Baylor upsets No. 7 LSU to close Shriners Children's College Classic

HOUSTON – Baylor baseball (6-5) upset No. 8/7 LSU by a final of 9-6 Sunday night to close out the 2022 Shriners Children’s College Classic.

A sixth-inning two-run home run by Jack Pineda was the difference maker, as BU used four multi-hit and three multi-RBI efforts to top the Tigers.

LSU opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the first, but the Bears responded with an RBI sac fly by Kyle Nevin in the bottom to cut the lead in half. Nevin notched another RBI in the third to knot the score at 2-2, and Baylor then took the lead on another sacrifice fly, this time off the bat of Antonio Valdez.

Three Tiger runs in the top of the fourth chased BU starter Will Rigney, as he handed the ball off to Matt Voelker who turned in 2.1 scoreless innings and allowed just one hit. The Bears got one back in the bottom of the frame thanks to an RBI triple by Cortlan Castle, making it 5-4.

In the sixth, hits by Chase Wehsener and Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo set up a big inning. A run crossed the plate on a Castle fielder’s choice to tie the score before Pineda’s big fly put the Bears ahead for good at 7-5.

As Cam Caley and Hambleton Oliver bridged the late innings to closer Mason Marriott with clean outings, the Bears tacked on some insurance with some heads up plays in the eighth. Castle doubled and later scored on a Tre Richardson RBI single, then Jared McKenzie reached on a bunt single and Richardson wheeled around to an unoccupied third base. That allowed Nevin to pick up his third RBI on the day, extending the lead to 9-5.

With the game on the line, Marriott locked in after allowing a solo home run to strike out the final two batters of the game and earn his second save.

NOTES

• Baylor improves to 4-9 all-time against LSU, including a 2-1 mark under seventh-year head coach Steve Rodriguez.

• BU has won each of its last two contests against the Tigers, both coming at the Shriners Children’s College Classic.

• Baylor improves to 17-19 in neutral-site contests under Rodriguez.

• With a 2-1 mark at the 2022 tournament, the Bears are now 8-4 all-time at the Shriners Children’s College Classic.

• The 2022 Shriners Children’s College Classic set an attendance record for the three-day event, with a total of 53,879.

• Four Bears tallied multiple hits in Cortlan Castle, Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo, Jack Pineda and Tre Richardson.

• Three Bears recorded multiple RBIs in Castle, Pineda and Kyle Nevin.

• Nevin has now driven in runs in five of his last six games.

• Pineda blasted his first home run of the season and fifth as a Bear.

• Pineda also extended his on-base streak to 14 games, dating back to the 2021 season.

• Mason Marriott collected his second save of the season.

STAT OF THE GAME

5 – Baylor scored runs in five different innings and also cashed in on five LSU errors to pull off the upset.

TOP QUOTES

Head coach Steve Rodriguez
On the win…
“I’ll tell you what, really impressive outing by our guys today. From the first inning on, I was really happy with their approach at the plate and watching Will [Rigney] go out there and do what he did. We had some opportunities early with execution that we didn’t [cash in on], but all of a sudden we come back late and executed really well. I’m unbelievably proud of our guys. The energy they had throughout the whole game was pretty impressive.”

On carrying momentum from this win…

“Anytime you can play this well against the number seven team in the country and put them on their heels a little bit, we executed really well and our guys started having a really good plan at the plate. The execution on the mound really helped, I was really happy with everything they did. Once again, we’ve got a couple more weeks until we get into conference, we still have things to work on but what’s great is that we’re continuing to get better and that’s the biggest thing.”

Junior INF Jack Pineda
On his home run and playing clean defense…
“It was a 2-0 count and they had been challenging us, so I knew they were going to go right after me. I think that God puts people in your life at the right time and we had really worked on my swing a lot this week. I think that was just preparation meeting the opportunity that God gave me and it felt good. Just didn’t miss it. We’re starting to see the tables turn. I think early, we made some defensive mistakes and other teams capitalized on us. So for us to capitalize on their mistakes, I think it shows what we’re capable of and that killer mentality that we’re starting to develop.”

Sophomore INF Tre Richardson
On his eighth-inning RBI and heads up baserunning…
“That’s me just trying to play baseball to the best of my ability. I’m just getting what the team is giving me. Right there, he threw me a fastball and I tried to stay short and simple. I had gotten a little too long early on, just tried to be simple and find a hole. And then, on the bases I just saw the open bag and took off. I’m just trying to play the game and win for my team.”

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (6-5) heads to Abilene Christian (7-4) to close out its five-game road stretch for a Wednesday night matchup at 6 p.m. CT in Abilene.

For the latest news on the Baylor baseball team all season long, follow its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball