Saturday, April 8
Waco, Texas
2 PM
Baylor
12-20, 4-8
5
vs
3
Oklahoma
17-16, 3-6
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
R
H
E
Oklahoma
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
0
3
12
3
Baylor
2
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
X
5
9
0
Pitching and Defense Helps BSB Hold Off Oklahoma in 5-3 Victory
4/8/2023 6:51:00 PM | Baseball
Rigney, BU bullpen work out of jams to help Bears take the series
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Putting five runs up on the board early and getting a season-high 5.0 innings out of starter Will Rigney, Baylor baseball won its second conference series at home, defeating Oklahoma, 5-3, Saturday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark.
"It was huge," said Rigney (3-1), who gave up one run on six hits and one walk with five strikeouts. "I think us going and not playing very well at Kansas, I feel like this weekend made up for it a little bit. We definitely needed to win the series. I feel like we're right back in a decent place, just something to build on."
Coming off two season-ending surgeries, Rigney's previous high was throwing 54 pitches in a 3.0-inning start versus Oklahoma State two weeks ago. He threw 58 pitches in the first three innings but was able to grind through two more innings, aided by a pair of double-play groundouts.
"Those last couple innings were definitely a grind, to say the least," Rigney said. "I was just telling the coaches, 'Whatever y'all want me to do.' I was just trying to eat up some innings, trying to keep us in the game."
After a 1-2-3 top of the first by Rigney, the Bears (12-20, 4-8) scored a run on back-to-back doubles by Hunter Teplanszky and Kolby Branch. Another run came across when Branch advanced on a pick-off throwing error and scored on Hunter Simmons' RBI groundout to short.
Rigney retired the first five batters, striking out four, but the Sooners (17-16, 3-6) cut the deficit in half on back-to-back singles by Kendall Pettis and Rocco Garza-Gongora in the second inning.
Baylor chased OU starter Will Carsten (1-2) in the third inning. After Teplanszky and Branch walked, Simmons picked up his second RBI with a single through the left side, then two more runs came across on a Walker Polk single and an error on the leftfielder.
"Yesterday, I think we took that (6-3) loss a little personal," Simmons said. "The only reason they were in that ballgame is because we gave it to them. They didn't really earn anything. That 3-spot was huge, just to show them that you might have won yesterday, but we're taking this one today."
Lefty reliever Braden Carmichael shut down the Bears over the next five innings, retiring 12 of 13 at one point and not giving up another hit until a two-out double by Branch in the seventh. Baylor got two hits in the eighth, but Carson Atwood struck out Caleb Bergman after a running blunder.
"He's a kid that we faced in junior college for two years. He was an All-American, he was the real deal," Baylor coach Mitch Thompson said. "He's got a plus-plus changeup. He's a tough out, he's like a coach out there on the field. So, I knew he was going to be difficult. I was hoping we could scratch across a couple more."
Oklahoma got back in the game with solo home runs by Easton Carmichael in the sixth and Anthony Mackenzie in the seventh, but Gabe Craig and Hambleton Oliver combined to retire seven of the last eight batters in the game. Oliver got his second save of the series and third of the season, working around a two-out single by Bryce Madron in the ninth.
"The bullpen won it today," Thompson said. "It was great to see (Oliver) finish the game, but Gabe Craig gave us four good outs. It's gut-wrenching time, it's make-or-break time, eighth, ninth inning of those ballgames. We got out early, and then we held on and the bullpen pitched, we played defense and we didn't beat ourselves. That's a good formula for winning."
Baylor improved to 12-11 at Baylor Ballpark, including 4-2 in conference home games, but the Bears are winless on the road (0-9).
"We've obviously scuffled when we've been on the road," Thompson said. "It's just important to always play well here at home, and we need to figure out on the road as well. But when you're here, you need to win. So, this was big for us."
After playing its first midweek road game against Dallas Baptist (23-9) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, BU will host No. 20 Texas (22-10, 5-3) next weekend, April 14-16.
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (12-20, 4-8) clinched its series against Oklahoma (17-16, 3-6) Saturday with a 5-3 win at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.
In front of a season-high attendance, BU starter RHP Will Rigney gave the Bears five quality innings of work and scattered six hits, allowing just one run to the Sooners and striking out five. Freshman INF Kolby Branch, junior OF Hunter Simmons and freshman C Walker Polk each came up with timely RBI hits in the win.
Sophomore RHP Gabe Craig worked a solid 1.1 innings of scoreless relief before handing it over to junior righty Hambleton Oliver, who picked up his second save of the weekend with a clean ninth.
THE RUNDOWN
After Rigney retired the side in order with a pair of punchouts, Baylor struck first in the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back doubles by sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky and Branch to open the scoring. Simmons drove in Branch with an RBI groundout to make it 2-0 after the first frame.
Despite OU scratching across one in the second, the Bears put up a three spot in the third as Simmons singled home Teplanszky, then later scored on Polk's RBI knock that also drove in Branch to make it 5-1.
Rigney continued to put up zeros before passing the torch to junior RHP Adam Muirhead and freshman southpaw Ethan Calder, who each gave up a solo home run in their outing, accounting for OU's final two runs of the ballgame.
But, Craig and Oliver combined to shut it down in the late innings, allowing just two baserunners on a pair of hits, to seal the series victory.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor won its second Big 12 series of the year and improved to 4-8 in conference play.
• This is BU's first win when scoring fewer than six runs and second win of the season when out-hitting its opponent.
• Junior RHP Will Rigney worked a season-high five innings on the mound and struck out five for the third time this season, earning his third win of the season.
• Junior RHP Hambleton Oliver earned his third save of the season and second of the weekend with his sixth scoreless outing of the year.
• Sophomore RHP Gabe Craig worked his seventh scoreless outing of the year.
• Sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky extended his on-base streak to a team-high 20 games and also improved his hitting streak to eight games.
• Freshman INF Kolby Branch recorded his 13th multi-hit game of the season with two doubles against the Sooners.
• Junior OF Hunter Simmons collected his seventh multi-RBI effort of the year.
• Sophomore C Cortlan Castle produced his fifth multi-hit game of the 2023 campaign.
STAT OF THE GAME
5 – Will Rigney tossed a season-high five innings and struck out five in the win.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On Will Rigney's efforts…
"Well, we hoped he would [go that long]. We're trying to get four, five, six innings out of guys every time. Thankfully, he did, and I thought he was great. He competed really hard, we made some plays behind him. I remember the big catch that [Caleb] Bergman made out in center field. I remember the double plays that we turned. We won this game on the mound, and we won it play defense."
On the three-spot in the third inning…
"Really big. That's how you win games. Just to extend the lead and go up 5-1, especially when they had just come back with a run in the second. To go up 5-1, that put everybody pretty much at ease. Just got to keep fighting and pitching. We threw up a whole bunch of zeros up there on that scoreboard today, and that's big for us. I'm really proud of the staff."
Junior RHP Will Rigney
On his performance…
"I felt a lot better early on, a lot better than at Kansas, but you know I haven't gone five innings in a long time. Those last couple innings were definitely a grind to say the least, but I was happy with how I felt and happy with the win."
Junior OF Hunter Simmons
On the importance of this series win…
"It was huge. Starting off with SFA, we take that one, then coming in here with a win on Friday, obviously we lose yesterday, but coming in here today to win the series after losing to Kansa I think it was huge. Obviously a lot of confidence going into next week, we just gotta keep it up. Pass the torch."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (12-20) hits the road for its first midweek game away from Baylor Ballpark to take on Dallas Baptist (23-9) on Tuesday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Horner Ballpark in Dallas.
To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.
-BaylorBears.com-
Baylor Bear Insider
Putting five runs up on the board early and getting a season-high 5.0 innings out of starter Will Rigney, Baylor baseball won its second conference series at home, defeating Oklahoma, 5-3, Saturday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark.
"It was huge," said Rigney (3-1), who gave up one run on six hits and one walk with five strikeouts. "I think us going and not playing very well at Kansas, I feel like this weekend made up for it a little bit. We definitely needed to win the series. I feel like we're right back in a decent place, just something to build on."
Coming off two season-ending surgeries, Rigney's previous high was throwing 54 pitches in a 3.0-inning start versus Oklahoma State two weeks ago. He threw 58 pitches in the first three innings but was able to grind through two more innings, aided by a pair of double-play groundouts.
"Those last couple innings were definitely a grind, to say the least," Rigney said. "I was just telling the coaches, 'Whatever y'all want me to do.' I was just trying to eat up some innings, trying to keep us in the game."
After a 1-2-3 top of the first by Rigney, the Bears (12-20, 4-8) scored a run on back-to-back doubles by Hunter Teplanszky and Kolby Branch. Another run came across when Branch advanced on a pick-off throwing error and scored on Hunter Simmons' RBI groundout to short.
Rigney retired the first five batters, striking out four, but the Sooners (17-16, 3-6) cut the deficit in half on back-to-back singles by Kendall Pettis and Rocco Garza-Gongora in the second inning.
Baylor chased OU starter Will Carsten (1-2) in the third inning. After Teplanszky and Branch walked, Simmons picked up his second RBI with a single through the left side, then two more runs came across on a Walker Polk single and an error on the leftfielder.
"Yesterday, I think we took that (6-3) loss a little personal," Simmons said. "The only reason they were in that ballgame is because we gave it to them. They didn't really earn anything. That 3-spot was huge, just to show them that you might have won yesterday, but we're taking this one today."
Lefty reliever Braden Carmichael shut down the Bears over the next five innings, retiring 12 of 13 at one point and not giving up another hit until a two-out double by Branch in the seventh. Baylor got two hits in the eighth, but Carson Atwood struck out Caleb Bergman after a running blunder.
"He's a kid that we faced in junior college for two years. He was an All-American, he was the real deal," Baylor coach Mitch Thompson said. "He's got a plus-plus changeup. He's a tough out, he's like a coach out there on the field. So, I knew he was going to be difficult. I was hoping we could scratch across a couple more."
Oklahoma got back in the game with solo home runs by Easton Carmichael in the sixth and Anthony Mackenzie in the seventh, but Gabe Craig and Hambleton Oliver combined to retire seven of the last eight batters in the game. Oliver got his second save of the series and third of the season, working around a two-out single by Bryce Madron in the ninth.
"The bullpen won it today," Thompson said. "It was great to see (Oliver) finish the game, but Gabe Craig gave us four good outs. It's gut-wrenching time, it's make-or-break time, eighth, ninth inning of those ballgames. We got out early, and then we held on and the bullpen pitched, we played defense and we didn't beat ourselves. That's a good formula for winning."
Baylor improved to 12-11 at Baylor Ballpark, including 4-2 in conference home games, but the Bears are winless on the road (0-9).
"We've obviously scuffled when we've been on the road," Thompson said. "It's just important to always play well here at home, and we need to figure out on the road as well. But when you're here, you need to win. So, this was big for us."
After playing its first midweek road game against Dallas Baptist (23-9) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, BU will host No. 20 Texas (22-10, 5-3) next weekend, April 14-16.
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (12-20, 4-8) clinched its series against Oklahoma (17-16, 3-6) Saturday with a 5-3 win at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.
In front of a season-high attendance, BU starter RHP Will Rigney gave the Bears five quality innings of work and scattered six hits, allowing just one run to the Sooners and striking out five. Freshman INF Kolby Branch, junior OF Hunter Simmons and freshman C Walker Polk each came up with timely RBI hits in the win.
Sophomore RHP Gabe Craig worked a solid 1.1 innings of scoreless relief before handing it over to junior righty Hambleton Oliver, who picked up his second save of the weekend with a clean ninth.
THE RUNDOWN
After Rigney retired the side in order with a pair of punchouts, Baylor struck first in the bottom of the first inning with back-to-back doubles by sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky and Branch to open the scoring. Simmons drove in Branch with an RBI groundout to make it 2-0 after the first frame.
Despite OU scratching across one in the second, the Bears put up a three spot in the third as Simmons singled home Teplanszky, then later scored on Polk's RBI knock that also drove in Branch to make it 5-1.
Rigney continued to put up zeros before passing the torch to junior RHP Adam Muirhead and freshman southpaw Ethan Calder, who each gave up a solo home run in their outing, accounting for OU's final two runs of the ballgame.
But, Craig and Oliver combined to shut it down in the late innings, allowing just two baserunners on a pair of hits, to seal the series victory.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor won its second Big 12 series of the year and improved to 4-8 in conference play.
• This is BU's first win when scoring fewer than six runs and second win of the season when out-hitting its opponent.
• Junior RHP Will Rigney worked a season-high five innings on the mound and struck out five for the third time this season, earning his third win of the season.
• Junior RHP Hambleton Oliver earned his third save of the season and second of the weekend with his sixth scoreless outing of the year.
• Sophomore RHP Gabe Craig worked his seventh scoreless outing of the year.
• Sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky extended his on-base streak to a team-high 20 games and also improved his hitting streak to eight games.
• Freshman INF Kolby Branch recorded his 13th multi-hit game of the season with two doubles against the Sooners.
• Junior OF Hunter Simmons collected his seventh multi-RBI effort of the year.
• Sophomore C Cortlan Castle produced his fifth multi-hit game of the 2023 campaign.
STAT OF THE GAME
5 – Will Rigney tossed a season-high five innings and struck out five in the win.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On Will Rigney's efforts…
"Well, we hoped he would [go that long]. We're trying to get four, five, six innings out of guys every time. Thankfully, he did, and I thought he was great. He competed really hard, we made some plays behind him. I remember the big catch that [Caleb] Bergman made out in center field. I remember the double plays that we turned. We won this game on the mound, and we won it play defense."
On the three-spot in the third inning…
"Really big. That's how you win games. Just to extend the lead and go up 5-1, especially when they had just come back with a run in the second. To go up 5-1, that put everybody pretty much at ease. Just got to keep fighting and pitching. We threw up a whole bunch of zeros up there on that scoreboard today, and that's big for us. I'm really proud of the staff."
Junior RHP Will Rigney
On his performance…
"I felt a lot better early on, a lot better than at Kansas, but you know I haven't gone five innings in a long time. Those last couple innings were definitely a grind to say the least, but I was happy with how I felt and happy with the win."
Junior OF Hunter Simmons
On the importance of this series win…
"It was huge. Starting off with SFA, we take that one, then coming in here with a win on Friday, obviously we lose yesterday, but coming in here today to win the series after losing to Kansa I think it was huge. Obviously a lot of confidence going into next week, we just gotta keep it up. Pass the torch."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (12-20) hits the road for its first midweek game away from Baylor Ballpark to take on Dallas Baptist (23-9) on Tuesday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m. at Horner Ballpark in Dallas.
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: Rigney, Will (3-1)
L: Carsten, Will (1-2)
S: Oliver, Hambleton (3)
Batting:
2B: Madron, Bryce 1 ; Pettis, Kendall 1
HR: Mackenzie, Anthony 1 ; Carmichael, Easton 1
RBI: Mackenzie, Anthony 1 ; Carmichael, Easton 1 ; Garza-Gongora, Rocco 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mackenzie, Anthony 1 ; Carmichael, Easton 1 ; Pettis, Kendall 1
SB: Madron, Bryce 1 ; Orduno, Sebastian 1 ; Pettis, Kendall 1
Batting:
2B: Teplanszky, Hunter 1 ; Branch, Kolby 2 ; Ceccoli, John 1
RBI: Branch, Kolby 1 ; Simmons, Hunter 2 ; Polk, Walker 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Teplanszky, Hunter 2 ; Branch, Kolby 2 ; Simmons, Hunter 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
2
H
1
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
2
Players Mentioned
OF
/ BaseballINF
/ Baseball
OF
/ BaseballC
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
RHP
/ Baseball
C
/ Baseball
RHP
/ BaseballOF
/ BaseballINF
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