Baylor Baseball Uses Ninth-Inning Comeback to Defeat UTSA, 3-2

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 22, 2022

Baylor BSB Uses Ninth-Inning Comeback to Defeat UTSA, 3-2
Jack Pineda’s bases-loaded walk wins it for the Bears
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 (11-9, 1-2) made use of a ninth-inning comeback to down UTSA (12-8) Tuesday night at Baylor Ballpark, 3-2.

The Bears scored two runs in their last at-bats to come from behind and steal the victory after trailing throughout the entire night.

UTSA put up two runs in the top of the second off two BU walks, one hit, a hit-by-pitch and an error, before BU got on the board in the bottom of the third via a Chase Wehsener sacrifice fly.

That would be the majority of the offense, as UTSA didn’t record its second hit until the seventh inning and BU was held quiet throughout the middle innings.

Grant Golomb, Adam Muirhead and Brett Garcia gave the Bears a combined six innings of scoreless relief before Jake Jackson (2-2) entered out of the bullpen to get the final five outs. With runners on second and third, Jackson intentionally walked the first batter he faced to set up a huge 4-6-3 inning-ending double play. He allowed two hits and walked another in the top of the ninth, but it was enough to keep his side within striking distance heading into the bottom half of the frame.

In their final at-bats, the Bears sent six batters to the plate as Wehsener led things off with a walk. After Nolan Rodriguez came on as a pinch-runner, Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo moved him over on a sac bunt. Then, pinch-hitter Casen Neuman rocketed a ball that was too hot to handle for the Roadrunners and Rodriguez came around to tie the score at 2-2.

Then, Kobe Andrade was hit by a pitch and Antonio Valdez reached on a walk to load the bases as Pineda stepped up to bat. However, he wouldn’t have to take the bat off his shoulder as he watched four straight balls miss the strike zone and collected the game-winning RBI for Baylor.

NOTES
• This is Baylor’s second walk-off win of the season.
• BU improves to 36-8 all-time against UTSA and has won three-straight over the Roadrunners.
• The Bears are 3-1 against UTSA under seventh-year head coach Steve Rodriguez and have won nine of their last 11 home meetings contests over UTSA.
• Baylor is now 47-16 in midweek matchups under Rodriguez, including a 4-1 mark in 2022.
• BU is back to .500 at Baylor Ballpark this season with a 7-7 mark, and improved to 79-33 (.705) in the last five seasons at home.
• Jared McKenzie led the Bears with three hits, his fifth multi-hit output and second three-hit game of the year.
• Tre Richardson extended his hit streak to eight games.
• Chase Wehsener recorded an RBI for the third-straight game.
• Jake Jackson earned his second win of the season after making his first appearance out of the bullpen, going 1.2 innings without allowing a run.
• Grant Golomb pitched a career-high 2.2 innings of scoreless relief.
• Adam Muirhead pitched a career-high two innings of scoreless relief.
• Mason Marriott made his first-career start.

STAT OF THE GAME
7.2 – Grant Golomb, Adam Muirhead, Brett Garcia and Jake Jackson combined to throw 7.2 innings of scoreless relief.

TOP QUOTES
Head coach Steve Rodriguez
On the ninth-inning comeback…
“We were preparing for a lot of different things the last couple innings. I had a good feeling about it. We had guys ready for pinch running, pinch hitting, opportunities to bunt, different situations. You could kind of feel it, but at the same time you just never know. We needed to get guys on base to start. We were able to do that with a leadoff guy in the ninth. We were able to get a pinch runner. Then, we were able to get a bunt down. Things started to develop. On days like today where the wind’s blowing in at 20-30 miles an hour and it’s cold. It’s a four-hour game and it shouldn’t be. It’s just an exhausting thing, but I thought our guys did a great job keeping the energy where it was and keeping the focus. They didn’t chase. They didn’t go out of the zone. They did a really good job of just finding a way to win.”

Sophomore OF Jared McKenzie
On getting into a groove at the plate…
“Yes, definitely. I look at my first 50 at-bats and put them in the past. So what? It happened. Now, it’s just going back to where I’ve been successful, hitting the ball up the middle. Since my freshman year, I just try to hit the ball up the middle and have gotten back to that approach and now I’m starting to see more success.”

Senior RHP Jake Jackson
On his mentality coming out of the bullpen…
“Same mentality as always, do my best, throw strikes and get people out. It was a mental and confidence boost. I’ve been struggling a little bit. Confidence has been down a little bit, so being in that situation and getting the job done definitely boosts confidence and boosts mentality a little bit.”

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (11-9, 1-2) hits the road to face Oklahoma (12-7, 0-0) in a three-game series beginning Friday, March 25, in Norman, Okla. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. CT in the weekend opener.

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_3963100024]<http://baylorbears.com/>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20220323/7b781878/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 11693 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20220323/7b781878/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: BU20 Box Score.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 153583 bytes
Desc: BU20 Box Score.pdf
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20220323/7b781878/attachment-0002.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 2022 BSB Season Stats.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 394205 bytes
Desc: 2022 BSB Season Stats.pdf
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20220323/7b781878/attachment-0003.pdf>