Apodaca Homers Twice as Bears Beat LMU in Series Opener, 9-4

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (10-3) opened its weekend series with a commanding 9-4 win over Loyola Marymount (8-6) Friday evening at Baylor Ballpark.

The Bears finished with 13 total base knocks, and three different players — Jack Little (RSo.), Enzo Apodaca (RSr.) and Wesley Jordan (Sr.) — hit home runs in the victory, with Apodaca leading the charge with two long balls. Designated hitter Hunter Simmons (RSr.) and center fielder Ty Johnson (Sr.) both had three-hit performances.

“It’s really cool seeing that everyone contributed to the win tonight,” Apodaca said post-game. “We had great pitching and great offense. All-around, just a fun game.”

Left-handed pitcher Ethan Calder (Jr.) earned the win and fanned five while surrendering three earned runs across five frames. Veteran righty Will Glatch (Sr.) tossed 2.2 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Baylor’s pitching staff totaled 11 strikeouts and issued one free pass in the win.

“If you throw strikes and make plays on defense, it’s hard to score; it’s hard to piece together enough hits to make it work,” head coach Mitch Thompson said. “The staff has done a really nice job of continuing to throw strikes. … Those free bases add up. Whoever wins the free-base war usually wins the game. It probably happened that way again tonight.”

Baylor Athletics - Jack Compton

1B Jack Little (RSo.) has hit a home run in three of his last four games.

The Bears jumped out to a quick lead when Apodaca doubled down the right-field line, and on the following at-bat, Jordan crushed a two-run bomb over the left field fence — his third home run of the season. Jordan leads the team with 16 RBIs through 13 games.

In the fourth inning, Baylor batted around and chased LMU’s starting pitcher, Kenji Pallares (Sr.), out of the contest after three frames. The four-run inning was highlighted by back-to-back home runs from Little and Apodaca.

Little’s home run was an inside-the-parker, marking Baylor’s first inside-the-park home run since Jared McKenzie’s in April 2022. Little has three home runs across his last four games.

“We came out hot tonight with the bats,” Glatch said. “That arm was really good for LMU, and we’re turning 94, 96 around and making him throw offspeed the entire time. I think that shows credit to our bats and what they can do.”

Apodaca added a solo shot in the seventh inning; he finished 3-for-5 at the plate with three extra-base hits in the victory — his fourth multi-hit game of the season and the first multi-homer game of his career.

The Lions added a late run in the ninth inning off righty Andrew Petrowski (RSr.), but it was unearned due to an error by Little at first base. Petrowski rebounded and struck out two to close out the ballgame.

Final: Baylor 9, Loyola Marymount 4

W: Ethan Calder (3-1) L: Kenji Pallares (2-2)

POTG: Enzo Apodaca (3-for-5, 2 HR, 2B, 3 R, 2 RBI)

WHAT’S NEXT

The Bears (10-3) will continue its series against Loyola Marymount (8-6) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 8, at Baylor Ballpark. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.