Walk-Off Weekly: Bears Sweep Oral Roberts, Drop Close Contest to No. 20 DBU
After opening the season on a sour note with a 1-7 record, the Bears bounced back with a weekend sweep of Oral Roberts and a narrow loss to No. 20 DBU.
Against the Golden Eagles, Baylor’s short-handed batting order pieced together an incredible weekend, totaling 31 runs and 42 base hits. In each of the three games, the Bears racked up double-digit base knocks and all nine starters reached base safely.
On the mound, Baylor got great starts from Mason Marriott (Jr.) on Friday and Collin McKinney (RFr.) on Saturday. Out of the bullpen, veterans Ethan Calder (So.) and Patrick Hail (RJr.) combined for seven shutout frames.
Since Mitch Thompson took over the program last season, it’s been just the second sweep in his tenure – the first being against CSU Bakersfield to end the 2023 season.
On Tuesday, against the No. 20 DBU Patriots, Baylor’s offense cooled down. Despite having more than adequate opportunities to tie or take the lead, the Bears went 0-for-17 with runners on and 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Even with the struggles up and down the batting order, Baylor only lost to an extremely talented DBU squad, 8-5.
Slugger of the Week – Will Pendergrass: (.368 AVG, 7-for-19, 3 R, 5 RBI, HR, 3 2B)
With outfielders Hunter Simmons (Sr.) and Gavin Brzozowski (RSo.) out for the season due to injury and center fielder Ty Johnson (Jr.) missing four of the last five games, Baylor desperately needed someone to step up behind Enzo Apodaca (RJr.) and Hunter Teplanszky (Jr.) at the top of the order.
Within the last week, first baseman Will Pendergrass (RJr.) has admirably filled that role going 7-for-19 with four extra-base hits on the week, including a clutch solo shot in Sunday’s series finale over Oral Roberts. As conference play begins, it’ll be critical that Pendergrass can be a run-producing bat in the middle of the Bears’ lineup.
Heating Up – Enzo Apodaca: (.357 AVG, 5-for-14, 7 R, 4 RBI, HR, 2 2B, 2 BB)
Apodaca has been Baylor’s best player so far this season. Whether he’s hitting leadoff to replace an injured Johnson or in the three-hole, he’s been rock solid and sported a team-leading 10-game hitting streak until last night.
Through two and a half weeks, Apodaca leads the team in batting average (.378), extra-base hits (6), RBIs (12) and on-base percentage (.439). It’s hard to imagine where the Bears would be without the Gonzaga transfer and former Freshman All-American.
Cooling Off – Mason Greer: (.188 AVG, 3-for-16, 2 R, 2 RBI)
Since Mason Greer’s (Sr.) hot start to the season against Nebraska and Oregon where he went 3-for-8 at the plate with a home run, it’s been a struggle. Thompson removed Greer from the lineup in the last two games.
The good thing about Greer is that he provides versatility and can play three different positions across the infield. In the past, Greer had incredible seasons at the plate in 2021 for MCC and 2022 for Missouri State. Hopefully, he can regain some semblance of that form this season because the short-handed Bears will need him.
Ace of the Week – Mason Marriott: (5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, ER, 3 BB, 8 SO, 25 BF)
After a rough outing last weekend against No. 23 Indiana, in which Marriott barely went past two innings and surrendered six earned runs, the junior righty rebounded against Oral Roberts.
In over five innings of work on Friday, Marriott surrendered just one earned run and struck out eight Golden Eagles batters. The key for Marriott this season is getting ahead in counts and not issuing free passes.
If he’s consistently hitting his spots on the mound and mixing in good secondary pitches, Marriott can duel with the best on Friday nights. If not, things can go south very quickly. If the Bears want to compete in the Big 12 and get back to the conference tournament, getting the most from Marriott will be vital.
Heating Up – Ethan Calder (4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 SO, 13 BF, SV), Patrick Hail (3.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 5 SO, 15 BF)
While Baylor has relied heavily on youth in the bullpen to start the season, two of the more experienced guys on the roster are Hail and Calder.
Both were incredible over the weekend in relief of Marriott and McKinney, combining for 7.1 shutout frames and nine strikeouts. Naturally, with Thompson relying heavily on freshmen Tanner Duke, Stephen Sepulveda, Mason Green and RJ Ruais out of the bullpen, there will be ebbs and flows. However, it’s critical for Thompson that he can consistently expect solid contributions from his veterans – Calder and Hail.
Coming Up
Baylor baseball (4-8) will open conference play with a road series against the Houston Cougars (8-4) this weekend. The first pitch is on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Schroeder Park and will be streamed on ESPN+. Next Tuesday, the Bears will return home to face Stephen F. Austin (3-11) at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.