Baylor Baseball Tops UTA 5-2 Behind Dominant Bullpen Effort

ARLINGTON, Texas – Baylor baseball (19-13) picked up a midweek road victory, 5-2, over UTA (13-18) on Tuesday night at Clay Gould Park.

Six different Baylor arms — Brayden Bergman (RFr.), Charlie Atkinson (Jr.), Luke McLeod (Fr.), Grayson Murry (Sr.), RJ Ruais (Jr.) and Caleb Bunch (5Sr.) — combined for seven scoreless frames out of the bullpen, issuing just two walks and punching out five batters.

Left fielder Ty Johnson (5Sr.) continued his hot streak, going 2-for-5 with an RBI; he’s 5-for-15 at the plate across his last four games with four RBIs. The Bears out-hit the Mavericks, 7-to-6, while drawing nine free passes and swiping five bags.

“We didn’t give them many free bases, and they gave us quite a few; we took advantage of them and stole a bunch of bags,” head coach Mitch Thompson told the Baylor Sports and Media Network post-game.

He continued, “We ended up getting just enough hits to make it work, but I thought after the first inning, we really pitched the ball well. Every guy that went out there kept them off balance and didn’t give up many hard-hit balls. Pitching and defense were the key.”

Right-handed pitcher Cayden Baker (RFr.) made his fifth midweek start of the spring, and UTA took an early lead on a two-run homer from second baseman Xavier Melendez (Sr.) in the bottom of the first inning; Baker is tied for the team lead in long balls allowed (7).

Following the shaky first inning, Baker bounced back with a scoreless second, and the Mavericks didn’t record another hit until the sixth inning. The only blemish for the Baylor pitchers was a walk, but the UTA batter was later caught stealing.

Meanwhile, the Bears chipped away at UTA’s lead with RBI singles from catcher Brayden Buchanan (RSo.) and Johnson in the second and third innings, respectively.

Baylor broke the game open in the top of the fifth with a three-spot, extending its lead to 5-2. Buchanan was beamed by a pitch to lead off the frame, followed by an infield single from third baseman Cade Dodson (So.) and a walk from center fielder Bo Caraway (Fr.) to load the bases.

Shortstop Travis Sanders (RJr.) delivered for the Bears with a two-run, line-drive single up the middle and right fielder Brady Janusek (Fr.) later drew a bases-loaded walk; Janusek (32) and Sanders (22) are second and third on the team in RBIs.

Final: Baylor 5, UTA 2

W: Brayden Bergman (1-0) L: Jacob Haven (0-4) S: Caleb Bunch (5)

POTG: Brayden Bergman (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, K, 6 BF, 29 TP, 16 ST)

What’s Next

The Bears (19-13, 7-5) look to continue their hot streak in Big 12 play against the Cincinnati Bearcats (21-13, 4-8). The first game of the series is set for 5 p.m. on Friday, April 10, at UC Baseball Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.