Castle Delivers Go-Ahead Hit, Bears Beat UT Arlington in Extra Innings, 9-8

ARLINGTON, Texas – Baylor baseball (23-13) overcame an early three-run deficit and pulled off a narrow 9-8 extra-innings win over UT Arlington (13-20) on Tuesday evening at Clay Gould Ballpark.

With two outs in the 10th inning, catcher Cortlan Castle (Sr.) came through and delivered the game-winning double to score Ty Johnson (Sr.) from third base. The Bears finished the contest with 14 hits and went 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position.

Right fielder Wesley Jordan (Sr.) continued his hot streak at the plate, going 3-for-5 with two doubles and a home run. Third baseman Pearson Riebock (Fr.) also had a three-hit performance and totaled two RBIs.

Right-handed pitcher Gabe Craig (RSr.) earned the win with two scoreless frames out of the bullpen, and Grayson Murry (Jr.) collected his first save in a Baylor uniform; the duo combined for five strikeouts.

“I’m proud of our guys; it was a good win and a hard-fought win,” head coach Mitch Thompson told ESPN Central Texas post-game. “UTA was swinging the bats well early, and we did enough to get the W. We’re happy with it.”

The Bears jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first inning, thanks to back-to-back run-scoring base knocks from designated hitter Hunter Simmons (RSr.) and Riebock. Castle poked an RBI single up the middle in the following frame to extend Baylor’s lead to 4-1. Castle finished the contest 2-for-4 with two RBIs.

Left-handed pitcher Stefan Stahl (Jr.) made his fourth start of the season and struggled mightily, allowing five hits and three earned runs across two frames. Veteran righty Drew Leach (RSr.) replaced Stahl and didn’t fare much better, surrendering four runs in 0.2 innings, giving UTA a 7-4 lead after the bottom of the third.

The Baylor bats went cold in the middle innings, outside of a solo home run from Jordan in the top of the fifth. The All-Big 12 slugger has four home runs across his last three games and a team-high nine long balls on the season.

The bullpen kept the Mavericks at bay in the middle innings with Cole Stasio (RSr.), Patrick Hail (6Sr.) and Bryson Bales (6Sr.) combining for five punchouts and 3.2 frames.

“They were huge,” Thompson said of the bullpen. “Stasio was fantastic in his second inning. Hail was fantastic in his inning. Bales was good against the four hitters he faced.”

The Bears regained their lead, 8-7, in the seventh inning, following a comedy of errors from UT Arlington, including two errors and two wild pitches, as well as an RBI double from Jordan.

Baylor had a chance to break the game open in the eighth inning with runners on second and third base and no outs, but right-handed pitcher Caden Cline (Sr.) struck out the side. The Bears left seven runners on base in the victory.

Right-handed pitcher Hunter Teplanszky (Sr.) made his second appearance on the mound this season and entered with one out in the seventh inning and recorded back-to-back strikeouts before getting pulled in the eighth after walking the leadoff batter. 

The Mavericks made Baylor pay, tying the game in the bottom of the frame after the leadoff runner got aboard on a Teplanszky walk and came around to score on a wild pitch from Craig.

Final (10 Innings): Baylor 9, UT Arlington 8

W: Gabe Craig (1-0) L: Ty Zahradnik (1-4) S: Grayson Murry (1)

POTG: Wesley Jordan (3-5, 3 R, HR, 2 2B, 2 RBI)

WHAT’S NEXT

The Bears (23-13, 6-9) will return to Waco and open a weekend series against Utah (15-17, 4-11) on Thursday, April 17, at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.