Baylor Baseball Drops 5-2 Contest at No. 21 West Virginia

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 27, 2024

Baylor Baseball Drops 5-2 Contest at No. 21 West Virginia
Bears get tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, but come up short
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Baylor baseball got the tying run to the plate in the top of the ninth inning, but ultimately fell 5-2 to No. 21 West Virginia on Saturday afternoon at Kendrick Family Ballpark in Morgantown, W.Va.

Mountaineers starter Derek Clark kept the Bears off balance, holding BU to just two runs on five hits through the first eight innings, but Baylor showed some life in the ninth with a pair of knocks to put runners on the corners and bring the tying run to the plate. However, a diving catch by reigning Big 12 Player of the Year JJ Wetherholt retired junior outfielder Ty Johnson and clinched the series for WVU.

Redshirt freshman right-hander Collin McKinney battled for four innings on the bump, striking out four and working out of a couple early jams. He limited damage and allowed just two runs on four hits, despite five walks.

A three-run fifth inning for WVU was the difference, as two hits, a walk, a hit by pitch and a wild pitch allowed the Mountaineers to pull away.

THE RUNDOWN
WVU (25-16, 13-7) got the scoring started with a solo home run in the bottom of the second, but BU knotted things up in the top of the fourth with a two-out RBI single by junior catcher Cortlan Castle. The Bears (19-22, 9-11) threatened for more, though a groundout with the bases loaded would end the inning and keep the tally even.

McKinney had fought through a couple sticky situations, stranding the bases loaded in the second and leaving a pair aboard in the third before a quiet bottom of the fourth. He handed the ball off to redshirt junior right-hander Patrick Hail in the fifth, as the Mountaineers chased home three without any run-scoring base hits.

A safety squeeze bunt scored one more in the bottom of the seventh for West Virginia, pushing the lead to 5-1. Junior infielder Hunter Teplanszky crushed his fourth home run of the season in the top of the eighth to bring the Bears back within three, but that would be all as two WVU pitchers worked out of danger in the ninth to squander BU’s hopes of a comeback.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Junior OF Ty Johnson extended his on-base streak to 16 games.
• Junior INF Hunter Teplanszky collected his 98th and 99th career hits, including his fourth home run of the season.
• This marked Teplanszky’s 14th multi-hit game of the season, tying him for the team lead.
• Fifth-year senior INF Cole Posey extended his on-base streak to 12 games.
• Junior C Cortlan Castle recorded his seventh multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 at the plate.
• Freshman LHP RJ Ruais tallied his seventh multi-strikeout relief appearance.

STAT OF THE DAY
99 – Junior INF Hunter Teplanszky had two hits, including his fourth home run of the season, and now has 99 hits for his collegiate career.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On today’s ballgame…
“The message was hey, tough one. We competed hard, we got the tying run to the plate, we got their left-hander in the game. We competed hard, it didn’t work out and I’m disappointed about it, but we can’t hang our heads. We’ve got to get back up and show back up tomorrow, it’s a really important game for us. Every one of these is precious. Let’s get out of here with at least one.”

On the challenge WVU starter Derek Clark presented…
“I thought their guy was good on the mound. He kept us off balance and they made plays behind him. He never really cracked the door for us. We tried a bunt play and they made an unbelievable play on it. It was a tough day offensively for us.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (19-22, 9-11) and No. 21 West Virginia (25-16, 13-7) return for the series finale on Sunday, April 28, with first pitch scheduled for 10 a.m. CT from Kendrick Family Ballpark in Morgantown, W.Va.

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_1932206876]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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