Bears Get Off To Hot Start, Sweep Youngstown State To Open Season

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (3-0) opened its season with a sweep of Youngstown State (0-3) this weekend at Baylor Ballpark; it’s BU’s first series win on Opening Weekend since 2020.

Due to potential inclement weather on Sunday, the Bears and Penguins played a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, with Baylor coming away victorious in both games, 16-4 and 12-4, respectively. 

“This is one weekend — don’t get me wrong — we have a lot of work to do,” head coach Mitch Thompson said post-game. “We have to keep getting better, but it was a good weekend, and you can get excited about the possibilities here.”

The three consecutive wins are the best start to a season in the Thompson era and the fourth sweep in his three-year Baylor tenure. In Saturday’s doubleheader, the Bears out-hit the Penguins, 33-to-10, and Baylor’s pitching staff surrendered just four earned runs and combined to strike out 20 batters.

Left fielder Wesley Jordan (Sr.) and designated hitter Hunter Simmons (RSr.) led Baylor’s offense on Saturday. Across the doubleheader, Jordan went 6-for-9 at the plate with six RBIs and two extra-base hits, while Simmons was 5-for-9 with three RBIs.

Game 1 of Doubleheader

Left-handed pitcher Bryson Bales (6Sr.) started his Baylor debut with a bang. The Hendrix College transfer struck out seven consecutive batters in his first outing as a Bear. However, Bales ran into trouble in the fourth inning, allowing a two-run home run. He closed the contest with eight strikeouts across four frames.

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In Saturday’s doubleheader, the Bears out-hit the Penguins, 33-to-10.

Six players had multiple hits — Jordan, Simmons, 2B Jack Little (RSo.), RF Enzo Apodaca (RSr.), C JJ Kennett (So.), SS Tyriq Kemp (Sr.) — in the explosive 16-4 victory. Jordan, Simmons and Kennett, the DBU transfer, led the way with three hits apiece; the trio combined for seven RBIs.

“It feels so good having Scoob [Simmons] back in the lineup; he’s making a big difference,” Kemp said. “Everyone is feeling good and swinging the bat. We just have to keep doing this and everything will be good.”

The Bears scored six runs in the fourth inning, and the offensive onslaught continued in the sixth inning when Bayor scored nine more runs. The run rule came into effect when the Bears were ahead by over 10 runs after the seventh inning.

Right-handed pitcher Lucas Davenport (RSo.), the ace of Blinn JC’s National Championship team, made his Baylor debut and struck out two across 1.1 innings pitched. Veteran righty Will Glatch (Sr.) closed out the game and earned the save with 1.2 scoreless frames.

 

Final (7 innings): Baylor 16, Youngstown State 4

W: Bryson Bales (1-0) L: JJ Tylicki (0-1) S: Will Glatch (1)

POTG: Hunter Simmons (3-for-5, R, 2 RBI)

Game 2 of Doubleheader

Baylor jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning when Simmons and center fielder Ty Johnson (Sr.) both delivered RBI singles in the frame. Johnson finished the evening with a 2-for-4 performance in the second game of the doubleheader.

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Baylor’s pitching staff combined to strike out 20 batters on Saturday.

After missing most of the last two seasons with injuries, right-handed pitcher Cole Stasio (RSr.) started on the bump for the Bears in the series finale. Stasio tossed four innings, struck out three and surrendered two earned runs.

Massive home runs from Kemp and Jordan highlighted a five-run second inning. Also in the frame, third baseman Pearson Riebock (Fr.) lined an RBI double into left-center field for his first collegiate hit; Riebock was 2-for-4 at the plate with two doubles in his first-career start.

The Bears added another run in the third inning when Jordan crushed a triple 109 miles per hour off the bat into the right-field corner to score Apodaca from first base; Jordan closed the series finale a double shy of the cycle.

“When that lineup keeps turning over, and it’s Little and Apodaca again, and then it’s Jordan and Simmons, you can see this is going to be a fun lineup, especially when you get production from the bottom,” Thompson said. “When you start getting Castle, Kennett and Tyriq, who all performed pretty well over the course of the weekend. It’s exciting.”

Relievers Stefan Stahl (Jr.), Patrick Hail (6Sr.), Camden Clewett (Fr.), Andrew Petrowski (RSr.), Grayson Murry (Jr.) and Gabe Craig (RSr.) combined to pitch the final five innings and allowed just two hits in that span.

“We got really good performances from the guys on the mound,” Thompson said. “We had a bunch of guys get out there, and I think we’ll keep getting better and better and better on the mound. Offensively, there’s a whole bunch of guys who swung the bat well.”

Baylor extended its lead in the seventh inning, 12-4, after RBI base knocks in the frame from Little, Apodaca and Jordan.

Final: Baylor 12, Youngstown State 4

W: Cole Stasio (1-0) L: Phil Brennaman (0-1)

POTG: Wesley Jordan (3-for-4, HR, 3B, R, 4 RBI, BB)

WHAT’S NEXT

The Bears (3-0) will be back in action at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 18, for a midweek matchup against UTSA (0-2) at Baylor Ballpark. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.