Sanders Homers Twice as Baylor Picks up Series Victory with 9-0 Shut-Out Win over Utah

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (25-14, 8-10) picked up its second series win of conference play with a 9-0 shutout victory over Utah (16-19, 5-13) in the rubber match on Saturday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark.

Mason Green (So.), Bryson Bales (6Sr.), Grayson Murry (Jr.) and Will Glatch (Sr.) combined to pitch Baylor’s third shutout of the season and limited the Utes to just two base knocks. The Baylor arms collected six strikeouts and issued only two walks.

Second baseman Travis Sanders (RSo.) continued his hot streak at the plate with a multi-homer performance, going 2-for-3 with two long balls and three RBIs. Will Pendergrass (RSr.) made his second consecutive start at first base; he went 2-for-3 and crushed a grand slam, his first home run of the season, in the fourth inning.

“I think those were the two best games we’ve played all year, back-to-back like that,” head coach Mitch Thompson said post-game. “Two complete games where we pitched it, played defense and swung the bats. We competed well up and down the lineup. It feels great because on Thursday, we got punched in the mouth. To see the guys respond the way they did the last two days says a lot about their character.”

Baylor Athletics - Jack Compton

1B Will Pendergrass (RSr.) broke the game open with a grand slam in the fourth inning.

Right fielder Enzo Apodaca (RSr.) led off the bottom of the first with a line drive to center field that got past Santino Panaro (Sr.) to the wall for a triple; Apodaca went 3-for-5 in the finale, his fourth three-hit game of the season and was a home run shy of the cycle.

Facing a full count on the following at-bat, shortstop Tyriq Kemp (Sr.) soared an RBI sacrifice fly to left field to score Apodaca and give Baylor a 1-0 lead. Kemp has five RBIs in his last two games and made a handful of fantastic defensive plays in Saturday’s win.

Green made his third start of the spring after returning from injury and looked sharp, throwing three scoreless innings without allowing a hit. Green threw 39 pitches, punched out one and walked one. 

The Bears broke the game open in the fourth inning following a solo shot from Sanders and a grand slam from Pendergrass, Baylor’s first of the season.

“It’s fun to see guys do things the right way and get rewarded, and he definitely did,” Thompson said of Pendergrass. “He stepped up big for us, and that’s fun.”

Bales entered in place of Green and had arguably his best outing of the season; he tossed 3.2 scoreless frames and struck out four on 40 pitches.

“If we can get Bales and Green going, then we’re a lot better and deeper, deeper, deeper,” Thompson said. “That was a really nice step in that direction.”

In the fifth inning, Baylor added another run after Sanders drew a leadoff walk and later came around to score on an RBI sacrifice fly from designated hitter Hunter Simmons (RSr.). Simmons went 2-for-2 in the series finale.

Sanders gave the Bears another spark in the seventh with a solo shot, his second of the game and fourth of the season. Across his last seven games, Sanders is 13-for-26 with eight RBIs and six extra-base hits.

Utah didn’t get its first hit until the eighth inning when pinch-hitter Jake Long (So.) poked a single through the right side off Murry. It was the lone baserunner Murry allowed across 1.1 scoreless innings. The Utes added another hit in the ninth inning off Glatch, who recorded the final three outs.

“That was disappointing,” Thompson said of the no-hitter being broken. “I’m kind of glad the guy in the ninth inning got one down the line too. It takes the pressure off of that. That was probably as close as we’ve gotten in 25 years since Kyle Evans did it in 2000, so that was pretty good.”

Final: Baylor 9, Utah 0

W: Bryson Bales (3-3) L: Dylan Gazaway (1-2)

POTG: Travis Sanders (2-3, 3 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB)

WHAT’S NEXT

The Bears (25-14) will face Houston Christian (22-15) on Tuesday, April 22, at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.