Altman, Calder push Baylor Baseball past Texas in Series Opener, 4-3

AUSTIN, Texas – In the last-ever series as conference foes, Baylor baseball (8-13, 3-4) walked away with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory over Texas (14-9, 2-2) in the series opener Friday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

“Fantastic game from our club,” head coach Mitch Thompson said postgame. “I think that was exactly what we needed to do. I thought every guy on the team was competing to their utmost potential – it was a fun win … It was great to see the guys compete like that and get rewarded for it like that at the end.”

Baylor Athletics

After defeating Texas, 4-3, on Friday night, Baylor has won three straight Big 12 games.

With the game tied at three apiece in the 11th inning, left fielder Daniel Altman (Sr.) crushed a clutch go-ahead RBI double into the left-center field gap to score Kade Fletcher (RJr.) from second base.

In the bottom of the 11th, left-handed pitcher Ethan Calder (So.) closed out the victory with a scoreless frame. Calder was huge out of the bullpen on Friday, striking out three and allowing just one base runner across four innings.

“I just wanted to win that ballgame for our club,” Calder said after the win. “We’ve had a lot of one-run games, and I really wanted to pull through. Danny [Altman] got that clutch hit, and I said, ‘We have to get this win.’”

With a pitch count in the mid-90s and the Longhorns leading 2-1, Texas head coach David Pierce elected to bring his ace and future MLB draft pick Lebarron Johnson Jr. (RJr.) back out for the seventh inning.

With a runner on first base and one out, catcher Harrison Caley (Sr.) crushed a game-tying RBI double just over the outstretched glove of Texas’ right fielder, Max Belyeu (So.). Later in the inning, first baseman Mason Greer (Sr.) poked a clutch go-ahead RBI single through the right side to give Baylor a 3-2 lead.

Just when the momentum had swung in favor of the Bears, the bottom of the eighth had a little bit of everything – a hit, a walk and a defensive miscue. With the bases juiced and no outs, Calder entered out of the bullpen to fan out the fire. Calder mitigated the damage as best he could but not before Texas was able to tie the game at three apiece.

“Ethan was fantastic, and we made the decision that we were going to ride him,” Thompson said. “I couldn’t be more proud of how he takes the ball with great confidence and makes pitches.”

With runners on first and second in the bottom of the first inning, shortstop Tyriq Kemp (Jr.) made a crucial error to load the bases on what would have likely been a 6-4-3 double play. The following at-bat, catcher Kimble Schuessler (RJr.) plated the unearned run with an RBI groundout.

Baylor Athletics

Catcher Harrison Caley (Sr.) delivered a game-tying RBI double in the seventh inning.

Baylor tied the game at one apiece in the top of the second when Will Pendergrass (RJr.) roped an RBI double into the right-center field gap to score Altman from first base.

In the third inning, Baylor’s injury woes continued. Pendergrass awkwardly crashed into the wall chasing down a pop-fly in foul territory. Shortly after, Pendergrass left the game and walked off the field gingerly holding his shoulder.

Right after Pendergrass exited the contest, Schuessler delivered again at the plate – this time with an RBI single into left field to put the Longhorns up 2-1.

From that point on, Friday’s starting pitcher, Mason Marriott (Jr.), settled in on the mound and was electric, retiring the final 11 batters he faced. The junior righty produced another quality start and struck out six and surrendered an earned run and four hits across six innings of work.

Final: Baylor 4. Texas 3

W: Ethan Calder (1-1) L: Gage Boehm (1-2)

POTG: Ethan Calder (4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 R, BB, 3 K, 49 pitches)

WHAT’S NEXT

Baylor baseball (8-13, 3-4) will continue its series against Texas Longhorns (14-9, 2-2) on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 2:30 p.m.