Baylor baseball notched a 12-2 win over No. 8 Texas Tech to secure the teams’ Big 12 opening series on Saturday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears (10-6, 2-0) used 11 hits to score a season-high 12 runs to overwhelm the Red Raiders (16-5, 0-2).
Trailing 1-0 after the third inning, Baylor tied the game in the fifth. Davion Downey singled with one out, and after a wild pitch, scored on a two-out double by Davis Wendzel.
The game changed in the sixth as TTU had the bases loaded with two outs but reliever Kyle Hill induced a foul out to end the threat. BU then scored four runs in the sixth and seven in the seventh to take a commanding lead.
In the sixth, Josh Bissonette singled with one out, Tucker Cascadden reached on an error and a balk moved both runners into scoring position for Cole Haring, who hit into a fielder’s choice but the throw home was off line. With two outs, Shea Langeliers walked to load the bases, and the Bears followed with an RBI HBP by Wendzel and two-run single by Andy Thomas.
Baylor started the seventh with a Richard Cunningham HBP and Bissonette single. Then a fielder’s choice throw to third was late on Cascadden’s sacrifice bunt to load the bases. With one out, Downey was hit by a pitch to force in a run. After a 1:57 lightning/rain delay, Langeliers opened the flood gates with a two-run single. Wendzel walked to re-load the bases for Thomas, who singled in a run. Nick Loftin drove in a run on a grounder to third. Cunningham and Bissonette followed with RBI singles to push the Bears lead to 12-1.
Texas Tech rallied for a run in the eighth but was unable to do more damage.
Hill (2-0) earned the win in relief, allowing two walks in 1.1 hitless, scoreless innings. TTU reliever Caleb Kilian (1-1) took the loss, giving up four unearned runs on two hits and a walk with one strikeout in 0.2 innings.
NOTES
*Baylor is 7-8 under third-year head coach Steve Rodriguez and 95-155 all-time against Baseball America top 10 opponents. Prior to this series, BU's last win against a top 10 team was April 22, 2017 at No. 7 TCU (16-5) and last series win was vs. No. 10 TCU (May 13-15, 2016).
*Baylor is 5-1 on its current seven-game home stand.
*Baylor has won seven of its last eight games.
*Baylor has reached 10 wins in at least its first 16 games for the second season in a row. The last time Baylor did so in consecutive years was a run from 2006-2012.
*Baylor is 2-0 in Big 12 play for the first time since 2014.
*Baylor has finished its home schedule with a .500 record or better (7-2 in 2018) in all 19 seasons at Baylor Ballpark (since 1999) and is 423-195 all-time at the park.
*Baylor is 15-22 against ranked opponents under Rodriguez (3-4, in 2018, 7-10 in 2017, 5-8 in 2016) and is 4-6 in three-game series against ranked foes. Prior to this series, BU's last win over a ranked opponent was Feb. 24 at No. 11 UCLA (8-6) and last series win over a ranked opponent was vs. No. 23 Houston on March 10-12, 2017.
*Baylor is 13-17 under Rodriguez against Baseball America ranked opponents (3-4 in 2018, 7-9 in 2017, 3-4 in 2016) and is 3-5 in three-game series against ranked foes. Prior to this series, BU's last win over a Baseball America ranked opponent was Feb. 24 at No. 11 UCLA (8-6) and last series win over a Baseball America ranked opponent was vs. No. 23 Houston on March 10-12, 2017.
*Baylor is 207-305-1 all-time against Baseball America ranked opponents and 175-258-1 in regular season play.
*The game had a 1:57 rain/lightning delay in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out.
*Hayden Kettler has thrown at least five innings with three runs or less and three strikeouts in four of five starts this season. He posted 5.2 one-run innings with three hits, four walks and three strikeouts vs. TTU.
*Davis Wendzel has reached base in five straight games and posted his second multi-RBI game of the season (2). He has a three-game hitting streak.
*Shea Langeliers has reached base in three straight games as he registered his team-high fifth multi-RBI game of the season (2).
*Andy Thomas tied career highs with three hits and three RBI for his team-high-tying fifth multi-hit game of the season, while posting his third multi-RBI game.
*Josh Bissonette had his fourth multi-hit game of the season (3).
*Davion Downey had his third multi-hit game of the season (2).
STAT OF THE GAME
2:26 – The amount of time it took for Baylor to score seven runs in the bottom of the seventh with the lightning/rain delay.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
“I think everyone knows it starts with pitching. Just being able to minimize that third inning to one run was a really big deal [for Hayden Kettler]. He did a phenomenal job there for us. I’m really happy for his competitive nature and what he brought to our team today. We were able to get some runs for him and then be able to bring in the bullpen and let them do their job. I’m very happy with the 2-0 start, so we just need to make sure we worry about ourselves. We make sure we play good baseball and execute the way we have been offensively and continue to pitch like that. I like our chances against anybody.” – Baylor Head Coach Steve Rodriguez
WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears finish their series against No. 8 Texas Tech at 1:05 p.m. CT Sunday at Baylor Ballpark. For tickets to home games, visit: http://www.baylorbears.com/tickets/. For updates on the program follow @baylorbaseball on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat.