Bears Blow Late Lead and Can’t Complete Sweep, Fall in Extras to Gonzaga in Series Finale

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (6-1) couldn’t complete its sweep and dropped the series finale, 8-7, in extra innings to Gonzaga (2-4) on Sunday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark.

Baylor held a one-run lead going into the ninth inning, but Gonzaga fought back and took a late lead, with the go-ahead run scoring on a throwing error from the Bears’ closer, Gabe Craig (RSr.).

The momentum swung back in BU’s favor when center fielder Ty Johnson (Sr.) tied the game on a one-out RBI triple down the right field line, but Baylor couldn’t plate Johnson and secure the walk-off win in the bottom of the ninth. The Bears left 11 runners on base in the loss.

In the 10th inning, the Bulldogs clinched the back-and-forth victory when a passed ball scored a runner from third base. Baylor had one last chance in the bottom of the frame to tie the game or potentially walk it off, but pinch-hitter John Youens (RFr.) struck out to close the contest.

“I thought the competitiveness was outstanding from both teams,” head coach Mitch Thompson said after the loss. “It was an early season game, and both teams wanted to win. You win a series on Saturday, and you’re playing for a sweep on Sunday; if you don’t get it done, you walk away feeling like junk — we don’t feel good about it. We wanted this one today, but they obviously battled really hard, and I give them credit.”

The bottom of the Bears’ batting order — third baseman Pearson Riebock (Fr.), catcher JJ Kennett (So.) and shortstop Tyriq  Kemp (Sr.) — led the offense, and each had multi-hit performances. The trio collected five RBIs and combined for six of the Bears’ ten hits.

“It was tough for us,” right-handed pitcher Will Glatch (Sr.) said post-game. “We played hard and fought for 10 innings. It sucks to see it, but I’m glad we got to face this today. I think it’s definitely going to help us grow as a team.”

The Bears had nothing going until the fourth inning when Johnson blooped a two-out single into right-center field for Baylor’s first hit of the afternoon. Johnson finished 2-for-4 with an RBI.

With runners on second and third base, Riebock pieced together a hard-fought, nine-pitch at-bat and delivered a two-run single. The following at-bat, Kennett lined an RBI base knock up the middle to extend Baylor’s lead to 3-1.

Sunday’s starting pitcher, righty Cole Stasio (RSr.), was pulled after walking the leadoff batter in the fifth inning. Left-handed pitcher RJ Ruais (So.) replaced Stasio and allowed four hits without recording an out, including a three-run home run to Gonzaga’s left fielder, Vincent Temesvary (Sr.). Across four frames, Stasio struck out four and surrendered two runs on 77 pitches.

The duo of Riebock and Kennett came through again for the Bears in the sixth inning. Riebock led off the inning with a single, and Kennett tied the game with a towering two-run homer to left field — his first of the season.

Later in the frame, Kemp was at third base with no outs, but Baylor couldn’t regain the lead after second baseman Jack Little (RSo.) struck out and right fielder Enzo Apodaca (RJr.) lined into a double play.

Glatch tossed three scoreless innings out of the bullpen and made a potential game-saving play in the seventh inning, where he fielded an attempted squeeze bunt and flipped the ball with his glove to Kennett, who promptly made the tag at the plate to get the out.

“Will Glatch was fantastic out of the bullpen,” Thompson said. “That’s a really positive thing for us. When you see those kinds of outings, you can go, ‘That’s another guy we can count on. That’s another guy we can believe in.’”

An inning later, Gonzaga threatened again with the bases loaded and one out. Relievers Patrick Hail (6Sr.) and Caleb Bunch (Sr.) combined to work the Bears out of the jam unscathed.

Apodaca gave Baylor a 6-5 lead after he was plunked by a pitch with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth inning, marking the fourth lead change of the contest. 

“There’s lots of stuff to get excited about, but I’m glad we’re disappointed,” Thompson said. “We weren’t satisfied just to win just two. We’re disappointed we didn’t sweep it.”

Final (10 Innings): Gonzaga 8, Baylor 7

W: Erik Hoffberg (1-0) L: Andrew Petrowski (0-1) S: Michael Cunneely (1)

POTG: JJ Kennett (2-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI)

WHAT’S NEXT

The Bears (6-1) will close out its homestand against Stephen F. Austin () on Tuesday, Feb. 25, at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark and will be streamed on ESPN+.