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[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Feb. 17, 2024

Greer Homers, McKinney Debuts in Baylor Baseball’s Loss to Oregon
Fifth-year senior transfer hits BU’s first blast of season; freshman RHP looks sharp in 4.1 IP
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

ARLINGTON, Texas – Baylor baseball (0-2) fell to Oregon (2-0) 7-4 on Saturday at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

The Bears led 4-0 through the first three and a half innings, but couldn’t keep the Ducks from scoring seven unanswered to take the win. Fifth-year senior infielder Mason Greer provided a solo home run in the second inning, while senior outfielder Hunter Simmons posted two hits, including a triple, in the loss.

Redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Collin McKinney made his collegiate debut and struck out five batters in 4.1 frames on his 20th birthday. Though he exited with a lead, the Bears bullpen was unable to hold down a talented Ducks offense that was one game away from reaching the College World Series a season ago.

THE RUNDOWN
Baylor opened the scoring in the top of the second as redshirt sophomore outfielder Gavin Brzozowski drove in Simmons with an RBI groundout. Greer was the next batter to the plate and he promptly left the yard to put BU ahead 2-0 through two frames.

In the third, redshirt junior outfielder Enzo Apodaca and junior outfielder Ty Johnson set the table by reaching on a hit-by-pitch and singling through the right side, allowing junior infielder Hunter Teplanszky to drive in a run with an RBI single, extending the Bears’ lead to 3-0.

Then in the fourth, Apodaca tripled in a run, chasing junior Cortlan Castle around from first to swell the advantage to 4-0. All the while, McKinney was powering through the UO lineup without allowing a hit, working around a pair of walks and punching out four.

The Ducks got on the board in the bottom of the fourth after a pair of singles, then chased McKinney from the mound in the fifth and scored another three runs on four hits and a BU error.

>From there, Oregon’s bullpen kept the Baylor bats at bay and the Ducks put up another three-spot in the sixth to gain some distance, leading 7-4.

Freshman southpaw Jackson Elizondo pitched a strong seventh inning after making his debut in the sixth, and handed the ball off to redshirt junior RHP Andrew Petrowski who threw a clean eighth. The Bears were unable to get to UO’s Logan Mercado, as he struck out the side in the ninth as part of a six-out save.

HIGHLIGHTS
• This was the first meeting between Baylor and Oregon in program history.
• Baylor now owns an 8-6 record all-time at tournaments sponsored by Shriners Children’s.
• BU eclipsed double digits in strikeouts for the second time this season and 22nd time in the Mitch Thompson era.
• Redshirt freshman RHP Collin McKinney and freshman LHP Jackson Elizondo made their collegiate debuts.
• Fifth-year senior INF Mason Greer hit his first home run as a Bear, the 13th of his career.
• Redshirt junior OF Enzo Apodaca recorded his first hit, an RBI triple, as a Bear.
• Senior OF Hunter Simmons hit the second triple of his career.
• Simmons also became the third Bear to post a multi-hit game in 2024.
• Junior INF Hunter Teplanszky extended his team-leading on-base streak to eight games, dating back to last season.
• Redshirt sophomore OF Gavin Brzozowski reached base for the sixth-straight game, dating back to last season.

STAT OF THE DAY
5 – Redshirt freshman RHP Collin McKinney struck out five in his collegiate debut.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On today’s game…
“I was glad to see our offense get off to a good start. We had some big hits and scored four runs, got a lead and it was nice to play with a lead. I thought it was good for Collin McKinney to come in and he was good for his first time out. I thought he showed a lot of promise and that was great for us. Oregon squared some balls up. That’s a really good ballclub. They’ve got power, they’ve got speed, they’re sound defensively and obviously they’ve got good pitching. It was another competitive ballgame and we’re disappointed we didn’t come out on top.”

Senior INF Mason Greer
On the offensive potential of this team…
“We’ve showed a lot of promising things (offensively), we just have to carry it through the later parts of the game. We started off hot, but we’ve got to keep it going late. We just have to be ourselves and play hard. This team has a chance to be really good. I don’t think we need to try too hard, it’s just baseball.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (0-2) closes out the 2024 Shriners Children’s College Showdown on Sunday evening against No. 5 Tennessee (1-0), with a 6:30 p.m. first pitch at Globe Life Field in Arlington.

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_1096536432]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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