WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (25-25, 11-15) extended its losing streak to four games and dropped its final home series of the season to UCF (29-18, 17-9) with a blowout, run-rule 19-3 loss in seven innings on Saturday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark; it was the worst margin of defeat at home in the Mitch Thompson era.
Ahead of the contest, the Bears honored eight players — first baseman Tyce Armstrong, outfielder Caleb Bergman, as well as pitchers Caleb Bunch, Ethan Calder, Cade Hansen, Jake Kolkhorst, Grayson Murry and Stefan Stahl — for Senior Day.
Baylor was crushed in the defeat, getting out-hit by UCF, 22-to-9 and the few times the Bears had runners on base, they weren’t able to capitalize, going 2-for-8 (.250) with runners in scoring position. Shortstop Travis Sanders (RJr.) went 2-for-4 at the plate, extending his hitting streak to eight games and his on-base streak to 16 games.
“From the first inning, we couldn’t get the second or third out for quite a while,” head coach Mitch Thompson said post-game. “I give Central Florida credit. They swung the bats all day long. They took great swing after great swing after great swing. They made it look easy offensively. We didn’t get them to mis-hit many balls. They put it on us pretty good.”
Coming off his excellent start last weekend against Texas Tech, right-handed pitcher Zack Wallace (So.) didn’t come close to replicating that in his final home start of the season, as he was shelled by the Knights. UCF totaled six runs and six hits in the first inning and chased Wallace out of the game after letting back-to-back runners reach in the top of the second.
The Bears got on the board for the first time on the weekend in the bottom of the second when center fielder Ty Johnson (5Sr.) drew a lead-off walk. He later came around to score on an RBI sacrifice fly from second baseman Pearson Riebock (So.); Johnson is fourth on the team in runs scored (22) this season.
Murry entered in place of Wallace and didn’t have much success either, as he loaded the bases in the top of the fourth before getting pulled for right-hander Luke McLeod (Fr.). With no room to put anyone on, McLeod issued a bases-loaded walk, and the Knights scored three more runs on a pair of base knocks to extend their lead to 12-1.
UCF kept pouring it on with two more runs in the fifth inning off McLeod; the freshman’s day was finished after 37 pitches, as he allowed five hits and three earned runs.
Third baseman Cole Lanclos (Fr.) led off the bottom of the fifth with a single into center field, and Sanders plated the run with an RBI base knock up the middle. UCF’s starting pitcher, Camden Wicker, collected his fifth win of the year and hurled a quality start, allowing two runs across 5.2 frames.
Righty Cade Hansen (Sr.) threw a clean sixth inning for the Bears, but Camden Clewett (So.) surrendered a five-spot in the seventh to secure the run-rule victory for the Knights.
Bergman, in potentially his final game at Baylor Ballpark, robbed a home run at the left field wall in the top of the seventh and then lined an RBI single into left-center field in the bottom of the frame.
Final (7 Innings): UCF 19, Baylor 3
W: Camden Wicker (5-2) L: Zack Wallace (4-5)
POTG: Travis Sanders: (2-for-4, RBI)
What’s Next
The Bears (25-25, 11-15) will finish their series against UCF (29-18, 17-9) at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday, May 10, at Baylor Ballpark. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.
