Baylor Baseball Wins on Wild Tuesday, 7-6, Over Sam Houston

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 21, 2023

Baylor Baseball Wins on Wild Tuesday, 7-6, Over Sam Houston
Freshman OF Caleb Bergman comes up with game-winning RBI, game-saving relay throw
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – In one of the wildest baseball games you’ll ever see, Baylor baseball (9-12) topped Sam Houston (13-9), 7-6, Tuesday night at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

After an hour and 10-minute rain delay, SHSU quickly erased BU’s 6-4 lead in the top of the eighth, only to have the Bears retake the lead in the bottom of the inning with a pinch-hit RBI single off the bat of freshman OF Caleb Bergman.

Bergman then initiated a hectic 8-6-2-5 double play in the top of the ninth on a single that clanged off the very top of the center field wall, as the Bearkats missed a three-run home run by a foot. BU sophomore RHP Gabe Craig came on to calm the chaos and recorded a one-pitch save to give Baylor it’s third win in a row.

THE RUNDOWN
Sam Houston got on the board first with an unearned run in the top of the first inning, but Baylor would answer in the bottom of the second to go in front, 2-1. After the first two batters reached, sophomore 1B John Ceccoli scored on junior LHP/OF Kobe Andrade’s sacrifice fly. Then, junior INF Casey Sunseri touched home on a wild pitch that gave the Bears the lead.

It wouldn’t be for long though, as the Bearkats responded with three hits of their own in the top of the third and tied the tally at 2-2 with an RBI single. But, in the bottom half, BU rallied for back-to-back two-out RBI knocks to charge back ahead, including a run-scoring double by junior INF/OF Cole Posey and an RBI single from Ceccoli.

Things were quiet until the top of the fifth when SHSU knotted the scoreline at 4-4 with a two-run single. The ballgame remained even until the bottom of the seventh, when freshman INF Kolby Branch worked a two-out walk and sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky followed with a two-strike triple to chase Branch all the way around from first. After junior OF Hunter Simmons walked to put runners on the corners, Teplanszky crossed the plate on a wild pitch and BU took a 6-4 lead.

That’s when the rain came, as the tarp was brought out after seven complete innings. An hour and 10 minutes later, play resumed, but not before a possum ran across the tarp to only hint at the craziness that was about to ensue.

Following the restart, a Sam Houston single preceded a Baylor three-base error that allowed a run to score. Then, an RBI groundout tied the contest at 6-6, the third tie of the night. BU would get out of the inning by picking a baserunner off at first base to bring the Bears up to bat.

In the bottom of the eighth, Ceccoli led things off with a double for his third hit of the night. After a pop out, Bergman came through in the clutch with a pinch-hit, go-ahead RBI single that plated Ceccoli and gave Baylor the lead right back at 7-6.

In the top of the ninth, SHSU’s first two batters reached and on the first pitch, Joe Redfield hit what was nearly a three-run home run over the batter’s eye in dead enter. Instead, the ball clanged off the very top of the wall and fell straight to Bergman, who relayed the ball to Branch and on to sophomore C Cortlan Castle to nab the leading baserunner at the plate. Before the play was over, Castle fired to Teplanszky at third base to catch the trailing runner trying to move up for a double play.

When all was said and done, Craig entered with one on and two outs, and induced a fly out to right field on the very first pitch he threw, giving Baylor its third win in a row and fourth victory in its last five ballgames.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor won its third game in a row for the first time in 2023.
• BU has now won four of its last five games.
• Baylor improved to 69-48 all-time against Sam Houston.
• BU improved to 9-0 this season when scoring six or more runs.
• The Bears won their first game when being out-hit by their opponent.
• Baylor struck out double-digit batters for the 16th time this season.
• Freshman INF Kolby Branch extended his on-base streak to 21 games.
• Branch also collected his eighth multi-hit game of the year.
• Sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky tripled for the second time this season and extended his on-base streak to nine games.
• Junior OF Hunter Simmons notched his first triple of the year.
• Junior INF/OF Cole Posey extended his team-leading hitting streak to five games with an RBI double.
• Sophomore 1B John Ceccoli recorded his third multi-hit effort of 2023.
• Sophomore RHP Gabe Craig picked up his first-career save.

STAT OF THE GAME
8-6-2-5 – The double play the Bears turned in the top of the ninth against the Bearkats.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On the 8-6-2-5 relay…
"I probably have seen one like that before, but can’t remember it. Never that big! It’s funny, that ball is probably one foot from going out in center. But it didn’t. We hit the relay, we hit the cut-off man, we made a nice throw and here we go. We didn’t quit then either. We were in pretty good shape, but kind of an amazing ending to that one.”

On Caleb Bergman’s knack for clutch plays…
“You know, he’s just a competitive kid. He doesn’t try to do too much. Very unassuming body build. But he’s a competitor. He’s a baseball player, and he’s going to keep getting more and more opportunities because he comes through virtually every time we ask him to.”

Freshman OF Caleb Bergman
On being able to come through for the team…
“It’s awesome, you know, I love these guys. They support me endlessly and they show me so much love, always have my back. It’s so good to give something back to them when I get out there and play.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (9-12, 2-1) hits the road for the first time in a month to take on No. 15 Oklahoma State (16-5, 1-2) for a three-game series in Stillwater, Okla., on March 24-26.

To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on 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_909421496]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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