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THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas -- Baylor baseball fell 7-2 to Washington in Steve Rodriguez's debut as Bears head coach on Friday evening at Baylor Ballpark to begin the 2016 season. The Bears (0-1) held a 1-0 lead until the Huskies' (0-1) bats woke up in the middle innings.
The Rodriguez era got off to a great start as the offense needed just three pitches to score a run. Leadoff man Levi Gilcrease smacked the first pitch of the season to left field for a double, and after taking a ball, Kameron Esthay roped a double to center to plate Gilcrease.
The lead lasted until the fourth inning, when Daniel Castano struggled to get the third out in two straight innings. With two outs and a runner on third base, Josh Cushing hit a weak single to right field to tie the game. MJ Hubbs followed with a home run to left field to put Washington ahead 3-1.
In the fifth with a runner on second and two outs, Castano allowed an RBI double to Jack Meggs and RBI single to Alex Galgano before loading the bases. Kody Hessemer came on in relief and walked in a run before ending the rally with UW up 6-1.
The teams exchanged runs in the sixth on a Galgano RBI single with two outs, while Matt Menard hit an infield single to score Gilcrease after a leadoff single.
In the ninth, BU rallied against UW reliever Troy Rallings as Richard Cunningham led off with a single, West Tunnell hit a one-out single and T.J. Raguse walked to load the bases. However, Justin Arrington hit into a game-ending double play to stop the threat.
UW starter Noah Bremer (1-0) earned the win, allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts in six innings. Castano (0-1) took the loss, giving up six runs on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 4.2 innings.
NOTES
*Baylor and Washington met for the first time ever, and UW now leads the series 1-0.
*Steve Rodriguez is now 3-4 against Washington as a head coach.
*Baylor is 72-24 all-time in home openers and snapped a four-game winning streak.
*Baylor is 10-4 when its head coach is making his debut.
*Baylor is 60-34 all-time in season openers.
*Levi Gilcrease set a career high with three hits, going 3-for-4 with a double and two runs scored.
*Richard Cunningham recorded his first collegiate hit.
*T.J. Raguse recorded his first collegiate walk.
*Drew Robertson posted a scoreless frame and strikeout in his Baylor debut.
STAT OF THE GAME
3 -- The amount of pitches it took for Baylor's offense to score its first run of the season.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
"It was really exciting to see our guys swing the bats the way they did early on and toward the end of the game. There are a lot of positives coming away from tonight. Levi Gilcrease's effort and everything he has done in going about his business, it doesn't surprise me one bit." -- Baylor head coach Steve Rodriguez
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor continues its season-opening, three-game series Saturday at 3:05 p.m. CT and Sunday at 1:05 p.m. on FOX Sports Plus (Sunday only). The remaining pitching matchups feature BU RHP Drew Tolson (3-8, 3.56 ERA in 2015) against UW freshman RHP Joe DeMers on Saturday and BU RHP Nick Lewis (4-2, 4.14 ERA in 2015) versus UW LHP Will Ballowe (0-0, 4.50 ERA in 2015) on Sunday.
-BU-
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation
Handcuffed by Washington starter Noah Bremer, Baylor baseball opened the Steve Rodriguez era Friday night with a 7-2 loss to the Huskies at Baylor Ballpark.
"He threw three pitches for strikes and kept our guys off-balance," Rodriguez said of Bremer, the younger brother of former Baylor pitcher Tyler Bremer. "We didn't take the greatest approach to him at some points, but he got ahead early. Guys were kind of handcuffed, behind in the county. You've just got to tip your hat to him. He did a great job."
Leadoff hitter Levi Gilcrease led Baylor's seven-hit attack, going 3-for-4 with three straight first-pitch hits, including a double over the leftfielder's head in the first inning. He scored the Bears' first run two pitches later when Kameron Esthay doubled off the wall in left-center field.
"I was just seeing the ball well, felt comfortable up there and I enjoy hitting the first pitch," said Gilcrease, who hit .193 with just two extra-base hits last season. "I asked Coach before the game, `Can I be aggressive here?' He said yeah, so I went for it."
After giving up the back-to-back doubles to open the game, Bremer settled down to retire 13 of the next 15 batters before getting into some trouble again in the sixth.
Gilcrease led off with a single down the left-field line, went to second on a wild pitch and third on a throwing error by the catcher. Esthay struck out swinging, but Matt Menard drove in the run with an infield single.
Baylor starter Daniel Castano (0-1) opened with three scoreless frames, getting some help in the second with a nifty 5-4-3 around-the-horn double play. But the Huskies tied it on a two-out bloop single by Josh Cushing and took the lead for good with a two-run homer to left by MJ Hubbs that looked like it might not ever come down from the sky.
Washington added three more in the fifth off Castano, whose final line was six runs on nine hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 4.2 innings.
"He has a higher expectation and standard for himself," Rodriguez said, "and I know he's pretty frustrated with how things went tonight. But that's why we play the amount of games we do. He's been a great pitcher for us this spring and this fall, and I have no doubts that he'll do fine for us."
The Huskies extended the lead to 7-1 in the top of the sixth off reliever Kody Hessemer, but the bullpen closed it out with three straight scoreless innings from Theron Kay and Drew Robertson. Jack Meggs, Alex Galgano, John Naff and Hubbs had two hits apiece to pace Washington's 13-hit attack.
"That's the biggest thing for us, just try to see which pitchers are going to come out and do something for us," Rodriguez said. "Just try to get the butterflies out a little bit, because everybody is excited and energized. It's a long season, so we want to make sure everybody gets a little bit of a taste. So hopefully the next time they come out, they'll be a little more relaxed and make better pitches."
The season-opening three-game series continues with a 3:05 p.m. first pitch Saturday, with Baylor junior Drew Tolson opposed by Washington freshman Joe DeMers. In Sunday's 1:05 p.m. finale, the Bears' Nick Lewis will take the hill against UW lefty Will Ballowe.
