BSB Crushes No. 5 Texas Tech, 13-3, to Take Weekend Series
4/25/2021 7:08:00 PM | Baseball
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BU got on the board in the first inning with two outs as second-year freshman Tre Richardson smacked his third home run of the season, while fifth-year senior Andy Thomas followed up with a solo shot of his own to make it 2-0 in favor of the Bears.
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In the fourth, it was the long ball once again that extended the Baylor lead as second-year freshman Cade Currington launched his second home run of the weekend, this time a solo shot to push the advantage to 3-0.
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Later in the sixth, second-year freshman Jared McKenzie pulled a ball down the right field line for a leadoff triple. In the next at-bat, Richardson brought him home with a groundout as BU led 4-0. The Red Raiders hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the frame to trim it back to a three-run game.
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The Bears opened the flood gates in the seventh with a five-spot in the inning. With one out, BU ripped off six-straight hits, starting with singles from second-year freshman Kyle Nevin and third-year sophomore Chase Wehsener, who scored Nevin. Junior Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo kept the momentum going with an RBI-single to left center to score Wehsener. Following a Jack Pineda single, McKenzie brought in another with a single.
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Following a pitching change, it was Richardson who doubled in the gap to cap the scoring in the inning with a two-run double as the Bears took control, 9-1. Texas Tech scratched across a run in the home-half to make it 9-2.
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Baylor scored four more runs over the final two innings with three via bases loaded walks and the other on a bases loaded hit by pitch, as BU secured the 13-3 win.
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BU starter Blake Helton (3-2) went his season-long in conference play after hurling five innings of scoreless baseball, while only allowing three hits and striking out two in the win. Tech starter Mason Montgomery (2-2) was tabbed with the loss.
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NOTES
• First series win in Lubbock since May 15-16, 2010.
• First series win over a top 10 team since defeating No. 8 Texas Tech March 16-18, 2018 in Waco.
• First series win on the road over a top 10 team since 2005.
• First team to win a series at Rip Griffin Park since 2018. Tech was 20-2 at home in 2021 entering this weekend.
• The Bears won its third-straight Big 12 series.
• BU has won 13 of its last 16 games.
• Baylor outscored the Red Raiders 26-8 in the three-game set.
• The only time the Bears trailed in the series was after the eighth inning in Saturday's loss.
• BU is now 7-10 away from Baylor Ballpark.
• Coach Rodriguez is now 7-9 all-time against Tech.
• Every batter in the Baylor lineup finished with a hit, including three with multi-hit games.
• Cardoza-Oquendo went 3-for-4 with a run and two RBI.
• McKenzie finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored, two RBI and a triple.
• Richardson tallied a career-high four RBI.
• Helton threw his longest outing in Big 12 play (5.0 innings). Helton has not allowed an earned run in his last two starts (9.0 innings).
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QUOTE FROM COACH ROD
"Blake Helton did a great job getting through some tough situations a few times but really worked his way out of it. He did a phenomenal job and at the same time our offense did a great job jumping on them early. We got a couple of home runs after two strikeouts to begin the game, we just continued to have good at-bats the rest of the day. We beat a pretty good Texas Tech team and I'm proud of our guys battling through things this weekend. They learned a lot and kept competing. When you have a young team like we do these are great experiences."
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WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will return home for a midweek matchup against Prairie View A&M on Tuesday, April 27 at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.
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To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on Facebook (Baylor Baseball), Twitter (@BaylorBaseball) and Instagram (@BaylorBaseball).
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Players Mentioned
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Helton, Blake (3-2)
L: Mason Montgomery (2-2)

Batting:
2B: Richardson, Tre 1
3B: McKenzie, Jared 1
HR: Richardson, Tre 1 ; Thomas, Andy 1 ; Currington, Cade 1
RBI: Pineda, Jack 1 ; McKenzie, Jared 3 ; Richardson, Tre 4 ; Thomas, Andy 1 ; Currington, Cade 1 ; Wehsener, Chase 1 ; Cardoza-Oquendo, Esteban 2
SH: McKenzie, Jared 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Pineda, Jack 1 ; McKenzie, Jared 2 ; Richardson, Tre 1 ; Thomas, Andy 2 ; Currington, Cade 1 ; Downey, Davion 1 ; Nevin, Kyle 2 ; Wehsener, Chase 2 ; Cardoza-Oquendo, Esteban 1
HBP: Cardoza-Oquendo, Esteban 1
PO: Pineda, Jack 1

Batting:
2B: Jace Jung 1 ; Braxton Fulford 1
HR: Cal Conley 1
RBI: Jace Jung 1 ; Cal Conley 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cal Conley 2 ; Parker Kelly 1























