Friday, May 31
Baylor
34-18
1
vs
3
Loyola Marymount
33-23
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Loyola Marymount
0
1
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
3
5
0
Baylor
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
4
1
No. 2 Baseball Falls To No. 3 LMU 3-1 at Los Angeles Regional
5/31/2019 6:59:00 PM | Baseball
LOS ANGELES, Calif.– Unable to get anything going against West Coast Conference Pitcher of the Year Codie Paiva, second-seeded Baylor baseball (34-18) dropped a 3-1 game to third-seeded Loyola Marymount in Friday's opener at the Los Angeles Regional.
The Bears managed just four hits and a walk off Paiva (8-5) and closer Nick Frasso, who recorded the last four outs to pick up his ninth save of the year for the Lions (33-23).
"I thought it was pretty disappointing in a lot of different capacities," said Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez. "But, I tell you what, I'm going to tip my hat to Codie Paiva. He did a heck of a job out there, just pounding the zone with a lot of different pitches and continually putting pressure on our offense to get something going. I thought we swung the bat well, we just couldn't get runs across the board."
Sophomore Jimmy Winston (5-3) got the start for the Bears and was solid through the first five innings, holding LMU to just one run on two hits and retiring 10 in a row before running into trouble in the sixth.
"To be honest, Jimmy went today because we thought it was just a better matchup," Rodriguez said of his decision to go with Winston instead of junior lefty Paul Dickens (5-2, 4.07 ERA). "I just think (Winston) does a good job holding runners. We know what kind of offense Loyola has. And the biggest thing for us is Jimmy was a shortstop in high school, so we know he moves around the mound really well. We felt pretty comfortable with that."
True to form, the Lions got their first run on the board by playing station to station in the second inning. After a leadoff single by Tommy Delgado and a hit batter, Delgado moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Steven Chavez and scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Dylan Hirsch.
Baylor answered right back with a run in the bottom half of the second, starting with a leadoff double to left by Andy Thomas. After Davis Wendzel walked, Cole Haring moved both runners up on a sacrifice bunt and Davion Downey got the tying run home on a grounder to the right side.
As he did all day, Paiva came up with a big pitch when he struck out Josh Bissonette looking to leave the go-ahead run at third base.
"He's pretty much exactly what we thought we were going to get," Thomas said. "He just did a good job the first time through the order, kind of backwards pitching to us, throwing changeups first. We made an adjustment, thinking to hit the changeup. And then the second time through the order, he threw the fastball. So, it was frustrating at the plate today, trying to get something going, top to bottom."
Paiva sat down 11 batters in a row until Bissonette reached on a two-out single up the middle in the fifth. Nick Loftin opened the sixth with a single to center, but shortstop Nick Sogard flashed the leather by stopping a smash up the middle by Shea Langeliers and turning it into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
"The big thing is he was throwing three pitches for strikes," Rodriguez said. "He's a fastball, changeup, slider guy. And when you're able to manipulate the fastball, go in and out, and then throw a changeup pretty much in any count . . . it makes it tough. Even when you know a changeup is coming, it's tough to hit sometimes. He just did a great job maneuvering the fastball around the zone and then throwing his changeup for strikes."
Winston got into trouble with a four-pitch, one-out walk to Brandon Shearer in the sixth. Shearer scored on a double to right-center that Downey booted for an error. Delgado followed with a sharp single up the middle to make it a 3-1 game.
The Bears had 15 flyouts, including a few close to the warning track, but were 0-for-6 with runners on base.
"Seemed like we were banging balls all over the yard all day," Thomas said. "Unfortunately, we just couldn't get something started. It's even more frustrating when you hit the ball hard and nothing gets going, instead of just getting dominated. Which, I don't think we did today."
Senior centerfielder Richard Cunningham had his nation-best 23-game winning streak snapped, popping up to shortstop in a 12-pitch at-bat in the ninth to finish a 0-for-4 day. Thomas, Loftin, Bissonette and Chase Wehsener got the only hits for the Bears, who have scored just three runs combined in the last three games.
"We're going to come out tomorrow and score a bunch of runs, that's our plan," Thomas said. "That was our plan today. It just didn't work out for us."
Baylor will play an elimination game at 3 p.m. CDT Saturday at Jackie Robinson Stadium against the loser of Friday's late game between No. 1-ranked UCLA and fourth-seeded Omaha.
NOTE: Baylor has lost its last four first-round games in NCAA regionals, coming back to win four in a row in the 2012 regional the Bears hosted at Baylor Ballpark.
THE RUNDOWN
LOS ANGELES – The No. 2-seeded Bears fell 3-1 in their opening game against No. 3-seed Loyola Marymount at the Los Angeles Regional Friday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Baylor (34-18) was unable to string together hits, tallying just four on the day and only scoring once. The Bears had two baserunners in the second inning, but didn't have more than one aboard in any other inning.
LMU (33-23) manufactured a run in the top of the second to open the scoring, but the Bears answered back with a run in the bottom half to even the score as Davion Downey picked up an RBI with a groundout that scored Andy Thomas.
Things were tied at 1-1 until the top of the sixth, when LMU snapped Jimmy Winston's streak of 10-consecutive retired with a walk and two hits to take a 3-1 lead.
Daniel Caruso came on in relief of Winston and worked two scoreless innings before turning the ball over to Kyle Hill. Hill pitched a scoreless top of the ninth, but the Bears were unable to put together a rally offensively in the bottom half.
Baylor's bats were stifled by Lions starter Codie Paiva, who threw 7.2 innings with just one run allowed on four hits. Paiva (8-5) earned the win while Winston (5-3) took the loss. LMU's Nick Frasso picked up his ninth save of the season with a hitless 1.1 innings pitched.
NOTES
*Baylor is making its third-straight NCAA Regional appearance for the first time since a stretch of four-consecutive appearances between 2009-12. This is the 21st regional selection in program history.
*Baylor is 44-44 all-time in the NCAA Championship, 37-31 in regionals and 23-17 in neutral regional games.
*For the fourth-consecutive time in regionals and third-straight year, the Bears will need to come back from losing their opening game and fight through the elimination bracket.
*Nick Loftin extended his hit streak to 12 games.
*Shea Langeliers caught a baserunner trying to steal and has now thrown out 14 of 24 potential base stealers in 2019.
*Jimmy Winston made his 11thstart of the year and went six innings with just three runs allowed on four hits. It was his first quality start since April 27 at TCU (7.0 IP, 2 R, 6 H).
*Daniel Caruso made his 25thappearance of the season and threw two scoreless innings. It was his 19thscoreless outing of the season and seventh consecutive.
*Kyle Hill made his 23rdappearance of the season and pitched a scoreless inning.
*Hill is now tied for fourth on Baylor's all-time career relief appearances leaderboard (82).
STAT OF THE DAY
12 – Nick Loftin extended his hit streak to 12 games, which is now the longest active streak on the team.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
On today's game…
"I'm going to tip my hat to Codie Paiva, I thought he did a heck of a job out there. Just pounded the zone with a lot of different pitches, continually put pressure on our offense to get something going. I thought we swung the bat well in a lot of different capacities, but couldn't get a run across the board."
- Baylor head coach Steve Rodriguez
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will take on the loser of No. 1 UCLA and No. 4 Omaha in an elimination game Saturday at 4 p.m. CT/2 p.m. PT.
For updates on the program follow @baylorbaseball on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
-baylorbears.com-
The Bears managed just four hits and a walk off Paiva (8-5) and closer Nick Frasso, who recorded the last four outs to pick up his ninth save of the year for the Lions (33-23).
"I thought it was pretty disappointing in a lot of different capacities," said Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez. "But, I tell you what, I'm going to tip my hat to Codie Paiva. He did a heck of a job out there, just pounding the zone with a lot of different pitches and continually putting pressure on our offense to get something going. I thought we swung the bat well, we just couldn't get runs across the board."
Sophomore Jimmy Winston (5-3) got the start for the Bears and was solid through the first five innings, holding LMU to just one run on two hits and retiring 10 in a row before running into trouble in the sixth.
"To be honest, Jimmy went today because we thought it was just a better matchup," Rodriguez said of his decision to go with Winston instead of junior lefty Paul Dickens (5-2, 4.07 ERA). "I just think (Winston) does a good job holding runners. We know what kind of offense Loyola has. And the biggest thing for us is Jimmy was a shortstop in high school, so we know he moves around the mound really well. We felt pretty comfortable with that."
True to form, the Lions got their first run on the board by playing station to station in the second inning. After a leadoff single by Tommy Delgado and a hit batter, Delgado moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Steven Chavez and scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Dylan Hirsch.
Baylor answered right back with a run in the bottom half of the second, starting with a leadoff double to left by Andy Thomas. After Davis Wendzel walked, Cole Haring moved both runners up on a sacrifice bunt and Davion Downey got the tying run home on a grounder to the right side.
As he did all day, Paiva came up with a big pitch when he struck out Josh Bissonette looking to leave the go-ahead run at third base.
"He's pretty much exactly what we thought we were going to get," Thomas said. "He just did a good job the first time through the order, kind of backwards pitching to us, throwing changeups first. We made an adjustment, thinking to hit the changeup. And then the second time through the order, he threw the fastball. So, it was frustrating at the plate today, trying to get something going, top to bottom."
Paiva sat down 11 batters in a row until Bissonette reached on a two-out single up the middle in the fifth. Nick Loftin opened the sixth with a single to center, but shortstop Nick Sogard flashed the leather by stopping a smash up the middle by Shea Langeliers and turning it into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
"The big thing is he was throwing three pitches for strikes," Rodriguez said. "He's a fastball, changeup, slider guy. And when you're able to manipulate the fastball, go in and out, and then throw a changeup pretty much in any count . . . it makes it tough. Even when you know a changeup is coming, it's tough to hit sometimes. He just did a great job maneuvering the fastball around the zone and then throwing his changeup for strikes."
Winston got into trouble with a four-pitch, one-out walk to Brandon Shearer in the sixth. Shearer scored on a double to right-center that Downey booted for an error. Delgado followed with a sharp single up the middle to make it a 3-1 game.
The Bears had 15 flyouts, including a few close to the warning track, but were 0-for-6 with runners on base.
"Seemed like we were banging balls all over the yard all day," Thomas said. "Unfortunately, we just couldn't get something started. It's even more frustrating when you hit the ball hard and nothing gets going, instead of just getting dominated. Which, I don't think we did today."
Senior centerfielder Richard Cunningham had his nation-best 23-game winning streak snapped, popping up to shortstop in a 12-pitch at-bat in the ninth to finish a 0-for-4 day. Thomas, Loftin, Bissonette and Chase Wehsener got the only hits for the Bears, who have scored just three runs combined in the last three games.
"We're going to come out tomorrow and score a bunch of runs, that's our plan," Thomas said. "That was our plan today. It just didn't work out for us."
Baylor will play an elimination game at 3 p.m. CDT Saturday at Jackie Robinson Stadium against the loser of Friday's late game between No. 1-ranked UCLA and fourth-seeded Omaha.
NOTE: Baylor has lost its last four first-round games in NCAA regionals, coming back to win four in a row in the 2012 regional the Bears hosted at Baylor Ballpark.
THE RUNDOWN
LOS ANGELES – The No. 2-seeded Bears fell 3-1 in their opening game against No. 3-seed Loyola Marymount at the Los Angeles Regional Friday afternoon at Jackie Robinson Stadium.
Baylor (34-18) was unable to string together hits, tallying just four on the day and only scoring once. The Bears had two baserunners in the second inning, but didn't have more than one aboard in any other inning.
LMU (33-23) manufactured a run in the top of the second to open the scoring, but the Bears answered back with a run in the bottom half to even the score as Davion Downey picked up an RBI with a groundout that scored Andy Thomas.
Things were tied at 1-1 until the top of the sixth, when LMU snapped Jimmy Winston's streak of 10-consecutive retired with a walk and two hits to take a 3-1 lead.
Daniel Caruso came on in relief of Winston and worked two scoreless innings before turning the ball over to Kyle Hill. Hill pitched a scoreless top of the ninth, but the Bears were unable to put together a rally offensively in the bottom half.
Baylor's bats were stifled by Lions starter Codie Paiva, who threw 7.2 innings with just one run allowed on four hits. Paiva (8-5) earned the win while Winston (5-3) took the loss. LMU's Nick Frasso picked up his ninth save of the season with a hitless 1.1 innings pitched.
NOTES
*Baylor is making its third-straight NCAA Regional appearance for the first time since a stretch of four-consecutive appearances between 2009-12. This is the 21st regional selection in program history.
*Baylor is 44-44 all-time in the NCAA Championship, 37-31 in regionals and 23-17 in neutral regional games.
*For the fourth-consecutive time in regionals and third-straight year, the Bears will need to come back from losing their opening game and fight through the elimination bracket.
*Nick Loftin extended his hit streak to 12 games.
*Shea Langeliers caught a baserunner trying to steal and has now thrown out 14 of 24 potential base stealers in 2019.
*Jimmy Winston made his 11thstart of the year and went six innings with just three runs allowed on four hits. It was his first quality start since April 27 at TCU (7.0 IP, 2 R, 6 H).
*Daniel Caruso made his 25thappearance of the season and threw two scoreless innings. It was his 19thscoreless outing of the season and seventh consecutive.
*Kyle Hill made his 23rdappearance of the season and pitched a scoreless inning.
*Hill is now tied for fourth on Baylor's all-time career relief appearances leaderboard (82).
STAT OF THE DAY
12 – Nick Loftin extended his hit streak to 12 games, which is now the longest active streak on the team.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
On today's game…
"I'm going to tip my hat to Codie Paiva, I thought he did a heck of a job out there. Just pounded the zone with a lot of different pitches, continually put pressure on our offense to get something going. I thought we swung the bat well in a lot of different capacities, but couldn't get a run across the board."
- Baylor head coach Steve Rodriguez
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will take on the loser of No. 1 UCLA and No. 4 Omaha in an elimination game Saturday at 4 p.m. CT/2 p.m. PT.
For updates on the program follow @baylorbaseball on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
-baylorbears.com-
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: PAIVA, Codie (8-5)
L: Winston, Jimmy (5-3)
S: FRASSO, Nick (9)
Batting:
2B: ESQUERRA, Trevin 1 ; DELGADO, Tommy 1
RBI: DELGADO, Tommy 1 ; HIRSCH, Dylan 1
SH: OYAMA, Kenny 1
SF: HIRSCH, Dylan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SHEARER, Brandon 1 ; ESQUERRA, Trevin 1 ; DELGADO, Tommy 1
SB: SOGARD, Nick 1
CS: HIRSCH, Dylan 1
HBP: CHAVEZ, Steven 1
Batting:
2B: Thomas, Andy 1
RBI: Downey, Davion 1
SH: Haring, Cole 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Thomas, Andy 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
LHP
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
C/1B
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
C/1B
/ Baseball
1B
/ Baseball
IF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballBaylor Baseball: Postgame vs. Oklahoma State | Big 12 Championship | May 21, 2025
Thursday, May 22
Baylor Baseball: Highlights vs. Oklahoma State | May 21, 2025
Thursday, May 22
Baylor Baseball: Highlights at UCF (Game 3) | May 17, 2025
Monday, May 19
Baylor Baseball: Highlights at UCF (Game 2) | May 16, 2025
Saturday, May 17
