Baylor Baseball’s Offensive Onslaught Sinks Islanders, 12-6

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – May 3, 2023

Baylor Baseball’s Offensive Onslaught Sinks Islanders, 12-6
Seven Bears tally multi-hit games in BU’s season-high 18-hit performance
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (16-30) broke out the bats Wednesday night to the tune of a season-high 18 hits and tied its season-best with 12 runs in a 12-6 victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (20-24) at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

Seven Bears tallied multi-hit games and four drove in at least two runs in the offensive outpouring. BU also crushed three home runs, tying its second-highest total of the year in the win.

Junior RHP Jared Matheson showcased his best performance as a Bear, going 4.1 innings and striking out five to tie his 2023 best. Fifth-year junior righty Anderson Needham picked up the win in 2.2 innings of scoreless work with four punchouts.

The win sets up a five-day break from competition as Baylor preps for final exams before embarking on a five-game week beginning next Tuesday, May 9, at home against Grand Canyon.

THE RUNDOWN
TAMU-CC scored the game’s first run with back-to-back doubles to open the ballgame, but BU answered right back as junior OF Hunter Simmons continued his hot streak after returning to the lineup with an RBI single in the bottom of the first.

In the bottom of the second, junior INF/OF Cole Posey singled in junior RHP/OF Cole Tremain to put the Bears on top. And in front they’d stay, as Baylor went on to score the game’s next five runs and put up tallies in three of the next four innings.

A two-run triple by sophomore C Cortlan Castle kickstarted the third inning, as he later scored on redshirt freshman INF Jack Johnson’s RBI knock to make it 5-1. Then in the fourth, sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky tattooed his fifth home run of the year, a two-run blast, over the left field wall to extend the BU lead to 7-1.

The Islanders plated a pair of runs in the top of the fifth, but Baylor got those right back and more with a five-spot in the bottom of the sixth. Posey crushed a solo shot to left-center to start the inning, then Teplanszky crossed home on an errant TAMU-CC throw. Castle doubled home another run and then scored on Tremain’s two-run shot, making it 12-3 Bears.

With two outs in the ninth, TAMU-CC scratched across a trio of runs thanks in part to a hit and a pair of Baylor errors. But, sophomore RHP Gabe Craig came on to fan the game’s final hitter and seal the victory for the Bears.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor snapped its five-game losing streak with the 12-6 win.
• BU improved to 15-7 this season when scoring six or more runs and 6-0 when scoring at least 10.
• BU recorded its 20th double-digit hitting output of the year with a season-high 18 knocks in the win.
• This is also the 20th time the Bears have struck out double-digit batters, with 10 against TAMU-CC.
• Today’s game marked the 13th time this season that BU has tallied at least nine hits at the plate and nine strikeouts on the mound in the same game.
• BU also tied its season-high with 12 runs scored.
• The Bears hit three home runs, tying their second-highest total in a single game this season.
• Junior INF/OF Cole Posey recorded his 14th multi-hit and fourth multi-RBI game of the year.
• Sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky notched his 13th multi-hit and ninth multi-RBI performance of the season.
• Freshman INF Kolby Branch collected his team-leading 18th multi-hit game of 2023.
• Junior OF Hunter Simmons extended his hitting streak to five games with his 12th multi-hit effort of the year.
• Simmons has picked up an RBI in seven of his last eight games, and each of his last five.
• Sophomore C Cortlan Castle extended his on-base streak to 10 games and his hitting streak to nine games with his ninth multi-hit and first multi-RBI performance of the season.
• Junior RHP/OF Cole Tremain tallied his eighth multi-hit and fifth multi-RBI game of the season
• Redshirt freshman INF Jack Johnson extended his on-base streak to six games and his hitting streak to five games.
• Freshman OF Caleb Bergman racked up his fourth multi-hit game of the season.
• Junior RHP Jared Matheson worked a season-high 4.1 innings on the mound and tied his 2023-best with five strikeouts.
• Junior RHP Anderson Needham worked his team-leading 13th scoreless appearance of the season and tied his season high with four strikeouts.
• Needham also earned his first win of the year.
• Sophomore RHP Gabe Craig recorded his 12th scoreless outing with a strikeout of his only batter faced.

STAT OF THE DAY
18 – The Bears racked up a season-high 18 hits in the win.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On tonight’s game…
“It’s great [to get a win]. I thought the guys showed up and swung the bats obviously well. We had a bunch of guys with multiple hits. A lot of extra-base hits, too, so it was a really good night offensively. And I think that our pitches came out and competed pretty well too. I think [Jared] Matheson settled down after the first tinning and threw well. [Anderson] Needham was really good in the middle of the game, so that was good to see. Wins are a lot more fun.”

On what Hunter Simmons’ return to the lineup means…
“You can see that when we get our entire lineup back together with Hunter Simmons in it, it makes a big deal. We don’t have the depth to take on those losses and keep moving guys up in the order. Hunter brings a presence there for us. It’s good to have him back and helps our offense click a little bit. We’ve swung the bats well the past two games and we’ve just got to keep it going.”

Junior OF Hunter Simmons
On his return to the lineup…
“I think it was more the excitement to play, to come out here and play the game you love. Just try to keep it simple. I’ve said it many times before, just pass the torch. I don’t really know how else to put it. I’ve just been really excited to play and I’m having a good time out here. Win or lose, success or failure, I am just trying to have a good time with my guys and they’ve been backing me up.”

Sophomore C Cortlan Castle
On the offensive success…
“The bats were working tonight. 18 hits, the ball was flying. Posey, Simmons back in the lineup, Teplanszky hitting a home run, Tremain hitting a home run. It was nice to be fired up with those guys as the ball was flying. We got a lot of extra-base hits tonight too, which was cool.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (16-30) breaks for final exams with an idle weekend before returning to play a five-game week beginning next Tuesday, May 9, against Grand Canyon (27-19) at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

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_3047149357]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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