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<a name="_Hlk490052374"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS –
</span></b></a><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">March 30, 2024<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">McKinney’s Gem Leads Baylor Baseball To Series Win Over Cincinnati<br>
</span></b><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">Redshirt freshman RHP allows one hit, strikes out 10 in 6.1 brilliant innings
<br>
</span></i><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">For more information contact:</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"> Max Calderone, 254-265-1639,
</span><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif"><a href="mailto:Max_Calderone@Baylor.edu"><span style="font-size:10.0pt">Max_Calderone@Baylor.edu</span></a></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black">
</span><b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"> </span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"><br>
<br>
</span><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">WACO, Texas –
</span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">THE RUNDOWN<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">HIGHLIGHTS</span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Baylor improved to 5-7 in league play and has now won each of its last two Big 12 series at home.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• BU notched its 14th inning of the season with 3+ runs after scoring four in the bottom of the second.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• The Bears struck out 14 batters on Saturday, tying a season high and marking the 11<sup>th</sup> time this season and 31<sup>st</sup> time
in the Thompson era that the team has eclipsed double figures in punchouts.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• 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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• 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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• 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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Redshirt junior RHP Drew Leach fanned a career-high four in two scoreless innings of relief.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• This was Leach’s eighth scoreless appearance of the year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• 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).<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Apodaca extended his hitting streak to six games.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Teplanszky extended his on-base streak to 11 games and logged his third multi-RBI effort of the year.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Junior OF Wesley Jordan extended his team-leading on-base streak to 19 games with an RBI double in the second inning.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• 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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Altman has now driven in at least one run in seven of his last nine games.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• This was Altman’s second multi-RBI game of 2024.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">• Junior INF Tyriq Kemp now own a five-game on-base streak.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">STAT OF THE DAY</span></b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">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. <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">QUOTABLE<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">Head Coach Mitch Thompson<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">On the feeling after this win…<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">“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.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">Redshirt Freshman Right-Handed Pitcher Collin McKinney<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">On his performance today…<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">“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.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">Redshirt Junior Right-Handed Pitcher Drew Leach<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">On being trusted in late-inning situations…<o:p></o:p></span></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">“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.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">WHAT’S NEXT<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">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.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt">To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;text-align:center;background:white">
<i><span style="font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;letter-spacing:.25pt"><br>
-BaylorBears.com-</span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">__________________________________</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size:6.5pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> </span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:#154734;mso-ligatures:none">Max Calderone</span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"> | Associate Director of Athletics
Communications (Baseball, Football)</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">Department of Athletics | Baylor University</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none">C: 254-265-1639</span><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;color:black;mso-ligatures:none"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
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