Baylor Baseball Falls to No. 23 Texas Tech in Friday Night Pitcher’s Duel

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 15, 2024

Baylor Baseball Falls to No. 23 Texas Tech in Friday Night Pitcher’s Duel
Bears drop 2-0 ballgame despite strong pitching performances
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (5-12, 0-4) dropped a 2-0 ballgame to No. 23 Texas Tech (14-4, 2-2) on Friday night at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

Despite some strong pitching performances from junior right-hander Mason Marriott, sophomore southpaw Ethan Calder and redshirt junior righty Drew Leach, it was the Red Raiders who outdueled the Bears, holding them scoreless on just four hits to take the opening game of the series.

Junior outfielder Ty Johnson logged two of BU’s four knocks on the night, while fifth-year senior infielder Mason Greer and junior outfielder Wesley Jordan produced the other two.

TTU’s Kyle Robinson went seven strong to collect the win, allowing just three hits and two walks, while striking out eight. Marriott was the hard-luck loser, after going five innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits, one walk and three strikeouts. Josh Sanders picked up the save for the Red Raiders after recording the final six outs and allowing just one hit.

THE RUNDOWN
Tech got on the board in the first inning thanks to four free passes, as Marriott plunked three batters and walked one. The Baylor ace avoided the big inning though, notching a pair of strikeouts to limit the damage.

In the bottom of the first, Johnson singled and stole second to get into scoring position, though an inning-ending strikeout left him aboard. Neither side threatened again until the fourth, when a two-out RBI double extended TTU’s lead to 2-0.

Baylor responded with a pair of baserunners in the home half, though once again Robinson fanned one and got a flyout to squander the threat.

Calder came on in the top of the sixth and needed just five pitches to retire the Red Raiders side. Nothing came of Greer’s one-out double in the bottom of the frame, as Baylor left its fourth runner on base of the night. But Calder kept cruising over the next two innings, facing the minimum as a pair of double plays prevented any Texas Tech momentum.

Unfortunately, it was much of the same for the Bears in the late innings, as no baserunner reached second base over the final three frames and the Red Raiders took the series opener, 2-0.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Junior OF Ty Johnson picked up his fourth multi-hit game of the season, leading the Bears with two hits on the night.
• Johnson also stole his second base of the season, having now swiped a bag in back-to-back games.
• Junior OF Wesley Jordan extended his on-base streak to nine games with a single in the fourth inning.
• Fifth-year senior INF Mason Greer has a hit in each of his last eight starts after hitting his third double of the season.
• This was junior RHP Mason Marriott’s fourth start of at least five innings, and third such outing allowing two earned runs or less.
• Sophomore LHP Ethan Calder recorded his sixth scoreless appearance of 2024, going 3.1 innings and allowing just one hit.
• Calder has not allowed an earned run over his last 12.2 innings pitched.
• Redshirt junior RHP Drew Leach made his sixth scoreless appearance and third consecutive.
• Leach has fanned at least two batters in five of his eight outings this season, including a pair of strikeouts against Texas Tech.

STAT OF THE DAY
12.2 – Sophomore LHP Ethan Calder has not allowed an earned run over his last 12.2 innings pitched.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On tonight’s game…
“I thought it was another Friday night game in the Big 12. It was a tough night to hit for both teams. You’ve got good pitchers out there on the mound getting after it. Obviously with the wind blowing in today, it kind of helped us because they hit a few balls harder than we did. Mason Marriott, [Ethan] Calder and [Drew] Leach, holding them to two runs gave us an opportunity to be in the game. Just disappointed we couldn’t get a couple across.”

On his team’s competitiveness…
“They’re competing, our guys are competing there’s no doubt about it. There were at-bats where we probably got in our heads a little bit and ended up taking a fastball when we were thinking he’d come back with a change. But we were fighting and competing; there’s multiple guys who did that.”

Sophomore Left-Handed Pitcher Ethan Calder
On his performance tonight…
“That’s my job out of the ‘pen, to come in and try to keep the ballgame where it’s at. I felt good, the crowd was amazing, that was nice to see. I was just trying to fill up the zone and do what I usually do. We’ve played good teams, our pitching staff has seen good bats all year, so we have confidence in ourselves that we have the stuff to compete with anyone.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (5-12, 0-4) and No. 23 Texas Tech (14-4, 2-2) are set to return for game two of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.

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_1158400041]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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