McKinney’s Gem Leads Baylor Baseball To Series Win Over Cincinnati

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 30, 2024

McKinney’s Gem Leads Baylor Baseball To Series Win Over Cincinnati
Redshirt freshman RHP allows one hit, strikes out 10 in 6.1 brilliant innings
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – Behind a 10-strikeout gem from redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Collin McKinney, Baylor baseball (10-17, 5-7) took a 9-2 win in the series finale over Cincinnati (16-13, 4-5) on Saturday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark.

McKinney gave BU 6.1 brilliant innings on the bump, allowing just one hit and an unearned run while walking two and fanning a career-high 10. At one point, the Nassau Bay native had retired 14 in a row, including five consecutive punchouts.

The Bears gave McKinney plenty of run support, scoring seven runs in the first three innings and adding to the lead late with a two-run blast off the bat of senior infielder Daniel Altman in the bottom of the eighth, the first of his BU career.

Four Bears had multi-hit games while Altman and junior infielder Hunter Teplanszky each drove in three runs in the victory. Redshirt junior righty Drew Leach finished it off with two scoreless frames out of the bullpen, while striking out a career-high four.

THE RUNDOWN
UC struck first in the opening inning after McKinney surrendered a leadoff walk and a bloop single, on which the Bearcats plated a run thanks in part to a BU error. From there, it would be all zeros for the redshirt freshman right-hander, as a strikeout and a double play brought the Bears up to bat.

In the bottom of the first, Teplanszky doubled in a pair and gave Baylor a 2-1 lead, an advantage in which his squad would never squander. BU added four in the second inning behind junior outfielder Ty Johnson’s RBI single, junior outfielder Wesley Jordan’s RBI double, Altman’s sacrifice fly and another RBI knock by Teplanszky.

The BU lead swelled to 7-1 in the third after redshirt junior Enzo Apodaca scored junior infielder Tyriq Kemp with a single to left field. After McKinney had struck out the side in order in the top half of the inning, he kept the momentum rolling in the fourth with another pair of strikeouts and an inning-ending flyout.

McKinney kept cruising until the seventh, when he handed the ball off to freshman southpaw RJ Ruais, who recorded two quick outs. Though Ruais walked a pair to begin the eighth and allowed a run to UC, Leach entered in relief to strike out the side and avoid further damage.

Altman crushed an 0-1 pitch over the right-field wall in the home half, padding the BU lead to 9-2, and giving Leach plenty of breathing room to finish things off in the ninth.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor improved to 5-7 in league play and has now won each of its last two Big 12 series at home.
• BU notched its 14th inning of the season with 3+ runs after scoring four in the bottom of the second.
• The Bears struck out 14 batters on Saturday, tying a season high and marking the 11th time this season and 31st time in the Thompson era that the team has eclipsed double figures in punchouts.
• Redshirt freshman RHP Collin McKinney fanned a career-high 10 batters and went a personal-best 6.1 innings on the mound, allowing just one unearned run on one hit and two walks.
• McKinney struck out five batters in a row in the third and fourth innings, becoming the first Bear to fan five consecutive since the team did so on May 14, 2022, at Kansas State.
• McKinney’s 10 strikeouts tied the team’s season high (Mason Marriott vs. Nebraska, Feb. 16) and marked the first time since 2018 that Baylor has had multiple 10+ strikeout performances in the same season.
• Redshirt junior RHP Drew Leach fanned a career-high four in two scoreless innings of relief.
• This was Leach’s eighth scoreless appearance of the year.
• Five Bears recorded multi-hit games in redshirt junior OF Enzo Apodaca (ninth), junior outfielder Ty Johnson (seventh), junior INF Hunter Teplanszky (ninth), sophomore C Zach Mazoch (third) and junior C Cortlan Castle (fourth).
• Apodaca extended his hitting streak to six games.
• Teplanszky extended his on-base streak to 11 games and logged his third multi-RBI effort of the year.
• Junior OF Wesley Jordan extended his team-leading on-base streak to 19 games with an RBI double in the second inning.
• Senior INF Daniel Altman hit the first home run of his Baylor career, and second of his Division I career, extending his hitting streak to five games.
• Altman has now driven in at least one run in seven of his last nine games.
• This was Altman’s second multi-RBI game of 2024.
• Junior INF Tyriq Kemp now own a five-game on-base streak.

STAT OF THE DAY
10 – Collin McKinney struck out a career-high 10 batters. His performance marked the first time since 2018 that Baylor has gotten multiple 10+ strikeout performances in the same season.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On the feeling after this win…
“I thought overall, after you lose Thursday night and come back and win a good ballgame on Friday, to come out here and basically dominate the game, 9-2, I think that was a big-time win for our guys. And, I think it shows a lot of heart, shows a lot of fight from them, a lot of character and those are all things you can keep building on. It was fun for them to play this weekend, played well, and winning is more fun than losing. It’s big time.”

Redshirt Freshman Right-Handed Pitcher Collin McKinney
On his performance today…
“It felt amazing. Having run support early definitely got the momentum going in the right direction, and that’s a good recipe for a win. I was just trying to go out there, fill up the zone and do what I’ve been doing. Trust the defense, trust Cort [Castle] behind the plate and take it from there.”

Redshirt Junior Right-Handed Pitcher Drew Leach
On being trusted in late-inning situations…
“It means the world. We’ve got a lot of great guys in the bullpen and for them to call my name, repeatedly this week, it means a lot. I know they have a lot of trust in me and I have a lot of trust in them. I love the way [Coach Leverton] calls a game, and if they trust me and I trust them, I think we can go a long way.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (10-17) welcomes HCU (9-18) to Waco for a midweek battle on Tuesday, April 2, at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

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_1479361055]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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