but it was Harrison Caley who delivered a two-RBI single to extend the lead. Jack Pineda added some insurance with a bases loaded walk that made it 4-0.

After fourth-year sophomore RHP Anderson Needham took over in the seventh, senior lefty Matt Voelker came on to dance out of a jam, stranding the bases loaded and holding Duke to just one run in the inning.

Voelker went the rest of the way for the Bears and allowed one unearned run in the ninth, picking up his first save of the season in sealing the win for BU.

NOTES
• Baylor improves to 3-0 all-time against Duke and 1-0 against the Blue Devils under seventh-year head coach Steve Rodriguez.
• Sophomore OF Jared McKenzie has now reached base in 11-straight games, dating back to last season.
• Junior INF Jack Pineda has now reached base in eight consecutive games, dating back to 2021.
• Sophomore LHP/OF Kobe Andrade picked up his first-career hit with a single in the fourth inning.
• Junior 1B Chase Wehsener tallied his second multi-hit effort of the season.
• Sophomore C Harrison Caley collected his first multi-hit and first multi-RBI game of the year.
• Senior LHP Tyler Thomas earned his first win of the season.
• Senior LHP Matt Voelker notched his first save of the season and 15th of his career.

STAT OF THE GAME
6 – Senior LHP Tyler Thomas went six scoreless innings on the mound for the Bears, allowing just one hit and picking up five strikeouts.

TOP QUOTES
Head coach Steve Rodriguez
On the bottom half of the order stepping up…
“That was the one thing we were trying to focus on, was making sure you put the ball in play. Put the barrel on the baseball as best you can. That pitching staff at Duke is really good. They did a great job today. You can just tell by the swings and misses that we had. Tomorrow we have to be better in our execution, but the bottom half of the order just came up great today. Harrison Caley with a humongous two-RBI hit. That just kind of sparked our team a little bit.”

Senior LHP Tyler Thomas
On his performance and if he had an idea he had a no-hitter going…
“I had no clue. That’s cool, but I had no idea. I’m so locked in that sometimes I have to go back to the chart and say ‘Ok, this is what this guy did at the last at-bat.’ I felt confident, I felt good. They swung early, which helps. Getting the first-pitch strikes help when you’re ahead and makes your job kind of easy.”

Sophomore C Harrison Caley
On his two-RBI hit…
“It felt good. This is my first year here, so being able to do little things for the program like that are fun. Those are the kind of moments you practice and play for.”

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears (2-3) are scheduled to play game two of the series against No. 23 Duke (3-2) at 3 p.m. CT on Saturday, Feb. 26, at Baylor Ballpark.

For the latest news on the Baylor baseball team all season long, follow its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.

-BaylorBears.com-


__________________________________

Max Calderone | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (BSB, FB, EQ)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-265-1639

[signature_1709175168]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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