Baylor Baseball falls to No. 19 Texas in Series Opener, 11-9
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (12-22, 4-9) fell in the series opener to No. 19 Texas (25-11, 7-3), 11-9, Friday night at Baylor Ballpark.
Friday’s contest also meant the return to Waco for former skipper Steve Rodriguez, who is now an assistant coach at UT after resigning as head coach of the Bears last May.
Dating back to Rodriguez’s tenure at BU, Baylor has dropped 10 of its last 12 games to Texas.
Entering the bottom of the ninth, the Bears trailed 11-3 before putting up a six-spot in the inning.
Sophomore 3B Hunter Teplanszky started the comeback with a 2-RBI double down the right-field line. Pinch-hitter Casen Neumann and sophomore 1B John Ceccoli added RBI doubles in the inning.
Junior RF Cole Tremain then launched a two-run homer, his second of the game, over the batter’s eye in centerfield to cut the UT lead to 11-9 but freshman Walker Polk grounded out to third base to end the game.
The Bears’ offense finished with 12 hits but went 4-for-18 with runners in scoring position. Baylor had runners on second base with no outs in the first, third, fourth and sixth innings but could not plate a single run.
“The disappointing part of this game for me … is we were never truly in the game … that’s the same of it because we had opportunities,” coach Mitch Thompson said after the loss.
Fifth-year senior and Austin native Blake Helton struggled in his final start against his hometown Longhorns. Helton pitched only 3.1 innings and surrendered four earned runs and eight hits on 71 pitches.
Meanwhile, Texas’ ace Lucas Gordon tossed six shutout innings, allowing only five hits and striking out four on 102 pitches.
In the fifth, UT extended the lead to 5-0 via an unearned run after Teplanszky made a fielding error at third base to start the frame. The sophomore transfer made two errors on the night and currently leads the team with 11.
“We didn’t play very good defense either,” Thompson said. “We’re the team that plays on this dirt every day, and we’re the team that made three or four errors.”
Cam Caley pitched in relief of Helton and arguably looked the best he’s looked all season. The junior lefty struck out five and gave up two runs, only one was earned, in 4.1 innings pitched.
Junior left fielder Hunter Simmons launched a two-run shot over the left field wall for his third home of the season in the bottom of the eighth.
Later in the frame, Tremain lined a solo homer over the left-centerfield wall, his second of the season, to cut the Texas lead to 6-3.
The Longhorns then added five runs in the ninth off of veteran reliever Anderson Needham.
Final: Texas 11 - Baylor 9
W: Lucas Gordon (4-0) L: Blake Helton (0-4)
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor baseball (12-22, 4-9) will continue its series against Texas (25-11, 7-3) at 2 p.m. Saturday at Baylor Ballpark. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.