WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (18-18, 9-7) extended its winning streak to five games with a 14-5 thrashing of Kansas (19-15, 7-9) in the series opener Friday night at Baylor Ballpark.
For the first time since Feb. 21, 2023, the Bears have reached a .500 overall win-loss record. Baylor has won 10 of its last 11 games and has been victorious in six straight conference contests.
The batting order totaled 11 hits and tied a season-high in walks drawn with 10. The offense was led by catcher Cortlan Castle (Jr.), who went 3-for-3 at the plate with two doubles and collected a career-high four RBIs.
On the mound, right-handed pitcher Mason Marriott (Jr.) was phenomenal in his 10th start of the year. In 5.1 innings of work, the Tomball native earned the win, surrendered just one earned run and struck out six on 99 pitches.
“Mason Marriott set the tone,” head coach Mitch Thompson said after the victory. “From the first inning on, he was outstanding early filling the [strike zone] up. Then our offense comes up, and we have good at-bats. We have a really solid approach against their starter; we’ve got a good plan, and the guys were executing it.”
Right fielder Enzo Apodaca (RJr.) extended his hitting streak to a team-high 15 games with a leadoff single into right-center field in the bottom of the first. Left fielder Wesley Jordan (Jr.) crushed a ball through the right side of the infield, and a fielding error by KU’s right fielder Ty Wisdom (Fr.) gave Baylor an early 1-0 lead.
The Bears broke the game open in the second with a six-spot courtesy of a pair of Jayhawk miscues in the frame. Also in the inning, center fielder Ty Johnson (Jr.) smoked a two-run triple down the right field line and designated hitter Zach Mazoch (So.) skied an RBI sacrifice fly into left field.
The craziest moment in the second, however, was when Castle dribbled a ball down the first base line that veered back into play for an infield single. While Castle was beating out the throw to first, Cole Posey (Sr.) turned on the jets from second base, avoided a pickle and crossed home plate after an errant throw.
The Bears tallied seven runs, four of which were earned, off KU’s starter, Reese Dutton (Sr.) – the conference leader in wins (7) – within the first two innings of the contest. Once Baylor chased Dutton out of the game, Castle blooped a bases-clearing double into right field to extend Baylor’s lead to 10-0 in the fourth.
“[Dutton] is a sinker, slider guy that’s going to throw his fastball down and in,” Thompson said. “He’s going to rely on his slider, and our guys did a really nice job of not chasing it out of the zone. When we got pitches to it, we made some pretty good swings on them.”
“This means a lot for me,” Castle said of his 3-for-3 performance. “I’ve been struggling a bit early on, and so tonight was awesome, and honestly, I was just having a lot of fun. … I’ve been working a lot with Coach Dillon and Coach Blair, and I feel like they’ve gotten my swing in a good place.”
After tossing five shutout frames, the Jayhawks got on the board with a three-spot off Marriott in the sixth – only one run was earned, however. Marriott has now allowed two earned runs or less in five of his last six outings.
“Mason was absolutely electric tonight,” Castle said postgame. “That was the best performance I’ve ever seen out of Mason. Every single pitch he threw tonight was working.”
Following back-to-back base knocks from shortstop Tyriq Kemp (Jr.) and Castle in the bottom of the sixth, Apodaca crushed a two-run double off the right field wall to extend Baylor’s lead to 13-3. Fresh off a Big 12 Player of the Week award, Apodaca finished Friday’s contest, going 2-for-5 at the plate and scoring two runs.
Ethan Calder (So.) and Drew Leach (RJr.) combined for 2.2 scoreless frames out of the bullpen. The Jayhawks added two late runs off righty Stephen Sepulveda (Fr.) in the ninth.
Final: Baylor 14, Kansas 5
W: Mason Marriott (3-3) L: Reese Dutton (7-2)
POTG: Cortlan Castle (3-for-3, 2 2B, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB)
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor baseball (18-18, 9-7) will continue its series on Saturday against the Kansas Jayhawks (19-15, 7-9). The first pitch is currently scheduled for 11:30 a.m. but is subject to change due to potential inclement weather.
