Baylor Baseball Wins Extra Innings Thriller at BYU, 8-5

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 12, 2024

Baylor Baseball Wins Extra Innings Thriller at BYU, 8-5
Bears clinch first road Big 12 series since 2021
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

PROVO, Utah – Down to its last strike in the top of the ninth, Baylor baseball scratched across the game-tying run, forced extras, and put up four runs in the top of the 10th to win an 8-5 thriller over BYU Friday night at Miller Park in Provo, Utah.

The victory clinched BU its first road Big 12 series win since 2021, as the Bears have now won seven of their last eight ballgames.

After trailing 4-1 in the seventh, Baylor (15-18, 7-7) scored one in the seventh and two in the ninth to tie it, then exploded for four runs in the top of the 10th to steal the victory.

Redshirt junior right-hander Gabe Craig got the win after coming on in the bottom of the eight and recording an inning-ending strikeout, one of his two punchouts on the evening. He stranded a pair of Cougars on base in the bottom of the ninth to send it to extras, then handed the ball off to redshirt junior righty Drew Leach and sophomore southpaw Ethan Calder to close it down.

Five of BU’s 12 hits came in the top of the 10th, as the team racked up double-digit hits for the sixth time in its last seven games. The Bears also fanned 12 BYU hitters, marking their 15th game this season with 10 or more punchouts.

THE RUNDOWN
Freshman lefty Mason Green got the start for Baylor and struck out five in three innings of work, though he was tagged for a trio of early runs. Despite BU getting on the board first in the top of the second thanks to a solo home run by fifth-year senior infielder Cole Posey, the Cougars responded with a run in the bottom of the second and a pair in the third to take a 3-1 lead.

Both sides were held scoreless until the bottom of the sixth, when BYU (14-17, 6-11) added to its lead with a sacrifice fly that made it 4-1.

In the top of the seventh, the Bears inched closer thanks to junior catcher Cortlan Castle’s RBI double which cut the deficit to 4-2. Baylor threatened for more in the eighth, but wound up leaving the bases loaded and still trailed by a pair headed into the ninth.

That’s when the rally began, as junior infielder Tyriq Kemp and Castle both walked to start the inning. Redshirt junior outfielder Enzo Apodaca was then hit by a pitch to load the bases with nobody out and BU plated a run on a double play ball to trim BYU’s lead to 4-3. With two outs and the tying run on third base, junior outfielder Wesley Jordan reached on an error that allowed Castle to score and knot the tally at 4-4. In the bottom half, Craig buckled down to strand two Cougars on base and send the game to extras.

In the 10th, there would be no slowing the Bears as Posey singled, redshirt junior outfielder Kade Fletcher doubled in his first at-bat of the night, and Kemp doubled them both home to put Baylor ahead, 6-4. Apodaca and junior outfielder Ty Johnson later recorded back-to-back RBI singles to extend the advantage to 8-4 and provide some insurance going into the home half.

Leach got the first two outs in the bottom of the 10th, but exited after an RBI double moved the scoreline to 8-5. In a save situation, it was Calder who came on to record the final out, a strikeout on just four pitches, and sealed the series-clinching victory for the Bears.

HIGHLIGHTS
• The win clinched Baylor’s first Big 12 road series victory since April 23-25, 2021, at Texas Tech.
• BU improved to 3-1 all-time against BYU and 2-0 against the Cougars in Provo.
• The Bears have won seven of their last eight games, their best stretch under second-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
• Baylor collected 12 hits for its 13th double-digit hitting performance and sixth in its last seven games.
• BU fanned 12 opposing hitters, marking the 15th time this season that the team has eclipsed double-digit strikeouts.
• The Bears have scored eight or more runs in seven of their last eight games.
• Redshirt junior OF Enzo Apodaca extended his hitting streak to 12 games with an RBI single in the 10th inning.
• Junior OF Ty Johnson racked up a career-high four hits and tallied his 10th multi-hit game of the season.
• Junior OF Wesley Jordan extended his on-base streak to 25 games, a team best.
• Senior INF Daniel Altman reached base safely for the 11th game in a row.
• Senior INF Cole Posey crushed his ninth-career home run and second of the season as part of his third multi-hit game of the year.
• Junior INF Tyriq Kemp logged his fourth multi-hit game of the year and reached base for the 11th-straight game, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
• This marked Kemp’s first-career multi-RBI game.
• Redshirt junior RHP Patrick Hail struck out two batters in relief, remaining the only Bear to fan at least one batter in each of his outings this season.
• Senior LHP Kobe Andrade made his ninth scoreless appearance of the season and extended his scoreless innings streak to 10.2.
• Redshirt junior RHP Gabe Craig made his fourth scoreless appearance of the year and picked up his first win of the season.
• Sophomore LHP Ethan Calder picked up his second save of the year with his 10th scoreless outing of 2024.

STAT OF THE DAY
4-1 – Baylor erased a 4-1 deficit with a run in the seventh, two in the ninth, and four in the top of the 10th to clinch the series over BYU.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On the importance of tonight’s win…
“Really big-time, character building win. We’re not doing it against chopped liver out there, either. That [BYU] bullpen is good, they’re real good. They’ve got good arms and they’ve done a really nice job all year. The fun part for me as a coach is to see the guys just continue to fight, continue to believe. To have guys step up who haven’t had contributing moments recently -- Gabe Craig coming up big, Kade Fletcher, and then Tyriq [Kemp] gets the two-run knock at the end. That’s a big deal. We’re using the whole roster and the whole roster was ready to go. They’re competing and believing, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Junior Outfielder Ty Johnson
On what this win shows about the team…
“We’re just a bunch of grinders. We may not be the most talented team in the country, but we’re a bunch of grinders. Obviously, you see there, we’re down by two going into the ninth and we just scrap something together. It’s not like we’re hitting balls out of the park over and over again. We’re scrapping together runs and we’re just figuring out ways to win.”

Redshirt Junior Right-Handed Pitcher Gabe Craig
On his outing…
“The slider felt really good tonight. I just felt like I went out there with a lot of confidence knowing I was the right guy for that moment. I think that just played into it big. Throwing everything with a lot of conviction, throwing it hard and letting the chips fall where they may. But it felt really good.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (15-18, 7-7) goes for the series sweep against BYU (14-17, 6-11) on Saturday, April 13. First pitch is scheduled for 2 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_3369959562]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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