Baylor catcher Andy Thomas tags out Memphis’s Nick Jones at the plate on a relay throw from outfielder Kyle Nevin in the Bears’ 9-0 win over the Tigers in Saturday’s opening game.
Baylor's Tyler Thomas continued his strong start to the season, tallying a career-high nine strikeouts in six innings of work in Saturday's 9-0 opening win.
Baylor second baseman Jack Pineda connects for a two-run single in the third inning of the Bears' opening win Saturday.
There’s nothing like a little home cooking to restore the soul.
As it turns out, Baylor baseball’s first weekend home series of the season will coincide with their first series victory. The Bears swept Saturday’s doubleheader over Memphis at Baylor Ballpark to go up three games to none over the Tigers, with a chance to sweep the four-game set on Sunday.
In Saturday’s seven-inning first game, Tyler Thomas mined a gem, as he and reliever Hambleton Oliver combined on a two-hit shutout in the Bears’ 9-0 win. Then in the nightcap, Baylor exploded for a six-run fifth and an eight-run sixth in an easy-breezy 20-4 triumph.
Scoring 14 runs over the span of two innings in that second game made for some long — but fun — stretches over in the home dugout, as the Bears (6-4) enjoyed the pass-the-bat mentality.
“We’ve been on the other end of that as well,” Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez said. “But our guys did a great job of not forcing at-bats, taking the hit-by-pitches, and really executing once we got the basepaths. That was a big thing, making sure the execution was going to be there. Getting the free bases is one thing, but still being able to get them across is another thing. I thought our guys did a really good job of that.”
In the nightcap, Memphis (4-4) snatched a 4-3 lead after bouncing freshman starter Cam Caley from the game with a four-run fourth. But an eruption was bubbling just beneath the surface for the Bears.
In the fifth, it burst forth like Vesuvius. Part of it arrived thanks to Memphis’ pitchers unraveling, as the Tigers ultimately walked 11 BU batters in the game and plunked another four. But as Rodriguez alluded, the Bears also cashed in on their opportunities, hitting .500 (8-for-16) with runners in scoring position.
“I think we started capitalizing on the free bases,” said shortstop Tre Richardson, who went 2-for-3 with four runs scored and three RBIs in the win. “Their pitcher started getting a little wild on the mound, and we just knew how to capitalize on it. Keeping it simple, just trying to hit the ball back up the middle and having an approach when we go up to the plate.”
Baylor tied the game in the fifth when a sacrifice bunt attempt by Andy Thomas worked out even better than expected for the senior catcher. Tigers third baseman Alec Trela fielded and threw wide of first, allowing the tying run to score on the error. Then the Bears promptly took the lead on Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo’s RBI groundout.
But they were far from done in the inning, scoring four more runs, as Davion Downey and Jacob Schoenvogel delivered well-placed RBI doubles and Chase Wehsener chipped in a run-scoring single.
The Bears’ patient batting eye, coupled with the Tigers’ wildness, persisted into the sixth. Baylor plated eight runs in that frame, helped immensely by six walks in the inning. Walking in Memphis? More like walking over it.
Jimmy Winston (1-1) pocketed the win, working four innings of scoreless relief after entering for Caley.
It was just an overall fun day for the Bears that included Jared McKenzie showing off his potential Gold Glove skills with a wall-scraping catch in center. Perhaps the biggest delight for the Bears came late in the game, when senior pitcher Ryan Leckich earned his first career at-bat, taking at least one fences-targeting cut before ultimately striking out looking.
“I have a rule and I’ve had it ever since I’ve been a head coach, if you score 20 runs I usually find the oldest pitcher and ask them if they want to hit. Some of them don’t want to, “Rodriguez said. “They think they do until the opportunity arises and then they say, ‘Nah, I’m good.’ But I gave him the opportunity and he went out there, and the fact that he took strike three is probably more frustrating and he is not real happy with himself. But that’s part of it, and it’s fun and exciting. When you score 20 runs you should be able to have the freedom to do some stuff like that.”
Saturday’s opener offered up the latest engrossing chapter in the journey of Tyler Thomas. The junior left-hander opened up as a weekend starter as a freshman in 2018, tallying a 3-3 record with a 3.38 ERA in 14 starts. But he struggled the following season, experiencing numbness in his fingers before eventually undergoing Thoracic Outlet Syndrome surgery. A healthy Thomas transitioned to a successful bullpen role in 2020, registering a 0.00 ERA in seven appearances.
And now he’s back in the weekend rotation and pitching better than ever.
Against the Tigers, he had it all working. Thomas (2-0) struck out at least one Memphis hitter in every inning on his way to a career-high nine Ks. The left-hander closed out his day by getting Taylor Howell to go fishing at a high fastball to close the sixth, then he unleashed a yell as he strode to the dugout.
“That’s the third or fourth time it’s happened this season. I notice it and go, ‘Huh. Let’s just roll with it,’” said Thomas, regarding his outburst.
Thomas took advantage of Memphis’ especially aggressive approach at the plate. The Tigers aren’t necessarily a team that will keep the bat locked on its shoulders.
“When you have a team like that coming out to swing it makes hard to pitch against them, but sometimes it makes it easy,” Thomas said. “Luckily today I had the changeup and the fastball and threw it where I wanted. I could keep them off-balance at the beginning and throw it by them in the end.”
Baylor supplied Thomas with enough run support, taking a 4-0 lead through three innings, thanks in part to Jack Pineda’s two-run single in the third. Then the Bears widened the gap in the sixth with a five-run outpouring that was again aided by the Tigers’ wildness on the mound. Memphis tossed three straight bases-loaded walks in the inning.
The Bears will seek the four-game sweep when the series concludes with a 1 p.m. Sunday game, a change from the original schedule. Hayden Kettler will make his season debut for the Bears on the mound.
March 07, 2021 at 10:19AM
https://wacotrib.com/sports/college/baylor/easy-breezy-bears-sweep-doubleheader-from-memphis/article_fcb2795e-7ef3-11eb-9d32-739f2803cad9.html
Easy-breezy Bears sweep doubleheader from Memphis - Waco Tribune-Herald
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