Baylor Splits Sunday Double-Header, Wins Series against #23 Duke

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball played well on Sunday afternoon, splitting the double-header but ultimately winning the series two games to one against #23 Duke (4-3).

On Friday night, Tyler Thomas was electric and set the tone for the series. Harrison Caley hit a clutch 2 RBI single to propel the Bears to a much-needed victory.

Saturday’s game was postponed due to inclement weather and moved to Sunday creating a double-header.

Game one of the double-header was the first game of the season where the pitching and hitting were both excellent. Jake Jackson’s dominant outing and great performances at the plate from Jack Pineda and Esteban Oquendo-Cardoza elevated the Bears to a big win.

Game two of the double-header saw great pitching from both sides. Ultimately, Baylor struggled to get a clutch hit, so two runs in the eighth inning gave Duke the win to avoid the sweep. 

Game 1 - 11 A.M.

Jake Jackson was fantastic in his second start in a Baylor uniform. The graduate transfer from Nevada was electric on the mound today, he pitched with a certain swagger that he knew no one was going to touch him. Jackson pitched seven innings, only allowing four hits and striking out four.

Baylor got the scoring started in the bottom of the third inning when Tre Richardson doubled into left-field scoring Jack Pineda, bringing the lead to 1-0 Baylor.

In the fourth, Esteban Oquendo-Cardoza hit a soft single into rightfield scoring Kyle Nevin from third and adding to the Baylor lead, 2-0. Oquendo-Cardoza had his best game at the plate so far this season, tying his career-high with three hits on the afternoon. 

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

Baylor blew the game wide open in the sixth, scoring seven runs. With the bases loaded, Esteban Oquendo-Cardoza hit a two-run single into center, giving him four RBIs on the day. With the bases loaded again, Jack Pineda hit an opposite-field shot off of the wall scoring two more runs.

The Bears added four more runs in the seventh, with Pineda continuing his great day with an RBI triple. Jared McKenzie began to show signs that his early-season slump may be behind him with a multi-hit day, including an RBI single in the inning.

For the first time this season, Baylor’s pitching and hitting were both excellent. In each game, typically only one or the other shows up. The 11 a.m. game was a cohesive effort by both sides and the confidence was visible on the field. If Jake Jackson can consistently pitch on Saturdays like he did today, Baylor should be very optimistic moving forward. 

Final: Baylor 12 - Duke 3

W: Jake Jackson (1-1) L: Luke Fox (1-1)

POTG: Jack Pineda 2 H, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI and the play of the game to end it:

Game 2 - 3 P.M.

Game two was not as smooth for the Bears offensively. Duke and Baylor both got on the board in the first inning, but pitching and defense kept control for both sides for much of the game.

Duke's second-baseman, Will Hoyle, hit a double down the leftfield line, then advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout to give Duke the early lead, 1-0.

Duke starter, Billy Seidl, opened the bottom of the first by hitting Jack Pineda with a pitch. Seidl then walked McKenzie and hit Nevin with another pitch. Chase Wehsener then earned a walk to score Jack Pineda to tie the game at 1-1.

Kobe Andrade walked to begin the fourth and later scored on a wild pitch to add to the Baylor lead, 2-1.

Baylor opened the sixth inning by getting the first two runners aboard, but a lack of execution kept the game tied at 2. A failed bunt attempt by Esteban Oquendo-Cardoza, a weak pop-up by Collin Castle, and a strikeout swinging from Jack Pineda ended any chance at what once looked like a promising inning.

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

Matt Voelker gave up a home run to Duke's third-baseman, Graham Pauley, to start the eighth. Then Baylor let the bases get loaded with two outs before Hambleton Oliver walked in the nine-hole hitter, ultimately giving Duke the edge that they needed to win the game, 4-2.

Baylor could not get the bats going in the second game of the double-header, nor could they execute a comeback. Only four Bears collected hits.

Looking back at the series, I think it would be safe to assume that Will Rigney is an X-factor for this Baylor team. If Rigney can come into his own and give quality innings, that would allow Baylor to have a formidable weekend rotation moving forward.

Rigney stands at 6’6 on the mound and offers a commanding presence to the opposing batter, he combines that with great swing and miss stuff. He does a great job showing his stuff late. What I mean by that is the batter cannot see the ball until it’s almost out of his hand.

That is a tremendous advantage that Rigney offers with his great command, great stuff, and the ability to throw harder than most of Baylor’s pitchers. Anytime Will Rigney takes the mound with Cortlan Castle behind the plate, there is a sense of trust and built-in chemistry from their days at Waco Midway together.

Today Rigney was solid, allowing just one run in four innings, so better offensive support would help him and the Bears come closer to their potential. Still, taking two of three from a ranked team is not something to scoff at.

Final: Duke 4 - Baylor 2

W: Jimmy Looper (1-0) L: Matt Voelker (0-1)

TOP QUOTES

“I thought our guys did a great job. They came out hot this morning. They did a really good job of getting it going... Duke has good quality arms that are all over the zone. It is hard for a hitter to get rhythm... Quite honestly it’s hard for the hitters, umpires, everybody to get in a rhythm. We just couldn’t get the hit when we needed to with guys in scoring position...  I was really happy with [Jake & Will]. They gave us a chance to win ” - Coach Rodriguez

“It felt really good. The guys gave me a ton of run support, so hats off to them. They supported me so I am going to give it my all. Coach asked if I wanted to go out for the seventh. I told him I wanted to shut this team down and send a message. ” - Jake Jackson

It hurts to not finish off the sweep by allowing a late-inning home run, but it was still a very positive weekend for the Bears. We saw great pitching performances from the starters and most importantly, I believe we established a weekend rotation moving forward.

The thought of a healthy Will Rigney looks very exciting. Plus, Jared McKenzie started to look like Jared McKenzie on Sunday. And it appeared that some of the guys who struggled last weekend at the plate started to pick things up. 

Winning a series and going toe-to-toe against a ranked opponent is a great confidence boost for the team moving into the next week, where Baylor will play some very quality teams

WHAT'S NEXT

Baylor travels to Houston on Wednesday to play Rice, at 6:30 PM.

Next weekend, the Bears will also be a part of the 2022 Shriners Children’s College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston. Baylor is scheduled to face UCLA on Friday, Tennessee on Saturday, and LSU on Sunday.