Friday, March 1
Waco, Texas
6:30 PM
Baylor
2-7
11
vs
2
Oral Roberts
4-5
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Oral Roberts
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
8
2
Baylor
0
0
2
0
0
7
0
2
X
11
15
1
BSB Soars Past ORU in 11-2 Victory
3/1/2024 10:53:00 PM | Baseball
Marriott turns in solid start behind 15-hit outburst; Hail shuts the door for Friday night win
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Once the flood gates finally opened up for the Baylor baseball team, the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles couldn't do anything to stop it.
Snapping a four-game losing streak, the Bears (2-7) strung together six-straight hits in a seven-run sixth inning and a season-high 15 hits overall en route to an 11-2 win over ORU (4-5) in Friday night's series opener at Baylor Ballpark.
All nine starters had at least one hit, with fill-ins Daniel Altman, Kade Fletcher and Caleb Bergman combining to go 5-for-12 with three runs and three RBIs out of the 6, 7 and 9 spots in the order.
"That was awesome to see," said junior infielder Hunter Teplanszky, who went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in his first start at shortstop. "Those guys got their opportunity, and they took advantage of it. You love to see that because it gives everybody confidence. Everybody's fired up for those guys that got their opportunities. And there are still guys over there waiting for their opportunities, and we expect them to do the same thing when they get theirs'."
Baylor also got strong pitching from starter Mason Marriott and reliever Patrick Hail (1-0), who combined to allow just one earned run on eight hits and four walks with 13 strikeouts.
In a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the second inning, Marriott had back-to-back strikeouts and limited the Golden Eagles to just one run a bases-loaded walk by Alex Rodgers.
"Mason, sometimes, might even be fighting his past," Baylor coach Mitch Thompson said, "where there always seemed to be one inning last year that kind of got to him and he'd give up a big one. It's fun to see him get out of it and then take it back out there and go the third, fourth, fifth and sixth. . . . I'm really proud of Mason's effort."
The Golden Eagles got another run in the third with a walk by David Herring and Kyle Booker's two-out, RBI double. But Marriott retired the next eight batters in a row before being lifted in the sixth after giving up a two-out single to left by Kole Duddling on his 96th pitch of the night.
"It was big for us," Marriott said of working out of the second-inning jam, "just to have confidence in myself even though I was in a tough jam. Just keep attacking, keep doing exactly what the coaches are saying, throw the pitch that was called, just having faith in my stuff, and keep working out of it."
Hail walked the first batter he faced, but got 9-hole hitter Easton Elliot on a grounder to second that ended the threat and didn't allow a run on four hits and one walk with five strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.
"Patrick's going to be big for us out of the bullpen," Thompson said, "and we're still trying to figure out the best way to use him. He's got different stuff, and he's got a presence out there, too. He's under control, he's experienced. His slot's different, it's a different look."
ORU starter Jakob Hall (1-1) retired the first seven batters, striking out five, before catcher Cortlan Castle singled to left, stole second and moved up to third on a push bunt single by Bergman. After Enzo Apodaca was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Teplanszky tied it up with a two-run single to right.
"Caleb hasn't even been in the lineup for seven or eight games," Thompson said of Bergman, who went 2-for-4 and scored two runs out of the nine hole. "He's back out there Wednesday, he's out there again (today). Just a scrappy ballplayer. Now, here we go, and the swings got better. . . . We slowed him down a little bit and took good swings throughout the lineup."
That was particularly true in the bottom of the sixth, when the Bears brought 11 batters to the plate, collected seven hits and benefitted from two ORU errors.
Will Pendergrass doubled to left and scored the go-ahead run on Mason Greer's single to right. Three more runs came across on consecutive hits by Wesley Jordan, Altman and Fletcher, ending Hall's night.
With Jared Ure taking over on the mound, Fletcher was thrown out trying to steal second to clear the bases with two out. The door opened up again on a single and the first of back-to-back errors, with both runners scoring on another error, Bergman sliding under the tag at home plate on a play that was reviewed and overturned.
Teplanszky drove in Apodaca with an RBI double, making it 9-2.
"Those are always fun," Teplanszky said of the seven-run explosion. "Those are the things you strive for, because ultimately, those win ballgames. I remember we had a talk last year that the team that has the big inning usually wins the ballgame. It's really fun when finally put them together."
The Bears scored two more runs in the eighth inning, when Apodaca crushed a home run to right-center field, and Pendergrass drove in Teplanszky with a bloop double to left-center field that fell in front of the leftfielder.
Baylor will go for the series win in Saturday's 2 p.m. game at Baylor Ballpark, which will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (2-7) picked up an 11-2 series-opening victory over Oral Roberts on Friday night at Baylor Ballpark in Waco behind a season-high 15 hits, a solid start from Mason Marriott and 3.1 impressive scoreless innings of relief from Patrick Hail.
Marriott went 5.2 innings and allowed just one earned run on four hits, three walks and notched eight strikeouts in the no decision, minimizing damage until a seven-run sixth inning powered the Bears past the Golden Eagles. Hail came on to shut the door, recording the final 10 outs and fanning five.
All nine starters recorded a hit and six different Bears drove in a run, including junior infielder Hunter Teplanszky who went 3-for-5 at the dish and drove in three. Redshirt junior outfielder Enzo Apodaca blasted his second home run of the year, while redshirt junior infielder Will Pendergrass, senior infielder Daniel Altman, junior catcher Cortlan Castle and sophomore outfielder Caleb Bergman all posted multi-hit efforts.
THE RUNDOWN
ORU threatened early, loading the bases in the top of the second and even pushing across the game's first run, though Marriott struck out the side to prevent a crooked number. The Golden Eagles went ahead 2-0 after a two-out RBI double in the third, though that's as large as their lead would get.
Marriott settled in after BU tied it in the bottom of the third, as Teplanszky came through with a two-run single. The junior righty retired the ORU side in order in each of the fourth and fifth innings before handing the ball off to Hail, who stranded a pair of Golden Eagles baserunners upon entering from the bullpen.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Bears batted around as seven runs came across on seven hits and two ORU errors. Fifth-year senior infielder Mason Greer got the scoring started with an RBI single, followed by Altman's RBI double and a two-run single by redshirt junior outfielder Kade Fletcher. Apodaca reached on an error that allowed two more Baylor runs to score and Teplanszky capped off the rally with a double to chase in Apodaca, making it 9-2.
Hail went on to scatter four hits over the next three frames and Baylor added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth off Apodaca's solo shot and an RBI double from Pendergrass to seal the series-opening victory.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor picked up its first series-opening victory of the season.
• BU improved to 26-22 all-time against Oral Roberts.
• The Bears notched a season-high 15 hits in the win.
• Baylor put up seven runs in the sixth inning, marking the first time the Bears have scored seven or more runs in a single inning since scoring eight runs in the sixth inning against Kansas State on March 19, 2023.
• All nine starters hit safely for the first time since April 16, 2022, vs. Kansas.
• BU pitchers struck out 13 batters, marking the sixth time this season and 26th time in the Mitch Thompson era that the Bears have eclipsed double-digit punchouts.
• Redshirt junior OF Enzo Apodaca extended his team-leading hit streak to eight games after blasting his team-leading second home run of the year.
• Junior INF Hunter Teplanszky matched his career high with three RBIs and posted his fourth multi-hit game of the year.
• Redshirt junior INF Will Pendergrass doubled twice to tie his career high and produced his second multi-hit game of 2024.
• Senior INF Daniel Altman recorded his third-straight game with a hit and an RBI.
• Redshirt junior OF Kade Fletcher drove in two runs for the first time in his career.
• Junior C Cortlan Castle notched his second multi-hit game of the season.
• Sophomore OF Caleb Bergman tallied his first multi-hit game of the year.
• Junior RHP Mason Marriott matched his season-long with 5.2 innings on the mound and struck out eight.
• Redshirt junior RHP Patrick Hail recorded his second scoreless outing and picked up his first win as a Bear.
STAT OF THE DAY
15 – Baylor posted a season-high 15 hits on the night as all nine starters hit safely.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On Mason Marriott's start…
"The fun part about Mason was watching him compete with the bases loaded and nobody out. He got out of it and gave up only one run. It's fun to see him [do that] and then take it back out there and go the third, fourth, fifth and sixth [innings]. We just didn't want to run him out of pitches too many. I'm real proud of his effort."
On the seven-run sixth inning…
"We had the gates open up. [Cortlan] Castle gets a single, we steal second base, we get a push bunt from [Caleb] Bergman, now here we go. And the swings got better. We slowed [the ORU pitcher] down a little bit and took good swings throughout the lineup."
Junior RHP Mason Marriott
On working out of the jam and gaining confidence…
"It was big for us, just being able to have confidence in myself, even though I was in a tough jam. Just keep attacking, keep doing what the coaches are saying, throw the pitches that were called and just having faith in my stuff. I got more comfortable up there, so it was just kind of making a quick adjustment to get going."
Junior INF Hunter Teplanszky
On seeing everyone in the lineup step up…
"That was awesome to see. Those guys got their opportunity and they took advantage of it. As a group, in the dugout, you love to see that because it gives everybody confidence. Everybody's fired up for those guys."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (2-7) goes for the series win over Oral Roberts (4-5) on Saturday at Baylor Ballpark, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Once the flood gates finally opened up for the Baylor baseball team, the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles couldn't do anything to stop it.
Snapping a four-game losing streak, the Bears (2-7) strung together six-straight hits in a seven-run sixth inning and a season-high 15 hits overall en route to an 11-2 win over ORU (4-5) in Friday night's series opener at Baylor Ballpark.
All nine starters had at least one hit, with fill-ins Daniel Altman, Kade Fletcher and Caleb Bergman combining to go 5-for-12 with three runs and three RBIs out of the 6, 7 and 9 spots in the order.
"That was awesome to see," said junior infielder Hunter Teplanszky, who went 3-for-5 with three RBIs in his first start at shortstop. "Those guys got their opportunity, and they took advantage of it. You love to see that because it gives everybody confidence. Everybody's fired up for those guys that got their opportunities. And there are still guys over there waiting for their opportunities, and we expect them to do the same thing when they get theirs'."
Baylor also got strong pitching from starter Mason Marriott and reliever Patrick Hail (1-0), who combined to allow just one earned run on eight hits and four walks with 13 strikeouts.
In a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the second inning, Marriott had back-to-back strikeouts and limited the Golden Eagles to just one run a bases-loaded walk by Alex Rodgers.
"Mason, sometimes, might even be fighting his past," Baylor coach Mitch Thompson said, "where there always seemed to be one inning last year that kind of got to him and he'd give up a big one. It's fun to see him get out of it and then take it back out there and go the third, fourth, fifth and sixth. . . . I'm really proud of Mason's effort."
The Golden Eagles got another run in the third with a walk by David Herring and Kyle Booker's two-out, RBI double. But Marriott retired the next eight batters in a row before being lifted in the sixth after giving up a two-out single to left by Kole Duddling on his 96th pitch of the night.
"It was big for us," Marriott said of working out of the second-inning jam, "just to have confidence in myself even though I was in a tough jam. Just keep attacking, keep doing exactly what the coaches are saying, throw the pitch that was called, just having faith in my stuff, and keep working out of it."
Hail walked the first batter he faced, but got 9-hole hitter Easton Elliot on a grounder to second that ended the threat and didn't allow a run on four hits and one walk with five strikeouts in 3 1/3 innings.
"Patrick's going to be big for us out of the bullpen," Thompson said, "and we're still trying to figure out the best way to use him. He's got different stuff, and he's got a presence out there, too. He's under control, he's experienced. His slot's different, it's a different look."
ORU starter Jakob Hall (1-1) retired the first seven batters, striking out five, before catcher Cortlan Castle singled to left, stole second and moved up to third on a push bunt single by Bergman. After Enzo Apodaca was hit by a pitch to load the bases, Teplanszky tied it up with a two-run single to right.
"Caleb hasn't even been in the lineup for seven or eight games," Thompson said of Bergman, who went 2-for-4 and scored two runs out of the nine hole. "He's back out there Wednesday, he's out there again (today). Just a scrappy ballplayer. Now, here we go, and the swings got better. . . . We slowed him down a little bit and took good swings throughout the lineup."
That was particularly true in the bottom of the sixth, when the Bears brought 11 batters to the plate, collected seven hits and benefitted from two ORU errors.
Will Pendergrass doubled to left and scored the go-ahead run on Mason Greer's single to right. Three more runs came across on consecutive hits by Wesley Jordan, Altman and Fletcher, ending Hall's night.
With Jared Ure taking over on the mound, Fletcher was thrown out trying to steal second to clear the bases with two out. The door opened up again on a single and the first of back-to-back errors, with both runners scoring on another error, Bergman sliding under the tag at home plate on a play that was reviewed and overturned.
Teplanszky drove in Apodaca with an RBI double, making it 9-2.
"Those are always fun," Teplanszky said of the seven-run explosion. "Those are the things you strive for, because ultimately, those win ballgames. I remember we had a talk last year that the team that has the big inning usually wins the ballgame. It's really fun when finally put them together."
The Bears scored two more runs in the eighth inning, when Apodaca crushed a home run to right-center field, and Pendergrass drove in Teplanszky with a bloop double to left-center field that fell in front of the leftfielder.
Baylor will go for the series win in Saturday's 2 p.m. game at Baylor Ballpark, which will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (2-7) picked up an 11-2 series-opening victory over Oral Roberts on Friday night at Baylor Ballpark in Waco behind a season-high 15 hits, a solid start from Mason Marriott and 3.1 impressive scoreless innings of relief from Patrick Hail.
Marriott went 5.2 innings and allowed just one earned run on four hits, three walks and notched eight strikeouts in the no decision, minimizing damage until a seven-run sixth inning powered the Bears past the Golden Eagles. Hail came on to shut the door, recording the final 10 outs and fanning five.
All nine starters recorded a hit and six different Bears drove in a run, including junior infielder Hunter Teplanszky who went 3-for-5 at the dish and drove in three. Redshirt junior outfielder Enzo Apodaca blasted his second home run of the year, while redshirt junior infielder Will Pendergrass, senior infielder Daniel Altman, junior catcher Cortlan Castle and sophomore outfielder Caleb Bergman all posted multi-hit efforts.
THE RUNDOWN
ORU threatened early, loading the bases in the top of the second and even pushing across the game's first run, though Marriott struck out the side to prevent a crooked number. The Golden Eagles went ahead 2-0 after a two-out RBI double in the third, though that's as large as their lead would get.
Marriott settled in after BU tied it in the bottom of the third, as Teplanszky came through with a two-run single. The junior righty retired the ORU side in order in each of the fourth and fifth innings before handing the ball off to Hail, who stranded a pair of Golden Eagles baserunners upon entering from the bullpen.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Bears batted around as seven runs came across on seven hits and two ORU errors. Fifth-year senior infielder Mason Greer got the scoring started with an RBI single, followed by Altman's RBI double and a two-run single by redshirt junior outfielder Kade Fletcher. Apodaca reached on an error that allowed two more Baylor runs to score and Teplanszky capped off the rally with a double to chase in Apodaca, making it 9-2.
Hail went on to scatter four hits over the next three frames and Baylor added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth off Apodaca's solo shot and an RBI double from Pendergrass to seal the series-opening victory.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor picked up its first series-opening victory of the season.
• BU improved to 26-22 all-time against Oral Roberts.
• The Bears notched a season-high 15 hits in the win.
• Baylor put up seven runs in the sixth inning, marking the first time the Bears have scored seven or more runs in a single inning since scoring eight runs in the sixth inning against Kansas State on March 19, 2023.
• All nine starters hit safely for the first time since April 16, 2022, vs. Kansas.
• BU pitchers struck out 13 batters, marking the sixth time this season and 26th time in the Mitch Thompson era that the Bears have eclipsed double-digit punchouts.
• Redshirt junior OF Enzo Apodaca extended his team-leading hit streak to eight games after blasting his team-leading second home run of the year.
• Junior INF Hunter Teplanszky matched his career high with three RBIs and posted his fourth multi-hit game of the year.
• Redshirt junior INF Will Pendergrass doubled twice to tie his career high and produced his second multi-hit game of 2024.
• Senior INF Daniel Altman recorded his third-straight game with a hit and an RBI.
• Redshirt junior OF Kade Fletcher drove in two runs for the first time in his career.
• Junior C Cortlan Castle notched his second multi-hit game of the season.
• Sophomore OF Caleb Bergman tallied his first multi-hit game of the year.
• Junior RHP Mason Marriott matched his season-long with 5.2 innings on the mound and struck out eight.
• Redshirt junior RHP Patrick Hail recorded his second scoreless outing and picked up his first win as a Bear.
STAT OF THE DAY
15 – Baylor posted a season-high 15 hits on the night as all nine starters hit safely.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On Mason Marriott's start…
"The fun part about Mason was watching him compete with the bases loaded and nobody out. He got out of it and gave up only one run. It's fun to see him [do that] and then take it back out there and go the third, fourth, fifth and sixth [innings]. We just didn't want to run him out of pitches too many. I'm real proud of his effort."
On the seven-run sixth inning…
"We had the gates open up. [Cortlan] Castle gets a single, we steal second base, we get a push bunt from [Caleb] Bergman, now here we go. And the swings got better. We slowed [the ORU pitcher] down a little bit and took good swings throughout the lineup."
Junior RHP Mason Marriott
On working out of the jam and gaining confidence…
"It was big for us, just being able to have confidence in myself, even though I was in a tough jam. Just keep attacking, keep doing what the coaches are saying, throw the pitches that were called and just having faith in my stuff. I got more comfortable up there, so it was just kind of making a quick adjustment to get going."
Junior INF Hunter Teplanszky
On seeing everyone in the lineup step up…
"That was awesome to see. Those guys got their opportunity and they took advantage of it. As a group, in the dugout, you love to see that because it gives everybody confidence. Everybody's fired up for those guys."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (2-7) goes for the series win over Oral Roberts (4-5) on Saturday at Baylor Ballpark, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m.
To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.
-BaylorBears.com-
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Hail, Patrick (1-0)
L: Jakob Hall (1-1)
Batting:
2B: Alex Rodgers 1 ; Holden Breeze 1 ; Kyle Booker 1
RBI: Alex Rodgers 1 ; Kyle Booker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: David Herring 1 ; Drew Stahl 1
Batting:
2B: Teplanszky, Hunter 1 ; Pendergrass, Will 2 ; Altman, Daniel 1
HR: Apodaca, Enzo 1
RBI: Apodaca, Enzo 1 ; Teplanszky, Hunter 3 ; Pendergrass, Will 1 ; Greer, Mason 1 ; Altman, Daniel 1 ; Fletcher, Kade 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Apodaca, Enzo 2 ; Teplanszky, Hunter 1 ; Pendergrass, Will 1 ; Greer, Mason 1 ; Jordan, Wesley 1 ; Altman, Daniel 1 ; Castle, Cortlan 2 ; Bergman, Caleb 2
SB: Castle, Cortlan 1 ; Bergman, Caleb 1
CS: Fletcher, Kade 1
HBP: Apodaca, Enzo 1
Game Leaders
ss/3b
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
3
AB
5
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
2
H
2
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
INF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballINF
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