Baylor Baseball Claims 9-2 Series Opener Over Cougars

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 11, 2024

Baylor Baseball Claims 9-2 Series Opener Over Cougars
Bears rack up 14 hits, hold BYU scoreless over final seven frames in victory
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

PROVO, Utah – Baylor baseball claimed a 9-2 victory in its series opener at BYU on Thursday evening at Miller Park in Provo, Utah.

The Bears (14-18, 6-7) racked up 14 hits, a season-high in conference play, and held the Cougars (14-16, 6-10) scoreless over the final seven frames in the win. BU had all 10 of its position players who appeared reach base safely, while redshirt junior outfielder Enzo Apodaca and fifth-year senior infielder Cole Posey each tallied three hits on the night to lead the way.

Senior infielder Daniel Altman delivered the big blow, a two-run double in the top of the sixth, to put the game out of reach. Junior righty Mason Marriott gave the Bears another solid outing, going five innings and allowing just two runs on three hits and four walks while striking out four. Sophomore southpaw Ethan Calder came on in relief and threw three scoreless frames before redshirt junior right-hander Drew Leach finished it off with a scoreless ninth.

The win marked Baylor’s sixth in its last seven games and pulled the Bears one game below .500 in conference play.

THE RUNDOWN
Apodaca and junior outfielder Ty Johnson got the bats going early, as the duo singled and doubled to put a pair of Bears in scoring position in the top of the first. Altman’s RBI groundout got Baylor on the board, 1-0, though BYU would tie it in the bottom of the first with a solo home run.

The Cougars took the lead in the second inning with another solo home run, but Marriott settled in to not allow another hit until the bottom of the sixth and work out of danger across the middle innings.

BU responded in the top of the third as Posey shot a two-run single down the right-field line, putting the Bears in front at 3-2. Then, junior infielder Tyriq Kemp drove home another with a sacrifice fly to add to the lead.

In the sixth, Apodaca singled in Posey to make it 5-2. Then after a walk to Johnson’s and a fielder’s choice, Altman delivered the two-run double to the left-field wall to pad the Baylor advantage.

As Marriott exited in the bottom of the sixth with two baserunners on and nobody out, Calder entered and promptly retired the side on just six pitches to squander the BYU threat.

Junior catcher Cortlan Castle provided some more insurance in the top of the seventh, singling in two runs to make it 9-2. From there, Calder and Leach shut things down to help Baylor to a series-opening victory.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor improved to 2-1 all-time against BYU and gathered its first win over the Cougars in Provo, as this was the first meeting between the two sides away from Baylor Ballpark.
• BU has won six of its last seven games, its best stretch under second-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
• The Bears racked up 14 hits, a season-high in conference play, for their 12th double-digit hitting performance and fifth in their last six games.
• BU has scored nine or more runs in five of its last six games and has recorded nine or more hits in eight of its last nine games.
• Baylor turned three double plays on the night to add to its league-leading total of 32 twin killings (1.00 per game).
• Redshirt junior OF Enzo Apodaca extended his hitting streak to 11 games after going 3-for-6 with an RBI.
• The effort marked Apodaca’s 11th multi-hit game of the year, and second game in 2024 with three or more hits.
• Junior OF Ty Johnson extended his hitting streak to seven games.
• Junior OF Wesley Jordan extended his team-leading on-base streak to 24 games.
• Senior INF Daniel Altman reached base for the 10th-straight game, going 2-for-6 with three RBIs.
• Altman collected his ninth multi-hit and fifth multi-RBI game of the year.
• Altman has now driven in runs in 10 of his last 14 games.
• Junior INF Hunter Teplanszky extended his on-base streak to 16 games.
• Sophomore C Zach Mazoch hit safely for the seventh-straight game.
• Fifth-year senior INF Cole Posey a season-high three hits, his second multi-hit game of the year, and drove in two runs for his second multi-RBI game of 2024.
• Junior INF Tyriq Kemp reached base for the 10th game in a row.
• Junior C Cortlan Castle notched his fifth multi-hit and first multi-RBI game of the year, going 2-for-5 with two RBIs.
• Junior RHP Mason Marriott made his sixth start of at least five innings while allowing three or fewer earned runs, going 5.0 on the mound while allowing just two earned runs.
• Sophomore LHP Ethan Calder made his ninth scoreless appearance of the season, tossing three shutout frames in relief.
• Redshirt junior RHP Drew Leach made his ninth scoreless appearance of the year with a clean ninth inning.

STAT OF THE DAY
14 – Baylor racked up 14 hits, its most in a Big 12 game so far this season.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On the offense in the win…
“I like the fact that it wasn’t just the top of our order that was getting all the hits. The bottom half of the order got half our hits. Anytime that happens, they’re on base for the top of the lineup to drive those guys in. We need production from up and down the lineup and that’s what we got today. I thought it was overall a really good ballgame.”

On the difference in Mason Marriott this season…
“I just think it’s maturity. I think it’s confidence. It’s knowing that you have the stuff to do it, but it just takes time. The game slows down the more you’re out there. When you get thrown in situations that maybe you’re not ready to handle, and it doesn’t go well when you want it to go well, then it’s added pressure on yourself. Our ball club is a little better now, we can make more plays behind him, those type of things all fit together but Mason’s maturity level on and off the field has been way different.”

Senior Infielder Cole Posey
On the club finding an identity…
“I just love seeing how everyone’s grown. Mason Marriott, he’s really developed into an ace. He’s always had the stuff, but he’s become a stud this year. On the hitting side of things, we’re starting to figure some stuff out. It’s so cool to see how everyone’s grown and gained a little momentum.”

Junior Right-Handed Pitcher Mason Marriott
On settling in after allowing two home runs…
“I just tried to keep having good confidence in myself. We’re in Utah, I know the ball is gonna fly a little better, so I just tried to move on from it and kept going on to the next batter. Just tried to stay within myself. Glad to get a win. Bullpen came in after me and kept closing the door on them, so it was a good to get a good team win out there.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (14-18, 6-7) and BYU (14-16, 6-10) return for game two of the series on Friday, April 12, with first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m. CT at Miller Park in Provo, Utah.

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_1654664043]<http://baylorbears.com/>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20240412/2421d5ad/attachment-0001.htm>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 11694 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20240412/2421d5ad/attachment-0001.png>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: BU32 Box Score.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 30182 bytes
Desc: BU32 Box Score.pdf
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20240412/2421d5ad/attachment-0003.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 2024 Season Stats.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 406711 bytes
Desc: 2024 Season Stats.pdf
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20240412/2421d5ad/attachment-0004.pdf>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: 2024 Conf Stats.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 373723 bytes
Desc: 2024 Conf Stats.pdf
URL: <http://mailman.baylor.edu/pipermail/localmedia/attachments/20240412/2421d5ad/attachment-0005.pdf>