Home Runs push Baylor Baseball past Oklahoma in Series Opener, 10-6

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (11-19, 3-7) defeated Oklahoma (16-15, 2-5), 10-6, in thrilling fashion in the series opener Thursday night at Baylor Ballpark.

Baylor Athletics

Baylor outhit Oklahoma, 13-to-7, in the victory Thursday night.

With the game tied at four apiece in the bottom of the seventh inning, junior Cole Tremain and freshman Walker Polk launched back-to-back homers over the left field wall to propel the Bears past the Sooners.

The victory breaks Baylor’s seven-game conference losing streak and marks BU’s first series-opening win since defeating Central Michigan on Opening Day.

Freshman shortstop Kolby Branch recorded his twelfth multi-hit game of the season and led the offense with a 4-4 performance at the plate, including a bases-clearing triple in the fifth inning.

“[I] loved the effort tonight,” coach Mitch Thompson said after the game.

“Two or three things that stood out were the pitching, the big bats coming through with the home runs up and down the lineup and we overcame some adversity. [Handling adversity is not] something that we have done exceedingly well over the course of the year, so it was fun to see it happen tonight.”

Fifth-year senior Blake Helton was on the bump for the Bears to start the game.

Partially due to two errors and some overall spotty defense, OU put a four-spot up on Helton in the second inning. The fifth-year senior settled in nicely afterward and finished the game allowing four runs, three of which were earned, and five hits on 86 pitches in five frames.

In the third inning, Oklahoma’s starting pitcher, Braxton Douthit, walked four Bears, but the BU offense was unable to plate a single run.

Instead, Baylor got things back on track against the Sooner bullpen in the fifth after a bases-clearing triple from Branch. The following at-bat, junior left fielder Hunter Simmons roped an RBI double into the left-centerfield gap to tie the game at four apiece.

Branch led off the seventh with a single, and Tremain brought him home with a go-ahead two-out, two-run homer. Polk followed with a pinch-hit solo shot of his own to give the Bears the 7-4 lead and their first back-to-back homers of the season.

Baylor Athletics

Freshman Walker Polk hit his second pinch-hit home run of the season in the seventh.

Freshman lefty Ethan Calder threw two scoreless frames in relief before running into trouble in the eighth.

Oklahoma made things interesting and cut the lead to 7-6 before junior RHP Hambleton Oliver entered and got out of the jam with two massive strikeouts.

Baylor added some insurance in the bottom of the inning when Simmons lasered a three-run shot over the left-field wall to extend the lead to 10-6. It was Simmons' first home run of the season and one of BU’s 13 hits on the night.

Final:  Baylor 10 - Oklahoma 6

W: Ethan Calder (2-0) L: Carter Campbell (3-3) S: Hambleton Oliver (2)

POTG: Kolby Branch 4-4, 3 R, 3 RBI, 3B, BB

Play of the Game:

WHAT’S NEXT

Baylor baseball (11-19, 3-7) will continue its series against Oklahoma (16-15, 2-5) at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Baylor Ballpark. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.