Bats Stay Hot, Baylor Baseball Clinches Series with 9-3 Defeat of Oral Roberts
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (3-7) clinched its first series win of the year with a 9-3 defeat of Oral Roberts (4-6) Saturday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark.
In the victory, the top of the order of Enzo Apodaca (RJr.), Hunter Teplanszky (Jr.) and Will Pendergrass (RJr.) combined to go 7-for-11 at the plate with 5 RBIs. For the fourth time this season, the Bears lineup put up double-digit hits (11).
“We jumped on them early,” head coach Mitch Thompson said after the win. “We took a lead in the first inning, and then we extended it. I think there were only two out of the eight [innings] that we didn’t score. We applied some pressure, took pretty good at-bats up and down the lineup and took advantage of the mistakes [ORU] made. It was a really good day offensively.”
For the third time this season, Baylor scored in the first inning of a ballgame. On Saturday, Apodaca got the afternoon started with a double down the left field. Later in the frame with the bases loaded, third baseman Mason Greer (Sr.) lined an RBI single into left field, and designated hitter Wesley Jordan (Jr.) followed with an RBI ground-out to put the Bears up 2-0.
Baylor added another run in the second when center fielder Caleb Bergman (So.) put pressure on the Golden Eagles' defense with a perfect bunt; a misplay on the throw allowed catcher Cortlan Castle (Jr.) to score from second base.
With runners in scoring position, Baylor’s batting order stayed hot in the fourth. Teplanszky lined an RBI sacrifice fly into center field, and Pendergrass roped an RBI single into left field to extend the Bears lead to 5-0.
In his third career outing, Collin McKinney (RFr.) was cruising on the mound until he ran into trouble in the fifth inning. With two outs and two aboard, McKinney surrendered a first-pitch three-run home run to ORU’s third baseman Holden Breeze (Sr.).
Aside from the homer, McKinney had a solid afternoon, picking up his first career win and striking out four, while allowing three earned across a career-long five innings tossed.
“[McKinney was] awesome,” Pendergrass said postgame. “Any time a guy goes out there and starts a game, all you can ask for is that he gives us a chance to win, and he put us in that position. He made one bad pitch, but we were still in the game, and he gave us a chance to win.”
Baylor added two more insurance runs in the sixth when Pendergrass crushed a two-run double – his third extra-base hit of the weekend – into the left-field corner to score Apodaca and Teplanszky.
In the eighth, Jordan launched his first home run of the season off the scoreboard in left-center field to give the Bears a 9-3 lead.
Ethan Calder (So.) was dominant in relief of McKiney out of the bullpen. The sophomore lefty earned his first career save and struck out four across four shutout frames.
“[Calder] brings some experience,” Thompson said. “The experience he got last year, you can tell that it made him better. He comes in with great belief in himself. We have great trust in him.”
Tomorrow, the Bears will look to complete the sweep of Oral Roberts, which would be just the second sweep in Thompson’s tenure so far at Baylor.
“We have to keep our foot on the gas, and every game we play is one we have to try to win,” Thompson said. “We have to go 1-0 tomorrow – that’s the idea. Two wins in a row are nice; three wins in a row would be better. We have to stay hungry and keep going.”
Final: Baylor 9 - Oral Roberts 3
W: Collin McKinney (1-1) L: Brooks Fowler (1-2) S: Ethan Calder (1)
POTG: Will Pendergrass (3-for-5, 3 RBI, 2B)
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor baseball (3-7) will look to finish the sweep against Oral Roberts (4-6) at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The contest will be streamed on ESPN+.
