Posey’s Grand Slam Sparks Baylor Baseball’s 13-7 Win Over Incarnate Word

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 5, 2024

Posey’s Grand Slam Sparks Baylor Baseball’s 13-7 Win Over Incarnate Word
Bears win fourth-straight behind 13-hit, 13-run outburst
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – After starting the year just 1-for-17 at the plate, fifth-year senior infielder Cole Posey hit a first-inning grand slam to spark Baylor baseball’s 13-7 win over Incarnate Word Friday night at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

The Bears (12-17) rode a 13-hit outburst to their fourth-straight win, matching the longest win streak of the Mitch Thompson era. BU has scored at least eight runs in each of those four wins, marking the first time in the Thompson era that the team has scored eight or more in four-straight games.

All nine starters scored a run, as Baylor’s starting outfield each recorded multi-hit games in redshirt junior outfielder Enzo Apodaca, junior outfielder Ty Johnson and sophomore outfielder Caleb Bergman, who had a career-high three knocks.

Junior right-hander Mason Marriott picked up his first win of the season, going five innings and allowing three earned runs on four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.

THE RUNDOWN
UIW (15-13) got to Marriott early, as a two-run home run put the Cardinals on the board first. But, Baylor would respond in the home half with a trio of tough two-out at-bats that resulted in two walks and a hit-by-pitch, allowing Posey to step to the plate. On a 2-2 count, the Georgetown, Texas, native, who was making his first-career start at first base, left the yard with a laser over the left-field fence that put BU ahead, 4-2.

The Bears bats ignited from there, exploding for four more runs in the bottom of the second on five hits, including Apodaca’s two-run home run and junior infielder Hunter Teplanszky’s two-run single. Bergman singled home a run in the third to make it 9-2, and BU put up another four-spot in the fourth inning by taking advantage of some UIW miscues to extend the lead to 13-2.

All the while, Marriott had settled in on the mound and retired 11 in a row through to the fifth inning, when the Cardinals plated a run on an RBI double. The product of Tomball, Texas, ended his day after 92 pitches and his fifth start of the year going at least five frames with three or fewer earned runs allowed.

UIW threatened to get back in it with a run in the sixth and a three-run homer in the seventh, but redshirt junior righty Andrew Petrowski came on to retire all four he faced in the later innings and senior southpaw Kobe Andrade finished it off with a scoreless ninth as Baylor won its fourth in a row for the first time in 2024.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor extended its win streak to four games, its longest of 2024 and tying the best streak under second-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
• This is the first time in the Thompson era that the Bears have scored eight or more runs in four consecutive games, and the first time BU has done so since March 27-April 2, 2022 (16 at OU, 15 vs. UT Arlington, 15 vs. ETSU, 8 vs. ETSU).
• BU improved to 6-0 all-time against Incarnate Word.
• Tonight’s six-run margin of victory is Baylor’s largest over UIW in program history.
• All nine starters scored a run, marking the first time a Baylor team has done so since March 29, 2022 vs. UT Arlington.
• The Bears recorded 11 strikeouts on the night, eclipsing double-digit punchouts for the 13th time this season and 33rd time in the Thompson era.
• Junior RHP Mason Marriott earned his first win of the season and made his team-leading fifth start of at least five innings pitched with three earned runs allowed or fewer (5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO).
• Redshirt junior RHP Patrick Hail remains the only BU reliever to record at least one strikeout in each of his appearances this season, fanning two in the win.
• Junior RHP Andrew Petrowski recorded his fourth scoreless outing of 2024.
• Senior LHP Kobe Andrade made his eighth scoreless appearance of the year.
• Andrade improves his scoreless appearance streak to five games and scoreless innings streak to 8.2.
• Redshirt junior OF Enzo Apodaca collected his 10th multi-hit and sixth multi-RBI efforts of the season, going 2-for-5 with a home run.
• Apodaca also extended his hit streak to a team-best eight games.
• Junior OF Ty Johnson logged his ninth multi-hit game of the year, going 3-for-5 at the dish.
• Junior OF Wesley Jordan extended his team-leading on-base streak to 21 games.
• Junior INF Hunter Teplanszky extended his on-base streak to 13 games and boasts a hitting streak of five games.
• Teplanszky also recorded his fifth multi-RBI game of the year.
• Senior INF Daniel Altman extended his on-base streak to seven games.
• Altman reached base four times on free passes, including three walks which matches a team high this season.
• Senior INF Cole Posey hit his first home run of the season and fourth of his Baylor career.
• The grand slam marked Posey’s first multi-RBI game of 2024.
• Junior INF Tyriq Kemp extended his on-base streak to seven games.
• Sophomore OF Caleb Bergman tallied a career-high three hits, marking his second multi-hit effort of the year.

STAT OF THE DAY
4 – Baylor won its fourth game in a row, matching its best win streak under second-year head coach Mitch Thompson.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On the offensive outburst…
“I though the quality of our at-bats was good, our pitch selection was real good. I didn’t think we chased early in the game. We got a lot of pitches out of their guy. He hadn’t been hit – his numbers were off the chart good. And then we ran the bases really aggressively. That was fun.”

On Cole Posey’s grand slam…
“It was pretty surreal and I’m very happy for him. He’s handled things really well this year. It hasn’t been easy. He fought through an injury to start [the season]. For a guy who played all year last year to be over there sitting, we’re trying to keep him in it, keep him ready and it’s not easy. I’m happy that when he got an opportunity to get a start he was ready to take advantage of it.”

Senior Infielder Cole Posey
On his grand slam…
“It was all of the emotions. I think I blacked out for about 45 seconds and then people were telling me what I did, and I was like, ‘I did that?’ But you know, with two strikes I kind of just choked up and tried not to do too much. It’s kind of funny how that happens sometimes and it ends up being the best swing. But some great at-bats before that to get me in that position, that’s kind of been our motto all year to try to pass it to the next guy, and that’s kind of what we did right there.”

On scoring 13 runs in the first four innings…
“That just shows our fight. And that’s something that we haven’t seen all year. There’s been times when we haven’t come out and fought like that. Getting punched, then making a comeback right there, that’s huge. Huge for Mason [Marriott], huge for us because right there our backs were against the wall a little bit, we’re on our heels. But to be able to punch back, the game was really in our control after that. It’s a little bit more fun playing like that.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (12-17) and Incarnate Word (15-13) return for game two of the series on Saturday with a 2 p.m. first pitch at Baylor Ballpark.

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 (Baseball, Football)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-265-1639

[signature_1988689185]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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