Slow Start Dooms Baylor, Bears Close Weekend with 7-4 Loss to No. 25 Auburn
ARLINGTON, Texas – Baylor baseball (8-3) fell 7-4 to No. 25 Auburn (11-1) in the Amegy College Baseball Series finale on Sunday afternoon at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas.
First baseman Jack Little (RSo.) and right fielder Enzo Apodaca (RSr.) both homered in the loss, as the Bears finished the contest with nine hits. Baylor attempted a late comeback and was able to tack on three runs across the final two innings, but an early deficit proved too costly.
The ballgame opened with a bang when Little led off with a solo shot 436 feet into the left field stands for his second homer of the weekend, giving Baylor an early 1-0 lead.
However, the rest of the lineup struggled to find any success at the plate against Auburn’s starting pitcher, Christian Chatterton (Fr.), for the rest of the afternoon. Chatterton tossed five quality innings and surrendered just two hits and a run while fanning nine Baylor batters.
Meanwhile, the Tigers responded to the early deficit and chased right-handed pitcher Cole Stasio (RSr.) out of the contest after just 2.1 innings on the mound. Stasio allowed six hits and four earned runs on 58 pitches.
Relievers Caleb Jameson (RSo.) and Caleb Bunch (Sr.) combined for solid 5.1 solid frames out of the bullpen until Auburn’s star centerfielder, Cade Belyeu (So.), crushed a two-run home run in the eighth inning to extend Auburn’s lead 7-1.
The Bears got a late spark in the bottom of the frame when Apodaca lined a two-run homer over the wall in right-center field for his second long ball of the season.
The next at-bat, left fielder Wesley Jordan (Sr.) crushed a ball to left field, but it hit off the glove of Auburn’s Bristol Carter (So.) and came back into play; Jordan was thrown out at third base trying to stretch a double into a triple, which proved costly later in the frame when center fielder Ty Johnson (Sr.) reached on a fielding error that would have scored Jordan.
In the ninth inning, Apodaca plated another run with an RBI sacrifice fly to left field. Jordan grounded out to end the contest in the next at-bat, with a runner on second base and two outs. Jordan and Little both finished the afternoon with multi-hit performances.
Final: No. 25 Auburn 7, Baylor 4
W: Christian Chatterton (1-0) L: Cole Stasio (1-1)
POTG: Jack Little (2-for-5, HR, R, RBI)
WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears (8-3) will look to continue their hot start to the season at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 4, against Tarleton (4-8) at Baylor Ballpark. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.