BSB Finishes Off Sweep at BYU - Baylor (2024)

W: Ruais, RJ (2-0) L: Coon, Hayden (1-2)

Bears win a wild 18-17 ballgame for first Big 12 sweep since 2019

Game Recap: Baseball | 4/13/2024 8:15:00 PM

PROVO, Utah – Baylor baseball finished off its first road sweep in Big 12 play in five years, downing BYU 18-17 in a wild series finale on Saturday at Miller Park in Provo, Utah.

The Bears (16-18, 8-7) jumped out to an 18-5 lead through five and a half innings, then hung on as the Cougars (14-18, 6-12) scored 12 unanswered runs before senior lefty Kobe Andrade retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth to seal the victory.

BU pounded out a season-high 21 hits and saw seven players record multi-hit games, including redshirt junior outfielder Enzo Apodaca who set a career high with five knocks, Baylor's first five-hit day since Kyle Nevin did so against Texas Tech on May 1, 2022.

The Bears also punched out 13 opposing batters on the day, marking their 16^th double-digit strikeout performance of 2024. Freshman southpaw RJ Ruais picked up the win, his second of the year, after allowing just one run on four hits with three strikeouts across two innings of work.

THE RUNDOWN
BU wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as junior outfielder Wesley Jordan blasted a three-run homer in the top of the first. Redshirt freshman right-hander Collin McKinney worked around a one-out walk to strike out the side in the bottom half before Baylor put up another three-spot in the second behind junior infielder Tyriq Kemp's two-run shot and another RBI knock by Jordan.

Despite McKinney picking up another three punchouts in the bottom of the third, BYU struck for four runs and climbed with two at 6-4.

However, Baylor broke it open in the top of the fourth with nine runs on seven hits and two Cougar errors, extending its lead to 15-4. Senior infielder Cole Posey doubled in a run and subsequently scored on Kemp's RBI double. Then, Apodaca singled in a run and scored on junior outfielder Ty Johnson's RBI double. Jordan picked up his third run-scoring hit with a double off the left-field wall ahead of back-to-back RBI singles by senior infielder Hunter Teplanszky and sophom*ore catcher Zach Mazoch.

Apodaca crushed his career-best fourth home run of the season in the top of the fifth to push BU's lead to 17-4. A solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inched BYU closer at 17-5, but Baylor got the run back in the top of the sixth with an RBI single from Posey.

That's when the Cougars started their comeback bid, as they plated six runs in the bottom of the sixth and then back-to-back three-spots in the seventh and eighth to pull within one.

However, Andrade shut the door in the ninth with a 1-2-3 frame to seal Baylor's first road sweep in Big 12 play since 2019.

HIGHLIGHTS
• The win marked Baylor's first sweep in a Big 12 series, road series, or road Big 12 series since April 26-28, 2019, at TCU.
• BU has now won five of its last seven weekend series.
• Baylor has won eight of its last nine games, its best stretch under second-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
• The Bears racked up a season-high 21 hits and 18 runs, their most in a game since totaling 22 hits and 19 runs against Kansas on April 15, 2022.
• This was BU's 14th double-digit hitting performance of the season and seventh in its last eight games.
• Baylor also struck out 13 opposing batters for its 16^th double-digit strikeout performance of the year.
• Redshirt junior OF Enzo Apodaca went 5-for-5 and reached base in all six of his plate appearances, becoming the first Bear to tally five hits in a game since Kyle Nevin did so on May 1, 2022, against Texas Tech.
• Apodaca extended his team-leading hit streak to 13 games and logged his 12^th multi-hit game of the year.
• Apodaca also produced his team-leading seventh multi-RBI game of the year.
• Junior OF Ty Johnson recorded his 11^th multi-hit game of the year and extended his hitting streak to nine games.
• Junior OF Wesley Jordan hit his team-leading sixth home run of the season and extended his team-best on-base streak to 26 games.
• Jordan notched his eighth multi-hit and sixth multi-RBI effort of the year, going 3-for-3 with five RBIs.
• Senior INF Daniel Altman reached base for the 12^th-consecutive game.
• Junior INF Hunter Teplanszky went 2-for-5 with an RBI for his team-leading 13^th multi-hit game of the season.
• Sophom*ore C Zach Mazoch tallied his fifth multi-hit game of the season.
• Senior INF Cole Posey went 3-for-6 with two RBIs for his fourth multi-hit and third multi-RBI game of 2024.
• Junior INF Tyriq Kemp hit his first-career home run and went 3-for-6 with four RBIs, his fifth multi-hit and second multi-RBI game of the year.
• Redshirt freshman RHP Collin McKinney struck out six in three innings, marking his fifth start of the year with at least five punchouts.
• Freshman LHP RJ Ruais improved to 2-0 on the mound after throwing two innings and allowing one run on four hits and one walk with three strikeouts.

STAT OF THE DAY
3 – Baylor picked up its third win of the weekend, marking its first road sweep in Big 12 play since 2019.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On his feelings after the win…
"Well it's gut-wrenching, man. That's how you get gray hairs as a coach. Momentum is a funny thing in this game, and at a place where the ball travels like this, it's never over. It's never over until it's over. I give BYU credit for coming back down 13 runs, but they only got 12 of 'em and we won."

On the offensive performance…
"We swung the heck out of it and it was a lot of fun. It was relentless and it was well hit ball after well hit ball up and down the lineup. When we got up to 18-5, the only thing I would say is just don't stop. Momentum is funny and they come back, and all of a sudden we feel the weight of the world on us. You've got to keep playing until they tell you the game is over."

Senior Infielder Cole Posey
On the victory…
"I think one of the coolest things is that our offense came out and took care of business, but I never felt like we lost our heads or lost our cool. As they were starting to come back you could definitely feel the momentum swing, but we got enough outs and scored just enough runs. [The sweep] means a lot. That was a big thing on our mind going into this week, that's huge for our conference record. We really accomplished it and I couldn't be more proud of the guys."

Junior Infielder Tyriq Kemp
On his recent strong performances at the plate…
"I'm starting to feel more confident in the box, starting to see the ball better. When I'm in the box, I'm just trying to help the team win. Keep having the same approach that I am right now and hoping to get success out of it."

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (16-18, 8-7) rounds out its road swing at UT Arlington (15-20, 10-7) on Tuesday, April 16, with a 6 p.m. first pitch in Arlington.

To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.

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