Baylor Baseball Drops Opener at Kansas

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 31, 2023

Baylor Baseball Drops Opener at Kansas
Branch, Ceccoli each collect three hits as Bears drop fifth straight
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

LAWRENCE, Kan. – For the seventh time in its last 10 ballgames, Baylor baseball (9-17, 2-5) eclipsed double digits in hits as team, but took its fifth loss in a row at Kansas (10-14, 1-3), 12-4, Friday night at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kan.

Freshman INF Kolby Branch and sophomore 1B John Ceccoli each produced three hits, including Ceccoli’s fourth home run of the season, but the Bears left eight men on base and went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position in the series opener.

Sophomore RHP Gabe Craig and junior RHP/OF Cole Tremain combined to throw the last 3.1 innings and hold KU scoreless after the Jayhawks had scored in each of the first four frames of the night.

THE RUNDOWN
Kansas struck early with a pair of runs in the first on an RBI double and a run-scoring single, then added another to go ahead 3-0 through two innings.

In the third, Baylor got on the board with an RBI groundout from sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky, which followed an infield single from freshman OF Caleb Bergman and a double off the bat of Branch.

However, KU would answer with two more in the bottom half thanks to a pair of RBI hits, then exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning on five hits and a BU error.

Ceccoli’s solo homer in the top of the sixth brought the Bears within 10 runs, then an RBI single from junior OF Hunter Simmons cut the deficit to 12-3 in the seventh. In the top of the eighth, junior C Harrison Caley singled in a run for the final tally of the night, as Craig and Tremain worked scoreless outings on the mound.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor dropped to 61-24 all-time against Kansas.
• BU tallied its 11th double-digit hitting performance of the year, and seventh in its last 10 games.
• Freshman INF Kolby Branch collected his 11th multi-hit game of the year and sixth game with at least three hits.
• Sophomore 1B John Ceccoli recorded his fourth multi-hit and third three-hit game of the year.
• Ceccoli now leads the squad with four home runs on the year.
• Sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky extended his team-leading on-base streak to 14 games.
• Junior INF/OF Cole Posey extended his team-leading hitting streak to 10 games.
• Freshman OF Caleb Bergman extended his on-base streak to seven games.
• Sophomore RHP Gabe Craig worked a career-long 2.1 innings and struck out a career-high three batters.
• Craig worked his sixth-straight outing without allowing a run.
• Junior RHP/OF Cole Tremain worked his third-straight scoreless appearance.

STAT OF THE GAME
12 – The number of total hits by the Bears, marking their 11th game in double digits and seventh time in their last 10 games.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On tonight’s game…
“Obviously, very disappointed in the outcome and how we pitched the ball. I didn’t feel like we attacked very well. Really proud of Gabe Craig and Cole Tremain in the last four innings of the ballgame, coming in there and throwing up zeros. I give them great credit for that. Offensively, we’ve got to do a better job early as well. We had several scoring opportunities [that we didn’t score in]. On offensive days, we’re going to have to score runs and we didn’t score near enough.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (9-17, 2-5) and Kansas (10-14, 1-3) return for game two of the series on Saturday, April 1, at 12 p.m. at Hoglund Ballpark in Lawrence, Kan.

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_364321446]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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