Late Comeback Bid Falls Short as Texas State Tops Baylor Baseball, 9-6

[Calderone, Max]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – May 5, 2026

Late Comeback Bid Falls Short as Texas State Tops Baylor Baseball, 9-6
Bears bring go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth, but drop midweek matchup on the road
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Despite a furious comeback bid that saw the Bears score three runs and bring the go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the ninth, Baylor baseball dropped a 9-6 contest at Texas State on Tuesday night at Irvine-Rasmussen Ballpark in San Marcos.

The Bears (25-23, 11-13 Big 12) were held quiet most of the way, but rallied late to send nine batters to the plate in the top of the ninth and had the bases loaded with one out before back-to-back strikeouts ended the ballgame.

Texas State (28-21) nearly led from wire to wire, as the Bobcats scored in six-straight frames from the second inning through the seventh.

In his chase for history, redshirt senior 1B Tyce Armstrong reached base four times in five plate appearances, going 2-for-3 with two doubles, an RBI and two walks, one of which was intentional. He remains tied with Charley Carter (1998) for the program’s single-season home run record.

THE RUNDOWN
Baylor had traffic in the early goings, as redshirt junior infielder Travis Sanders singled on the first pitch of the ballgame and Armstrong was later intentionally walked in the top of the first, though nothing came of it. Then in the second, BU loaded the bases with two outs thanks to three free passes, but couldn’t cash in on another run-scoring opportunity.

A pair of home runs gave the Bobcats the game’s first lead, as a two-run shot in the second and a solo blast in the third put the home team ahead, 3-0. Once again, BU got something going in the fourth with two baserunners aboard, but a 6-4-3 double play ended the frame and kept TXST in front.

Three-straight two-out hits, including an RBI double, extended Texas State’s lead in the fourth to 4-0. But Baylor answered with a solo shot of its own off the bat of Sanders, a 374-foot opposite way blast, to get on the board at 4-1 in the fifth.

Texas State got that run right back in the bottom half with another solo shot to make it 5-1, but again BU countered quickly in its next offensive trip. Freshman outfielder Dylan Perez doubled sharply off the center field wall, then scored on redshirt freshman designated hitter Brytton Clements’ RBI knock. A couple of groundouts brought Clements around to help Baylor cut the deficit to 5-3 after the top of the sixth.

However, three-straight free passes started the home half of the sixth and a wild pitch pushed another run across for the Bobcats. Then, a two-run double gave TXST an 8-3 lead and another RBI double with two outs in the seventh gave the Bobcats their largest lead of the night at 9-3.

After a scoreless eighth, the Bears came alive and sent nine batters to the plate, sparking a furious late rally. A hit by pitch and walk set up Armstrong’s second double of the game, this time chasing in a run to cut it to 9-4. Another hit by pitch and wild pitch plated one more run, then Perez singled home another tally to make it 9-6.

Following a fly out and one-out single by pinch hitter John Youens, the bases were loaded with the go-ahead run coming to the plate. But, a pair of strikeouts on six total pitches squashed the threat and sealed the victory for Texas State.

HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor finishes its midweek slate at 7-5 in 2026 and completed the regular season going 13-9 against teams from the state of Texas.
• Baylor homered for the eighth-straight game, tying its season-high streak.
• BU’s 87 stolen bases through 48 games are its most at this point in a season since at least 2003, and are the most in a single season since the Bears swiped 96 in 2012.
• Redshirt junior INF Travis Sanders extended his hitting streak to six games and has now reached safely in 14 straight.
• Sanders also collected his 20th multi-hit game of the year and hit his fifth home run of the season.
• Sanders swiped his 24th stolen base of the season, the most by a Bear since Brooks Pinckard stole 36 in 2011.
• Redshirt senior 1B Tyce Armstrong reached safely for the 20th-consecutive ballgame and extended his hitting streak to six games.
• Armstrong also logged his 16th multi-hit game of the season.
• Freshman OF Dylan Perez extended his hitting streak to five games and notched his seventh multi-hit effort of the year.
• Redshirt freshman DH Brytton Clements notched his 10th multi-hit game of the season.
• Fifth-year senior OF Ty Johnson extended his on-base streak to five games.
• Freshman RHP Luke McLeod recorded his fifth multi-strikeout outing of 2026.
• Redshirt freshman RHP Brayden Bergman worked his seventh multi-strikeout outing of the year.
• Redshirt freshman RHP Cayden Baker made his fourth scoreless appearance of the season.

STAT OF THE DAY
36 – Over his last six ballgames, redshirt senior 1B Tyce Armstrong has raised his batting average 36 points from .294 to .330.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On the fight the team showed in the ninth inning…
“We took competitive at-bats and gave ourselves a shot. I’m glad to see it, that we did fight like that. After the last Texas Tech game where they came back and made it close against us, I asked the team “when are we going to have one of those?” Well, we just about did, so that’s a good thing to see.”

WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor (25-23, 11-13 Big 12) returns to the friendly confines of Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark, playing host to UCF (27-18, 15-9 Big 12) in a three-game series beginning Friday, May 8, in Waco. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. in Friday night’s series opener.

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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