Baylor Baseball Takes Down No. 22 West Virginia in Thrilling Fashion in Series Opener, 7-6

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (11-6, 1-0) picked up a huge 7-6 win in its conference opener against the reigning Big 12 Champions, No. 22 West Virginia Mountaineers (11-4, 0-1), on Friday night at Baylor Ballpark.

The Bears battled back from an early deficit and hung a five-spot in the bottom of the fourth inning, led by shortstop Travis Sanders (RJr.), who came through with a huge two-run single in the frame; he tallied his team-high ninth multi-hit game, going 3-for-5 at the plate with four RBIs. 

The bottom of Baylor’s batting order also performed well in the victory, with center fielder Ty Johnson (5Sr.), second baseman Brytton Clements (RFr.) and third baseman Cade Dodson (So.) combining to go 5-for-10 at the dish, while drawing three walks and scoring five runs.

Following a great but short start from right-handed pitcher Lucas Davenport (RJr.), relievers Charlie Atkinson (Jr.), RJ Ruais (Jr.) and Caleb Bunch (5Sr.) combined to allow just one hit and one run across the final three frames and punched out three Mountaineers.

“I loved the fight – that’s a heck of a response,” head coach Mitch Thompson said post-game. “Friday nights have been tough around here for the last several years. When you’re playing a really good team, there couldn’t have been much more that went wrong early.”

He continued, “To give the lead up and then to have the response that we had and come back against their best guy out of the bullpen was really satisfying, and the way the guys pitched the rest of the way was awesome.”

The Bears got on the board in the bottom of the second inning, 1-0, when Sanders singled to shortstop with the bases juiced. In the following at bat, left fielder Pearson Riebock (So.) appeared to leg out a throw on an inning-ending double play, but it wasn’t challenged.

The Mountaineers knotted the game up at one apiece in the top of the third following a leadoff walk that later came around to score off Davenport.

In his second start since returning from injury, Davenport was solid, surrendering three hits and a run across three frames, while punching out five batters on 53 pitches.

Following Davenport’s departure, things went south in a hurry as a routine fly out to right-center field dropped behind Brady Janusek (Fr.) and Johnson to put runners on the corners with one out against the usually reliable right-handed pitcher Zack Wallace (So.).

The ball that was lost in the twilight totally changed the dynamic of the inning, as West Virginia went to its short game with back-to-back RBI bunts. Later in the frame, second baseman Gavin Kelly (So.) shot an RBI single up the middle to extend the Mountaineer lead to 4-1.

“Zack fought back through it,” Thompson said post-game. “There have been times in the past that would have caved somebody in for us, and it would have been a mess, but it didn’t cave anyone in today. That’s good. That’s a step.”

The Bears responded to West Virginia’s crooked frame with one of their own, totaling five runs in the bottom of the fourth, chasing the Mountaineers’ starting pitcher, Dawson Montesa (Jr.), out of the game and crushing West Virginia’s best bullpen arm, righty Reese Bassinger (5Sr.).

“That’s something we talk about all the time as a team, is when we get punched, we’ve got to punch right back,” Bunch said post-game. “Having that mentality helps us out a ton in situations like that.”

With the bases loaded and no outs, Dodson delivered an RBI single into right field, followed by back-to-back RBI base knocks from Sanders and Riebock. Armstrong also added an RBI sacrifice fly in the frame. Every batter in the Baylor lineup reached base in the victory.

Dodson came through again with a two-out triple to left field in the bottom of the fifth, and Sanders plated him with an RBI single to shortstop; Dodson finished the game 2-for-3 at the plate and scored two runs.

“Good stuff from the bottom of the lineup,” Sanders said post-game. “I’m really proud of those bottom guys, getting competitive at-bats and getting on base and being able to cash in. That was big.”

With Wallace still on the mound in the sixth inning, West Virginia’s designated hitter, Sean Smith (Sr.), added a solo shot to cut Baylor’s lead to 7-5.

After back-to-back scoreless innings from Atkinson and Ruais, Bunch entered into the save opportunity and allowed a one-out solo home run to shortstop Matt Ineich (So.), but bounced back to record the final two outs to seal the win.

Final: Baylor 7, No. 22 West Virginia 6

W: Zack Wallace (2-0) L: Reese Bassinger (1-1) S: Caleb Bunch (2)

POTG: Travis Sanders (3-for-5, R, 4 RBI, K)

What’s Next

The Bears (11-6, 1-0) will continue their series against West Virginia (11-4, 0-1) at 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 14, at Baylor Ballpark. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.