Baylor Baseball falls to Central Michigan in Series Finale, 4-3
WACO, Texas – Baylor Baseball (1-2) closed out the series with a loss against Central Michigan (2-1) on Sunday afternoon, 4-3.
The Bears made things interesting late and had runners aboard in the eighth and ninth innings but could not get a breakthrough hit to tie or take the lead.
“We’re learning,” head coach Mitch Thompson said after the loss. “The guys are hurt. They want to win. They’re not happy with a 4-3 loss, and I’m not happy with it either, but we’re learning. We’re learning when guys get opportunities. How do they respond? How do they handle things? … It’s a learning process. It’s day to day, but I loved the fight that they showed.”
Earlier in the afternoon, Baylor’s offense struck first and got on the board in the bottom of the first inning.
Freshman second baseman Kolby Branch led off and knocked a sharp single into right field in a 2-2 count. Branch then advanced to second on a passed ball and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Kobe Andrade followed and lined a shot into right field to score Branch and put the Bears up 1-0.
Mason Marriott’s debut as a weekend starter had both ups and downs. In the second inning, Marriott allowed three consecutive extra-base hits to give the Chippewas their first lead of the day, 2-1.
An errant throw from catcher Cort Castle on a bang-bang play at first base extended the inning and gave CMU two more runs.
However, Marriott regrouped and pitched two scoreless frames to finish the day at 77 pitches, allowing four earned runs, five hits and striking out six. While command was a major issue for the Tomball native last season, he hit one Central Michigan batter with a pitch but did not issue a single walk on Sunday.
Hard-throwing San Jacinto Community College transfer Andrew Petrowski made his Baylor debut on the mound in relief of Marriott. Petrowski was fantastic, striking out five and only allowing two base runners in four innings pitched.
“I was really impressed,” Thompson said. “I thought that Petrowski coming in and giving us the innings he gave us was huge. It gave us the chance to get back in it.”
In the bottom of the seventh, the Bears fought back and opened the inning with an Andrade triple off the right field wall. Sophomore transfer John Ceccoli then hit a towering 387-foot shot over the right-center wall to cut the Central Michigan lead to 4-3.
Final: Central Michigan 4 - Baylor 3
W: Keegan Batka (1-0) L: Mason Marriott (0-1)
POTG: John Ceccoli 2-4, HR, 2 RBI
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor Baseball (1-2) will take on Houston Christian (0-3) at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at Baylor Ballpark.