Baylor Baseball Clinches Series Over BYU With 3-1 Victory

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 4, 2026

Baylor Baseball Clinches Series Over BYU With 3-1 Victory
Bears take pitchers’ duel behind Calder’s sharp start, Bunch’s fourth save
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball clinched its weekend series over BYU with a 3-1 victory on Saturday at Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.

The Bears (18-13, 7-5 Big 12) won a pitchers’ duel behind senior left hander Ethan Calder’s stellar start, who went six innings and allowed just one run on six scattered hits and no walks, while striking out a season-high nine batters. Fifth-year senior right-hander Caleb Bunch collected his fourth save of the year with two shutout frames to finish off the win.

Fifth-year senior outfielder Ty Johnson provided the spark at the plate with a big two-run single in the bottom of the fourth inning that put BU on the board. After BYU (14-16, 5-7 Big 12) plated its only run of the game in the top of the fifth, freshman outfielder Bo Caraway threw out a runner at the plate to keep the Cougars from scoring more, highlighting an impressive and clean defensive performance from the Bears on the day.

The win marks Baylor’s second-consecutive series win in Big 12 play and the first time the Bears have won two conference series in a row since 2024 (vs. Cincinnati and at BYU).

THE RUNDOWN
Calder led the charge from the mound right from the start, holding the Cougars scoreless through the first four innings while allowing just three hits and striking out six over that stretch.

Baylor had left six runners on base through the first three frames, but broke through in the bottom of the fourth as Johnson delivered a two-run single with the bases loaded to give the Bears the game’s first lead at 2-0. A sacrifice fly by freshman outfielder Brady Janusek scored redshirt junior infielder Travis Sanders, who smartly tagged on the shallow fly out and slid in safely to make it 3-0.

BYU answered with a trio of hits in the top of the fifth, including an RBI double that cut the BU advantage to 3-1. Threatening for more, a sharp single to center looked to score a run but Caraway came up firing from center field and nailed the baserunner at the plate to end the threat.

Calder returned to the mound in the sixth and retired the side in order with two more strikeouts, effectively ending his day after six solid innings of work and a season-high nine punchouts.

Though the Bears were unable to add any insurance in the late innings, the BU bullpen was just as effective as junior lefty RJ Ruais tossed a scoreless seventh and handed it off to senior closer Caleb Bunch who came on to record the six-out save. Bunch fanned three in the process of earning his fourth save of the year, matching his career high for saves in a single season, as BU took its fourth-consecutive Easter Weekend series dating back to 2023.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor improved to 6-2 all-time against BYU and 5-1 against the Cougars under fourth-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
• This is BU’s first win in a rubber game so far this season and the sixth in a Big 12 series under Thompson.
• The Bears have now won back-to-back Big 12 series for the first time since 2024 (vs. Cincinnati, at BYU).
• BU has won all four of its Easter Weekend series during the Thompson Era and clinched each of those series with a rubber match victory.
• Baylor pitchers combined to strikeout 12 batters on the day, marking the 10th double-digit punchout performance of the year.
• With one stolen base on the day, Baylor increased its season total to 55, marking the most by a BU team through 31 games since 2011 (59).
• Redshirt junior INF Travis Sanders extended his on-base streak to 34 games, dating back to 2025, and moved into eighth place on BU’s on-base streak leaderboard since 2003.
• Sanders’ four walks are the most in a single game by a Bear since Gavin Brzozowski walked four times on March 3, 2023, vs. Youngstown State.
• Fifth-year senior OF Ty Johnson recorded his second multi-RBI game of the season.
• Freshman OF Brady Janusek extended his on-base streak to 12 games.
• Junior INF Robert De La Garza extended his on-base streak to seven games.
• Senior LHP Ethan Calder fanned a season-high nine batters and made his third outing of the year with five or more strikeouts.
• With six innings of work today, Calder surpassed 200 innings pitched for his career, becoming the first Bear since Tyler Thomas [2018-2022] to achieve that milestone.
• Junior LHP RJ Ruais notched his 12th scoreless appearance of the season and sixth in a row.
• Fifth-year senior RHP Caleb Bunch earned his fourth save of the season and made his 10th scoreless appearance of the year.

STAT OF THE DAY
200 – Senior LHP Ethan Calder surpassed the 200 career innings pitched mark with six strong innings on the mound today, becoming the first Bear since Tyler Thomas [2018-2022] to reach the 200-innings plateau.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On the defense this afternoon…
“Defense was fantastic today. Travis [Sanders] made two huge plays, the play in the six-hole was awesome, and then Tyce [Armstrong] with a huge backhand play on a ball that was 105 off the bat, it was smoked. Then I think the defensive play of the game for us was Bo Caraway charging the ball with the confidence that he has and then to come up with a strong arm and accurate, on the money throw, it saves a run. And if you don’t get that, you’ve got another guy at second base. It may or not have been just a one run save, it may have been a multiple run save. So what a great play for him, and I love to see that kind of confidence in that execution.”

Senior LHP Ethan Calder
On eclipsing 200 career innings pitched…
“When I really looked at it, I was like ‘Dang, 200 innings, that feels like a lot.’ And then you go look at a big league season and then they’re throwing 200 innings (in a single season). So, it’s definitely cool to get. It definitely means a lot to me. I’ve played a lot of innings here and played some meaningful baseball here, especially with my family all doing something at Baylor. It’s fun for me, it was a fun day, especially getting a win on Easter Weekend.”

Redshirt Junior SS Travis Sanders
On being intentionally walked late in the game…
“It’s special, you know kind of a chip on your shoulder to get the respect of them. I like it because you get on base and that’s my job as a leadoff guy, to get on base and start the innings. So that was big, just to keep the inning going and apply pressure on the bases, and to know I’m a threat on the bases at all times.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (18-13, 7-5) hits the road for a midweek contest at UT Arlington (12-17) on Tuesday, April 7, at Clay Gould Ballpark 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 | Director of Athletics Communications (Baseball, Football)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-265-1639

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