Friday, February 17
Waco, Texas
3 PM
Baylor
1-0
6
vs
5
Central Michigan
0-1
1
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5
6
7
8
9
10
R
H
E
Central Michigan
0
0
2
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2
0
0
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5
8
0
Baylor
0
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2
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6
10
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BSB Walks-Off Central Michigan, 6-5, In Extras on Opening Day
2/17/2023 8:45:00 PM | Baseball
Thompson collects first-career Division I win as head coach in Opening Day thriller
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
With an all-new staff and 23 newcomers, including 10 freshmen, Mitch Thompson was anxious to see how his Baylor baseball team would respond "the first time we get punched in the nose."
Central Michigan threw the first punch in Friday's season opener at Baylor Ballpark, scoring two runs off Baylor starter Blake Helton and adding two more in the fifth to go up 4-1.
The Bears scored two runs each in the fifth and seventh innings and then finished off a 6-5 walk-off win on redshirt freshman Jack Johnson's two-out RBI single in the 10th inning to hand Thompson his first win as a Division I head coach.
"We fought, we competed," said Thompson, who got the Baylor job last summer after winning the NJCAA national championship at McLennan Community College in 2021. "It wasn't an easy day to hit. They're running some good arms out there at us, we've got the wind blowing in. But I liked the way we competed. And errorless baseball on Game One, that's a big deal."
Freshman Kolby Branch gave the Bears their first lead with a two-out, two-run single in the seventh, then scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th after reaching base with a five-pitch walk off CMU reliever Nate Ross.
Branch, who went 3-for-5 to lead Baylor's 10-hit attack, moved into scoring position on a balk by Ross and got around to third base on a passed ball by catcher Drew Stengren. Taking a 1-0 pitch that was up in the zone, Johnson blooped a hit to center field, just out of the reach of second baseman Luke Sefcik.
Sprinting out of the dugout, the Baylor players celebrated with Johnson and Branch on the field.
"It was huge," said Johnson, who got his first collegiate hit. "Going into extras, you always want to come away with those. First game of the year, a lot of energy riding and to get Coach T's first win right there is huge."
Already at 75 pitches in the fourth inning, Helton had to come out of the game after giving up two runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 3.1 innings. The Chippewas broke through with two runs in the third on a double by Garrett Navarra and back-to-back singles by Danny Wuestenfeld and Robby Morgan.
"(Helton) struggled a little bit with his command, was up in the zone a little bit," Thompson said. "But I liked the way he even battled through that. He was disappointed (when he came out). 'I just feel like I'm getting going.' Yeah, you are, but it's 75 pitches, so we're going to have to get you. He'll learn from that, and you'll get better from it."
Baylor cut the deficit in half when Casen Neumann led off with a walk, took third on Kobe Andrade's double and came around to score on Austin Stracener's infield single. CMU scratched across two more runs in the fifth when reliever Grant Golomb walked the bases loaded, then hit Jacob Donahue and walked Marquis Jackson.
The Bears scored two in the bottom of the fifth, with Neumann driving in Gavin Brzozowski with a single through the left side and Cole Posey pulling off a double steal with Neumann to make it a 4-3 game.
Two innings later, Branch drove in a pair of runs with a single through the left side after the Chippewas loaded the bases with a Posey single and two walks.
Baylor got 5.0 innings of one-hit relief from Hambleton Oliver and Cole Stasio (1-0), but CMU tied it at 5-5 when Jackson drew a leadoff walk and scored on two-out single by Wuestenfeld.
On Branch's two-out walk in the 10th, he said Ross "had a fastball that rides a little bit, so probably not something I'm going to drive unless it's down the middle. So, just taking good at-bats."
Thompson said the Bears definitely "have to clean up some things."
"Obviously, we can't walk or hit 10 guys and win," he said. "We can't leave 11 guys on base very often, either. So, lots of room to grow. But Kole Branch, first college game he's ver played, has three hits and two RBIs. Jack Johnson's first college game he's ever played, and he gets the game-winner. Doesn't get much better than that."
Sophomore Cam Caley will get the start for the Bears in Saturday's 2 p.m. game, which will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (1-0) walked-off Central Michigan (0-1) Friday, 6-5, in 10 innings to win an Opening Day thriller at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.
Redshirt freshman Jack Johnson delivered the game-ending knock, driving in freshman Kolby Branch with a flared single to center field and giving head coach Mitch Thompson his first-career win as a Division I skipper. The hit was also the first of Johnson's collegiate career.
Junior right-handed pitchers Hambleton Oliver and Cole Stasio combined to go five innings in relief, allowing just one run on one hit and striking out six. Stasio picked up his first-career win in the process.
THE RUNDOWN
The Chippewas struck first with two runs in the top of the third inning of Baylor starter Blake Helton, who went 3.1 innings on 75 pitches throw as the Opening Day starter. A pair of RBI singles opened the scoring before Helton struck out back-to-back batters to end the frame.
In the bottom of the fourth, Austin Stracener got the Bears on the board with an infield single that scored Kobe Andrade. But, CMU would score the game's next two runs in the top of the fifth off a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and walk.
However, BU responded in the bottom half with a pair of runs to come within one. Casen Neumann singled through the left side to drive in Gavin Brzozowski, then initiated a double steal with Cole Posey on third base to result in another run.
Trailing by a run in the bottom of the seventh, it was Posey who once again kickstarted a rally with a leadoff single, followed by walks to Andrade and Cortlan Castle to load the bases. That's when Branch came through with his third hit of the night, driving in two runs, to give Baylor it's first lead of the game at 5-4.
The Chippewas scratched one more across in the top of the eighth, but the Bears relievers were able to prevent any further damage.
In the bottom of the 10th, Branch worked a two-out walk to reach base, advanced to second on a balk, and moved up to third on a passed ball, setting up Johnson to deliver the game-winning hit.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Head coach Mitch Thompson earned his first-career victory as a Division I skipper.
• Baylor improved to 65-36 all-time in season openers, including wins in seven of the last 10 Opening Days.
• BU is now 77-26 all-time in home openers and has won nine of its last 12 first-games at Baylor Ballpark.
• The Bears won their third-straight game against Central Michigan all-time, though the two sides had not met since 1989 entering today.
• Baylor's last win in extra innings on Opening Day was on Feb. 20, 2009, defeating Pacific by a final of 2-1 in 10 innings.
• BU had three walk-off wins in 2022, with the most recent coming on May 19 against Oklahoma State, the Bears' last win of the 2022 season.
• Eight Bears made their Baylor debuts, including Kolby Branch, Gavin Brzozowski, John Ceccoli, Jack Johnson, Cole Posey, Hunter Simmons, Austin Stracener and Casey Sunseri.
• Branch, Brzozowski and Johnson each made their collegiate debuts and all collected their first-career hits.
• Branch led the team with a three-hit night, the only Bear with multiple hits.
• Branch also drove in two runs as the only Bear to tally a multi-RBI game.
• Johnson's walk-off hit was also his first-career RBI.
• Ceccoli, Posey and Stracener each recorded their first hits as Baylor Bears.
• Posey stole home on a double steal, becoming the first Bear to do so since Hayden Ross on March 8, 2015, against Texas A&M.
• Stracener notched his first-career RBI.
• Cole Stasio pitched a career-high 2.1 innings, earned his first-career win, and struck out a personal-best four batters.
STAT OF THE GAME
1 – Head coach Mitch Thompson won the first game of his career as a Division I skipper; Jack Johnson collected his first-career hit and RBI.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On how the team responded after trailing 4-1…
"We did. We fought. We competed. Had to battle offensively and it wasn't an easy day to hit. They're running some good arms out there at us and got the wind blowing in. I like the way that we competed. We drew some big-time walks. Played the game. Errorless baseball in game one is a big deal. We're going to have to clean up some things, obviously we can't walk or hit ten guys and then win very often. And we can't leave as many guys on base… we can't leave eleven guys on base very often either. Lots of room to grow. Kolby Branch, first college game he's ever played, had three hits and two RBI's. Jack Johnson's first college game he's ever played, gets the game winner. Doesn't get much better than that. Hambleton Oliver, big time out of the bullpen. Stasio, big time out of the bullpen. You've got to love those types of things."
Redshirt freshman infielder Jack Johnson
On what he felt like the team proved with an Opening Day win…
"I think we proved a lot. We proved our fight and I think we proved the energy that we're going to show all year. We just proved that we can compete with everyone."
Freshman infielder Kolby Branch
On if he felt like this was a statement win…
"Yeah, we're proud to be out here. We're proud to be with one another and it's just a lot of fun to be out here. I don't know, it's good to play baseball again."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (1-0) and Central Michigan (0-1) are right back at it on Saturday, Feb. 18, for the second game of the series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.
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
With an all-new staff and 23 newcomers, including 10 freshmen, Mitch Thompson was anxious to see how his Baylor baseball team would respond "the first time we get punched in the nose."
Central Michigan threw the first punch in Friday's season opener at Baylor Ballpark, scoring two runs off Baylor starter Blake Helton and adding two more in the fifth to go up 4-1.
The Bears scored two runs each in the fifth and seventh innings and then finished off a 6-5 walk-off win on redshirt freshman Jack Johnson's two-out RBI single in the 10th inning to hand Thompson his first win as a Division I head coach.
"We fought, we competed," said Thompson, who got the Baylor job last summer after winning the NJCAA national championship at McLennan Community College in 2021. "It wasn't an easy day to hit. They're running some good arms out there at us, we've got the wind blowing in. But I liked the way we competed. And errorless baseball on Game One, that's a big deal."
Freshman Kolby Branch gave the Bears their first lead with a two-out, two-run single in the seventh, then scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the 10th after reaching base with a five-pitch walk off CMU reliever Nate Ross.
Branch, who went 3-for-5 to lead Baylor's 10-hit attack, moved into scoring position on a balk by Ross and got around to third base on a passed ball by catcher Drew Stengren. Taking a 1-0 pitch that was up in the zone, Johnson blooped a hit to center field, just out of the reach of second baseman Luke Sefcik.
Sprinting out of the dugout, the Baylor players celebrated with Johnson and Branch on the field.
"It was huge," said Johnson, who got his first collegiate hit. "Going into extras, you always want to come away with those. First game of the year, a lot of energy riding and to get Coach T's first win right there is huge."
Already at 75 pitches in the fourth inning, Helton had to come out of the game after giving up two runs on six hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 3.1 innings. The Chippewas broke through with two runs in the third on a double by Garrett Navarra and back-to-back singles by Danny Wuestenfeld and Robby Morgan.
"(Helton) struggled a little bit with his command, was up in the zone a little bit," Thompson said. "But I liked the way he even battled through that. He was disappointed (when he came out). 'I just feel like I'm getting going.' Yeah, you are, but it's 75 pitches, so we're going to have to get you. He'll learn from that, and you'll get better from it."
Baylor cut the deficit in half when Casen Neumann led off with a walk, took third on Kobe Andrade's double and came around to score on Austin Stracener's infield single. CMU scratched across two more runs in the fifth when reliever Grant Golomb walked the bases loaded, then hit Jacob Donahue and walked Marquis Jackson.
The Bears scored two in the bottom of the fifth, with Neumann driving in Gavin Brzozowski with a single through the left side and Cole Posey pulling off a double steal with Neumann to make it a 4-3 game.
Two innings later, Branch drove in a pair of runs with a single through the left side after the Chippewas loaded the bases with a Posey single and two walks.
Baylor got 5.0 innings of one-hit relief from Hambleton Oliver and Cole Stasio (1-0), but CMU tied it at 5-5 when Jackson drew a leadoff walk and scored on two-out single by Wuestenfeld.
On Branch's two-out walk in the 10th, he said Ross "had a fastball that rides a little bit, so probably not something I'm going to drive unless it's down the middle. So, just taking good at-bats."
Thompson said the Bears definitely "have to clean up some things."
"Obviously, we can't walk or hit 10 guys and win," he said. "We can't leave 11 guys on base very often, either. So, lots of room to grow. But Kole Branch, first college game he's ver played, has three hits and two RBIs. Jack Johnson's first college game he's ever played, and he gets the game-winner. Doesn't get much better than that."
Sophomore Cam Caley will get the start for the Bears in Saturday's 2 p.m. game, which will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (1-0) walked-off Central Michigan (0-1) Friday, 6-5, in 10 innings to win an Opening Day thriller at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.
Redshirt freshman Jack Johnson delivered the game-ending knock, driving in freshman Kolby Branch with a flared single to center field and giving head coach Mitch Thompson his first-career win as a Division I skipper. The hit was also the first of Johnson's collegiate career.
Junior right-handed pitchers Hambleton Oliver and Cole Stasio combined to go five innings in relief, allowing just one run on one hit and striking out six. Stasio picked up his first-career win in the process.
THE RUNDOWN
The Chippewas struck first with two runs in the top of the third inning of Baylor starter Blake Helton, who went 3.1 innings on 75 pitches throw as the Opening Day starter. A pair of RBI singles opened the scoring before Helton struck out back-to-back batters to end the frame.
In the bottom of the fourth, Austin Stracener got the Bears on the board with an infield single that scored Kobe Andrade. But, CMU would score the game's next two runs in the top of the fifth off a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and walk.
However, BU responded in the bottom half with a pair of runs to come within one. Casen Neumann singled through the left side to drive in Gavin Brzozowski, then initiated a double steal with Cole Posey on third base to result in another run.
Trailing by a run in the bottom of the seventh, it was Posey who once again kickstarted a rally with a leadoff single, followed by walks to Andrade and Cortlan Castle to load the bases. That's when Branch came through with his third hit of the night, driving in two runs, to give Baylor it's first lead of the game at 5-4.
The Chippewas scratched one more across in the top of the eighth, but the Bears relievers were able to prevent any further damage.
In the bottom of the 10th, Branch worked a two-out walk to reach base, advanced to second on a balk, and moved up to third on a passed ball, setting up Johnson to deliver the game-winning hit.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Head coach Mitch Thompson earned his first-career victory as a Division I skipper.
• Baylor improved to 65-36 all-time in season openers, including wins in seven of the last 10 Opening Days.
• BU is now 77-26 all-time in home openers and has won nine of its last 12 first-games at Baylor Ballpark.
• The Bears won their third-straight game against Central Michigan all-time, though the two sides had not met since 1989 entering today.
• Baylor's last win in extra innings on Opening Day was on Feb. 20, 2009, defeating Pacific by a final of 2-1 in 10 innings.
• BU had three walk-off wins in 2022, with the most recent coming on May 19 against Oklahoma State, the Bears' last win of the 2022 season.
• Eight Bears made their Baylor debuts, including Kolby Branch, Gavin Brzozowski, John Ceccoli, Jack Johnson, Cole Posey, Hunter Simmons, Austin Stracener and Casey Sunseri.
• Branch, Brzozowski and Johnson each made their collegiate debuts and all collected their first-career hits.
• Branch led the team with a three-hit night, the only Bear with multiple hits.
• Branch also drove in two runs as the only Bear to tally a multi-RBI game.
• Johnson's walk-off hit was also his first-career RBI.
• Ceccoli, Posey and Stracener each recorded their first hits as Baylor Bears.
• Posey stole home on a double steal, becoming the first Bear to do so since Hayden Ross on March 8, 2015, against Texas A&M.
• Stracener notched his first-career RBI.
• Cole Stasio pitched a career-high 2.1 innings, earned his first-career win, and struck out a personal-best four batters.
STAT OF THE GAME
1 – Head coach Mitch Thompson won the first game of his career as a Division I skipper; Jack Johnson collected his first-career hit and RBI.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On how the team responded after trailing 4-1…
"We did. We fought. We competed. Had to battle offensively and it wasn't an easy day to hit. They're running some good arms out there at us and got the wind blowing in. I like the way that we competed. We drew some big-time walks. Played the game. Errorless baseball in game one is a big deal. We're going to have to clean up some things, obviously we can't walk or hit ten guys and then win very often. And we can't leave as many guys on base… we can't leave eleven guys on base very often either. Lots of room to grow. Kolby Branch, first college game he's ever played, had three hits and two RBI's. Jack Johnson's first college game he's ever played, gets the game winner. Doesn't get much better than that. Hambleton Oliver, big time out of the bullpen. Stasio, big time out of the bullpen. You've got to love those types of things."
Redshirt freshman infielder Jack Johnson
On what he felt like the team proved with an Opening Day win…
"I think we proved a lot. We proved our fight and I think we proved the energy that we're going to show all year. We just proved that we can compete with everyone."
Freshman infielder Kolby Branch
On if he felt like this was a statement win…
"Yeah, we're proud to be out here. We're proud to be with one another and it's just a lot of fun to be out here. I don't know, it's good to play baseball again."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (1-0) and Central Michigan (0-1) are right back at it on Saturday, Feb. 18, for the second game of the series. First pitch is set for 2 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.
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: Stasio, Cole (1-0)
L: ROSS, N. (0-1)
Batting:
2B: NAVARRA, G. 1
RBI: JACKSON, M. 1 ; WUESTENFELD 2 ; MORGAN, R. 1 ; DONAHUE, J. 1
SH: SEFCIK, L. 1 ; STUART, E. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: JACKSON, M. 1 ; NAVARRA, G. 1 ; SIMPSON, J. 1 ; MORGAN, R. 1 ; STUART, E. 1
HBP: DONAHUE, J. 1
PO: JACKSON, M. 1
Batting:
2B: Andrade, Kobe 1
RBI: Branch, Kolby 2 ; Johnson, Jack 1 ; Neumann, Casen 1 ; Stracener, Austin 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Branch, Kolby 1 ; Brzozowski, Gavin 1 ; Posey, Cole 2 ; Neumann, Casen 1 ; Andrade, Kobe 1
SB: Posey, Cole 1 ; Neumann, Casen 1
HBP: Johnson, Jack 1
Game Leaders
AB
5
R
1
H
3
RBI
2
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
5
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
LHP/OF
/ BaseballINF
/ BaseballOF
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball1B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
1B
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF/OF
/ Baseball
OF
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
INF
/ Baseball
INF
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