Baylor Baseball Handles Sam Houston, 9-3

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 23, 2024

Baylor Baseball Handles Sam Houston, 9-3
Jordan extends on-base streak to 30 games, T. Johnson swipes three bags in the win
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball handled Sam Houston on Tuesday night, taking a 9-3 victory over the Bearkats at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

Six BU pitchers combined to strike out 12 SHSU batters as senior right-hander Jared Matheson, redshirt junior righty Gabe Craig and senior southpaw Kobe Andrade each gave the Bears scoreless outings. Freshman catcher Brayden Buchanan, junior outfielder Ty Johnson and junior outfielder Wesley Jordan each added two hits, including a combined three extra-base hits, and scored a combined six runs to lead the charge offensively.

Johnson became the first Baylor player in two seasons to swipe three bags, including a steal of home in the first inning that got the Bears on the board. Jordan extended his on-base streak to 30 games and became just the second Bear in the last decade to reach in 30 or more consecutive contests. He hit the first triple of his collegiate career, a 110-mile-per-hour laser off the batter’s eye that scored two and put the stamp on Baylor’s 11th victory in its last 14 games.

THE RUNDOWN
Matheson gave the Bears (19-20) an excellent start, tossing three scoreless and allowing just two walks and no hits with two strikeouts. He received some run support in the form of a double steal in the first inning that saw junior infielder Hunter Teplanszky fake falling down between first and second base, allowing Johnson to scamper home and put BU on the board.

In the bottom of the third, Buchanan tripled off the wall in left-center and later scored on Johnson’s RBI infield single. After stealing two more bases, Johnson made it 3-0 by scoring on a balk. BU pushed the lead to 4-0 in the fourth after a sacrifice fly from junior infielder Tyriq Kemp.

SHSU (24-17) plated its first run in the fifth with an RBI single, and cut the deficit to just one after back-to-back RBI knocks in the top of the sixth. However, Baylor responded by loading the bases in the home half and chased in a run on a double play to cushion its advantage at 5-3.

After Craig struck out two in a scoreless top of the seventh, the Bears broke it open with another RBI single from Johnson and Jordan’s two-run triple. A Teplanszky sacrifice fly made it 9-3 and allowed BU pitchers some breathing room the rest of the way.

Craig returned to the mound in the eighth for another strikeout before handing the ball off to Andrade, who struck out four of the seven batters he faced to cap off the victory.

HIGHLIGHTS
• This is Baylor’s 11th win in its last 14 ballgames.
• Baylor improved to 71-49 all-time against Sam Houston, 5-4 in midweek games this season and 10-11 against teams from the state of Texas in 2024.
• With nine runs, BU has now scored eight or more in 10 of its last 14 games.
• With 10 hits, BU has now racked up nine or more hits in 13 of its last 16 games.
• With 12 strikeouts, BU has now eclipsed double digits in strikeouts in nine of its last 15 games.
• This is the 18th time this season that the Bears have fanned 10 or more opposing batters.
• The Bears stole six bases, their most in a game since swiping seven against Tennessee on March 5, 2022.
• Junior OF Ty Johnson extended his on-base streak to 14 games after going 2-for-4 with two RBIs.
• Johnson also collected his 13th multi-hit and third multi-RBI effort of the year.
• Johnson became the first Bear to steal three bases in a single game since Jack Pineda did so on March 5, 2022, against Tennessee.
• Johnson also stole home, becoming the first Bear since Cole Posey (Feb. 17, 2023, vs. Central Michigan) to do so.
• Junior OF Wesley Jordan extended his on-base streak to 30 games after going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
• Jordan became the first player since Davis Wendzel (37, 2018) and second Bear in the last decade to reach safely in 30 consecutive games.
• Jordan also tallied his 10th multi-hit and eighth multi-RBI games of the season.
• Jordan recorded his first-career triple.
• Senior INF Cole Posey extended his on-base streak to 10 games.
• Freshman C Brayden Buchanan notched his first-career two-hit game, which included a double and a triple, the first extra-base hits of his career.
• Senior RHP Jared Matheson collected his first win of the season, throwing three scoreless with two strikeouts.
• Freshman LHP RJ Ruais picked up his eighth multi-strikeout outing of the year.
• Redshirt junior RHP Gabe Craig struck out three to match his career high.
• This was Craig’s seventh scoreless appearance of the season.
• Senior LHP Kobe Andrade logged his eighth multi-strikeout appearance and 11th scoreless relief outing of the year, tying his career high with four punchouts.

STAT OF THE DAY
30 – Wesley Jordan reached base safely for the 30th consecutive game.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On the win…
“It was a really well played game all the way around. I thought we swung the bats well, we ran the bases well, we were aggressive and stole some bags. Then on the mound, I thought that every guy that went out there threw the ball pretty well, threw strikes, commanded the zone and were good matchups. It all starts on the mound. If the [pitching] is good, then the rest of the game kind of falls into place and Jared Matheson started us out well.”

Junior Outfielder Wesley Jordan
On his 30-game on-base streak…
“Honestly, I didn’t even know I was at 30. I didn’t know I had a streak going at all. But it’s something you don’t want to think about, because as soon as you start thinking about it you jinx yourself. So just keep trying to do what I’m doing.”

Freshman Catcher Brayden Buchanan
On being in the lineup and producing tonight…
“I just played really loose tonight and just tried to get my best swing off. Made really good contact with a couple of balls tonight. Had a lot of fun. I’ve been coming to practice every day ready to work and get better, and when your opportunity is called, you have to have the right mindset to go out there and play your best and put your best performance on the field.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (19-20, 9-9) heads to Morgantown, W.Va., to face No. 21 West Virginia (23-16, 11-7) in a three-game series at Monongalia County Ballpark, beginning Friday, April 26, at 5:30 p.m. CT.

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_2985014487]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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