BSB Greets Gonzaga for First Time in Program History

Friday, February 21

Waco, Texas

3 PM

Baylor

Gonzaga

Tickets

BSB Greets Gonzaga for First Time in Program History

2/20/2025 5:30:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes (PDF)

Bears and Bulldogs to play three-game series in Waco in first meeting on the diamond

	BAYLOR BEARS (4-0, 0-0 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Mitch Thompson (Fort Hays St., 1988) Roster \| Stats \| Game Notes (PDF)	BAYLOR (4-0, 0-0) vs. GONZAGA (1-2, 0-0) Feb. 21, 2025 • 3:00 p.m. CT Feb. 22, 2025 • 2:00 p.m. CT Feb. 23, 2025 • 12:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Baylor Ballpark (5,000) LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com WATCH: ESPN+ Talent: Derek Smith, Matt Menard (Fri. & Sun.) Talent: Kurtis Quillin, Matt Menard (Sat.) LISTEN: ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM (Fri. & Sun.) LISTEN: Kicker Country 99.3 FM/1590 AM (Sat.) Talent: Tom Barfield, Mark Outlaw (Fri.), Matt Czimskey (Sat.), Cole Posey (Sun.) Baylor Social Media:
	GONZAGA BULLDOGS (1-2, 0-0 WCC) Location: Spokane, Wash. Conference/Affiliation: West Coast Head Coach: Mark Machtolf (Stanford, 1987) Roster \| Stats

Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WACO, Texas – Throughout the fall and first few weeks of spring, there was an expectancy and high hopes for a deep and talented Baylor baseball pitching staff.

But it was based more on potential than proof.

The proof came in a 4-0 start that saw the Bears sweep Youngstown State in a three-game series last weekend and then shut out UTSA, 5-0, on a miserably cold Tuesday afternoon. Anchored by reigning Co-Big 12 Pitcher of the Week Ethan Calder, who had 13 strikeouts in a 10-3 win on Opening Day, Baylor has an impressive 2.38 ERA with 46 strikeouts in 34.0 innings.

"You couldn't have expected Ethan to punch out 13 guys," Baylor coach Mitch Thompson said, "but we expected him to go out and throw strikes with multiple pitches and to get into the fifth and sixth inning of the game. That's why we started him on Friday. This week, it's just another experience and another opportunity for him to go out and try to do it again."

Calder (1-0, 1.80) will get that chance when the Bears open a three-game series against Gonzaga (1-2) at 3 p.m. Friday. In the first-ever meetings between the two programs, the series continues with games at 2 p.m. Saturday and 12 p.m. Sunday at Baylor Ballpark.

"Traditionally, (Gonzaga is a) really good club, West Coast Conference, very competitive," Thompson said. "Coach (Mark) Machtolf's been there 22 years, has had a lot of success. And they're a talented team, an old team. They returned their top three or four best hitters from last year. Lots of seniors on their club. It'll be a definite step up in competition for us and a really strong test for us."

Keeping the same rotation as the opening weekend, Hendrix College transfer Bryson Bales (1-0, 4.50) will go Saturday, and fifth-year senior Cole Stasio (1-0, 4.50) gets the start for Sunday's series finale. Bales followed up Calder's Opening Day gem with eight strikeouts in four innings in a 16-4, Game 2 victory.

"It makes you want to try to beat his record (Calder's 13 strikeouts)," Bales said. "I know that's hard to do, but (you) going out there and throwing up eight strikeouts and coming back with your shoulders a little shrugged, that makes you feel good, because that means the whole staff is doing pretty well."

Baylor's also gotten it done at the plate, hitting .396 (seventh nationally) and averaging 11.5 runs per game (top 30). After missing most of last season with a fractured ankle, Hunter Simmons has come back in a big way, hitting .600 with two doubles and five RBIs.

Four other starters are hitting .400 or better, including shortstop Tyriq Kemp at .500 (7-for-14) with three doubles and a home run out of the 9-hole.

"Last year, he struggled so mightily out of the gate," Thompson said of Kemp, "but we had to continue to play him. And he was chasing his batting average from the get-go. He made some adjustments over the course of the fall, Coach (Zach) Dillon, Coach (James) Blair working with him. He definitely made some adjustments, bought into what they were trying to do."

Even in Tuesday's cold-weather game, the Bears kept the bats going and scratched across five runs on nine hits, including Enzo Apodaca's first home run of the season that somehow cut through the wind to get out down the line in right field.

"Honestly, that wind was blowing in, I didn't think it had a chance to leave," Apodaca said. "I was able to put a good swing on that slider that he threw me, and I think I was able to bend it around that foul pole."

Apodaca spent three years at Gonzaga before transferring to Baylor last year. He earned WCC All-Freshman and Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America honors in 2022, hitting .279 and leading the Bulldogs in hits (67), RBIs (45), runs (47) and doubles (19) with a pair of four-hit games.

"I respect that program a lot coming from there," Apodaca said. "I know they're blue-collar and gritty. . . . Still got a ton of respect for the guys over there, ton of respect for the coaches. I'm just excited to go see the guys that I know and I'm close with over there."

All three games of the series will be streamed on ESPN+, with Derek Smith and former Baylor baseball standout Matt Menard calling the action on Friday and Sunday and former KCEN Sports Director Kurtis Quillin tagging in on Saturday with Menard.

The Bears wrap up the season-opening eight game home stand with a matchup against SFA (0-4) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday before heading up to Arlington next weekend to play No. 7 Oregon State, Ohio State and Auburn in the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field.

STORYLINES

LEADING OFF

• Baylor Baseball continues its season-opening eight-game homestand this weekend, hosting Gonzaga for a three-game series. The Bears round out their opening slate at home with a midweek tilt against SFA on Tuesday, Feb. 25, before traveling to Arlington for a premier weekend at Globe Life Field against Oregon State, Ohio State and Auburn.

• On Tuesday night, Baylor recorded its second shutout of the Thompson era, blanking UTSA 5-0 as five Bears combined to hold the Roadrunners scoreless. Enzo Apodaca provided a big two-run home run, while Jack Little and Tyriq Kemp each added three hits in the win.

• BU is coming off a weekend sweep over Youngstown State, its first Opening Weekend series sweep since 2019 vs. Holy Cross and first such sweep in a three-game series since 2017 vs. Niagara.

• The Bears scored 38 runs on 46 hits in their three-game series against YSU, including 14 extra-base hits, and were led offensively by senior OF Wesley Jordan (9-for-13, HR, 7 RBIs).

• Junior LHP Ethan Calder struck out a career-high 13 batters in just five innings on Opening Day, the most strikeouts by a Bear since Logan Verrett fanned 14 in a complete game shutout vs. Louisiana Tech on March 11, 2011.

• Calder's 13 punchouts were the most by a Bear on Opening Day in the StatCrew Era (since 2003).

• Baylor returns 22 players from its 2024 roster, including six position player starters, and welcomes 18 newcomers.

• BU has 16 seniors on its 2025 roster, including six fifth-year players and three sixth-year players.

• The Bears are led by the outfield trio of seniors -- Enzo Apodaca, Ty Johnson and Wesley Jordan, who accounted for nearly 36% of the team's offense a year ago (176 of 491 hits)

• Baylor plays a combined 13 games against five NCAA Tournament teams in 2025 and will face 10 30-game winners, including two squads that won 40 or more games last season.

• 46% of the schedule features opponents that finished 2024 with a top-75 RPI.

LAST TIME OUT

• Baylor blanked UTSA, 5-0, on Tuesday night as five Bears combined to hold the Roadrunners scoreless, including freshman LHP Carson Bailey, who made his first-career start and threw three innings with five strikeouts. Redshirt sophomore LHP Caleb Jameson made his Baylor debut with two strong frames and sophomore LHP RJ Ruais made his season debut with a scoreless eighth inning.

• Enzo Apodaca provided a big two-run home run, while Jack Little and Tyriq Kemp each added three hits in the win.

• Last weekend, Baylor completed its first Opening Weekend series sweep since 2019 with a three dominating victories over Youngstown State, 10-3, 16-4, and 12-4.

• The Bears received strong starting pitching from junior LHP Ethan Calder (5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 13 SO), senior LHP Bryson Bales (4.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 SO) and senior RHP Cole Stasio (4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO).

MAKING NOISE ON THE NATIONAL SCENE

• Baylor is currently receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 25 poll.

• Entering the weekend, the Bears ranked seventh nationally with a .396 team batting average and 12th in the country with 55 total hits.

• Individually, Jack Little is tied for fifth in the country with 10 hits through the first four games.

• Ethan Calder's 13 strikeouts were tied for most in the nation after the first weekend, and were the single-most by any P-4 pitcher.

• As a pitching staff, BU holds the nation's 20th-best strikeout-to-walk ratio at 4.18, which also leads the Big 12.

PROBABLE STARTERS

• Fri. Feb. 21 • 3:00 p.m. • LHP Ethan Calder (1-0, 1.80 ERA) vs. RHP Gabe Brabec (0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0 IP)

• Sat. Feb. 22 • 2:00 p.m. • LHP Bryson Bales (1-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. LHP Miles Gosztola (0-1, 3.86 ERA)

• Sun. Feb. 23 • 12:00 p.m. • RHP Cole Stasio (1-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Feld (0-1, 9.82 ERA)

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• All three games this weekend will be televised on ESPN+, with radio voice of Baylor Baseball Derek Smith sliding over to TV to provide play-by-play on Fri./Sun. alongside former Bear Matt Menard doing color. Kurtis Quillin will tag in on Saturday to call the action with Menard.

• Fans can also tune in to ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM (Fri./Sun.) and Kicker Country 1590 AM/99.3 FM (Sat.) to hear the Baylor radio broadcast featuring Tom Barfield and former Bears Mark Outlaw (Fri.), Matt Czimskey (Sat.), and Cole Posey (Sun.) on the call.

To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.

-BaylorBears.com-