Baylor's Bats Go Cold in 5-1 Midweek Defeat to Tarleton State

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (16-12) had its four-game winning streak snapped after dropping a midweek matchup to Tarleton State (20-8) by a score of 5-1 on Tuesday night at Baylor Ballpark.

Shortstop Travis Sanders (RJr.) led off the game by crushing a hanging breaking ball 436-feet over the left field wall, but from that point on, the Bears mustered just four base knocks and were out-hit by the Texans in the defeat, 9-to-5.

Baylor’s batting order recorded double-digit strikeouts (12) for the 12th time this season and went 1-for-4 with runners in scoring position. The Bears tied a season-low in free passes drawn (1) and didn’t have a base-runner get aboard across the final four frames of the contest.

“We didn’t see enough good — that’s for sure,” head coach Mitch Thompson said about the team’s performance at the plate to the Baylor Sports and Media Network post-game.

Thompson continued, “We didn’t hit enough balls hard. You give their guys credit. Their left-handers gave us fits for about six innings, and then they threw three good right-handers at us to switch us up. They pitched the ball very well. They hit the ball better than we did tonight.”

Left-handed pitcher Stefan Stahl (Sr.) made his return to the mound after missing the last month with an undisclosed injury and looked sharp in his lone inning of work, tossing a perfect frame with two punch-outs.

“The highlight of the night was that Stefan was back out there, and he was very good in his one inning,” Thompson said. “We wanted to keep it one inning. It was great to see him back. We’re better with him back out there on the mound for us.”

With the Bears looking to keep their arms on a pitch limit to not burn them for the Thursday-Saturday series against BYU, righty Cayden Baker (RFr.) entered in place of Stahl and immediately walked the first two batters he faced.

With two runners aboard, Baker surrendered a three-run moon-shot over the batter’s eye in center field to first baseman Cage McCloud (So.), giving Tarleton State an early 3-0 lead. Baker’s ERA sits at 8.80 on the season, and he’s allowed a team-high six home runs.

Following the leadoff homer from Sanders, the Texans’ starter, Ashton Bassett (So.), who entered Tuesday with a 13:50 ERA, settled in and carved up Baylor’s lineup for the following four frames, allowing just two more hits and totaling six strikeouts, without issuing a free pass.

With Bassett finally out of the contest, the Bears loaded the bases in the bottom of the fifth with one out, but Sanders grounded into an inning-ending double play.

Six different Baylor relievers — Brayden Bergman (RFr.), Caldwell McFaddin (Fr.), Charlie Atkinson (Jr.), Luke McLeod (Fr.), RJ Ruais (Jr.) and Grayson Murry (Sr.) — saw time on the mound across the final seven frames, with Tarleton State adding just two runs across the span.

Final: Tarleton State 5, Baylor 1

W: Ashton Bassett (1-1) L: Cayden Baker (0-1)

POTG: Stefan Stahl (IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 12 TP, 9 ST)

What’s Next

The Bears (16-12, 5-4) look to continue their hot streak against the BYU Cougars (13-14, 4-5). The first game of the series is set for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 2, at Baylor Ballpark. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.