WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (17-17, 3-8) crushed Kansas (14-19, 2-6) on Friday evening to tie the series at one apiece.
Just when I was starting to think all hope was lost for the season, the team reeled me back in. Today was another example of the Bears being able to rebound after a really tough loss. It was a combination of great performances from Kobe Andrade and the offense that made Friday’s game so successful. The bats came alive after yesterday’s lethargic performance and totaled 19 runs on 22 hits.
It was the first time since May 9th, 2021 against Kansas State that everyone in the starting lineup recorded both a hit and a run.
Jack Pineda started off the game by lining a ball into shallow left-center. He rounded first aggressively and made a mad dash for second base, sliding in headfirst for a leadoff double and a round of roaring applause which was absent in recent weeks.
Jared McKenzie followed up the Pineda double by reaching base for the twenty-first straight game in style. Jared “clobbered” (as he eloquently said after the game) a 2-run homer 489 feet, well over the right-field wall. The ball was hit so far, it may have ended up in the Brazos. The Bears led 2-0 after the first inning.
In the second inning, both Caley brothers reached base on singles. Pineda brought both home with his second double of the day, this time down the left-field line. Tre Richardson followed with a single through the left side to put runners on the corners. Kyle Nevin tried to one-up McKenzie’s homer by launching a towering 3-run shot of his own over the left-field wall. It was 7-0 Bears after the second inning.
In his third at-bat through three innings, Pineda picked up his third extra-base hit of the afternoon. This time it was on an RBI triple to the left-center field wall. It was 9-1 Bears after three.
Similar to Pineda, Casen Neumann had an outstanding afternoon. Neumann got his eleventh start of the season on Saturday afternoon and went 3-for-4, with a run scored and a double. He is way too talented to simply platoon a few games a week, he needs to be in the lineup every day.
In the bottom of the fourth with the bases loaded, Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo hit a 2 RBI single through the right side. BU led 11-1 after the fourth.
With the bases loaded again in the sixth, Richardson hit an RBI single through the right side to score two more. McKenzie followed with a 2 RBI double to bring the lead to 15-1 Bears.
I’m not ready to say that the Bears have conquered their bases-loaded woes. But today was a step in the right direction.
Baylor picked up four more runs in the later innings to add to the lead even further.
On the bump tonight, Andrade accomplished the first complete game of his young career. He was fantastic, going 9 IP and giving up 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, and 4 Ks on 88 pitches.
It’s such a breath of fresh air to see someone consistently pound the strike zone. Andrade does such a great job of working fast to keep batters off-balance as well. A lot of Jayhawk hitters swung early and often today, but very few were able to come out with solid contact against Andrade’s two-seamer and nasty slider.
Overall, Andrade was brilliant. Moving forward, the deeper he can go into games, the better shot this team has at winning those games because the bullpen will not have to be relied upon.
And a fun side note, Kobe’s family was in the crowd to witness his first career complete game.
I will admit that I was excited about the outpouring of runs today, but I remain cautiously optimistic about the offense going forward. After all, the Bears were playing a Kansas squad that is not very good.
Final: Baylor 19 - Kansas 2
W: Kobe Andrade (3-1) L: Cole Larsen (1-6)
POTG: Jack Pineda 3-5, 4 R, 2 2B, 3B, 3 RBI, HBP
TOP QUOTES
Jared McKenzie on today’s win
“It was good to have both [offense and pitching] today and to see that. We really just have to pick it up from here on out and use today as momentum and keep on winning.”
Coach Rod on what Andrade’s performance meant for the team
“We have a lot of games coming up this week. A lot of good opportunities for us to get things going. Being able to have a complete game by Kobe was huge.”
Kobe Andrade on his complete game
“It was amazing. That was an unbelievable feeling. That was my first time ever going more than six innings, let alone nine innings... I give all the credit to my offense and defense today. They were unbelievable. I pitched with the lead the whole game and it’s unbelievable as a pitcher to know your offense and defense are going to take care of me”
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor baseball (17-17, 3-8) finishes their series against Kansas (14-19, 2-6) tomorrow afternoon at 12:00 P.M at Baylor Ballpark.
