By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
WACO, Texas – Taking the tarp off the field after a 1 ½-hour lighting delay Sunday afternoon – Baylor baseball's second weather delay in as many days – there was head coach Mitch Thompson right in the middle of the field-clearing process.
 
"Here's the deal," Thompson said. "If (the players are) going to be out there, then the head coach is going to try and be out there. And when the head coach is out there, anybody else who is trying to get out of it needs to look around and go, 'Hey, big man's out there, I might want to join him.' That's just kind of that together thing."
 
Together, the Bears (7-12, 2-4) did something maybe no one outside their dugout thought they had even a remote chance of doing, winning a series against 23^rd-ranked Texas Tech (14-6, 2-4). After finishing Saturday's suspended game, 5-1, Baylor got a pitching gem from freshman Mason Green (1-1) in winning Sunday's series finale, 7-2.
 
"That's a really good-hitting ballclub, that's a team that's leading the country in certain categories, in scoring runs, and they will tear you up," Thompson said. "We had the wind in our advantage, and the wind helped us at times, there's no question. But to run out there today and go with 14-plus innings of freshman pitching, that's exciting. They handled themselves against a really good club."
 
Following a 2-0 loss in Friday night's series opener, the Bears jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first two innings on Saturday with a monster two-run home run by Wesley Jordan in the first and a three-run blast by Mason Greer in the second.
 
"It was just a fastball up, I didn't try to do too much, and I got it," said Jordan, whose team-high third homer of the season traveled 476 feet, well beyond the wall in left-center field.
 
Redshirt freshman Collin McKinney was in a groove, retiring eight of the first nine batters he faced and taking a one-hit shutout into the fourth before the game was finally suspended after a 2 ½-hour delay.
 
"That part of it stunk, to be honest with you," Thompson said. "We were off to a good start, but there was still a lot of ballgame left. Felt good about what we were going to run out there on the mound, but it was really disappointing, because Collin McKinney was outstanding, was dealing. But you have to take care of him, do the right thing. And I knew we had other guys that could go out there and do it."
 
Seemingly unfazed, Baylor came back Sunday afternoon and got 5 1/3 innings of near-flawless relief from freshman RJ Ruais (1-0) and Lamar transfer Patrick Hail. Pitching lights-out, Ruais surrendered one unearned run on two hits and one walk striking out three, and then Hail worked around a pair of one-out singles in the ninth.
 
"It's not ideal, obviously, to have a game suspended in the top of the fourth inning when your starter's having a great day," said Ruais, who lowered his ERA to 1.50. "We're all just ready at whatever time our number is called. . . . I didn't necessarily feel like I had my best stuff today, but I went out there and competed. That's a good-hitting team over there, and to be able to get the best of them today was good."
 
Inserted into the weekend rotation just last week, Green had a masterful performance in Sunday's second game, throwing six shutout innings and giving up just two hits and one walk with three strikeouts.
 
"Fantastic," Thompson assessed. "Had his stuff, man. . . . To be six innings into the game and pitch count in the 60s (66), that's pretty good. That's the kind of guy that can finish one for you. And he ought to get that feel that hopefully down the road we'll see one of those. It's not very often you see complete games in college baseball anymore. But when you're six innings and 66 pitches, you've got a shot."
 
Again, the timing of another weather delay was not the best. Baylor took a 1-0 lead in the second on hits by Jordan and Daniel Altman, Enzo Apodaca drove in a third-inning run with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly and then brought home another run in the fifth on a two-out single after a double by Greer to make it 3-0.
 
"With rain delays, you can't stay locked in the whole time," said Jordan, who was 3-for-7 with three RBI and three runs scored in the last two games. "Because if you're staying locked in for six, seven hours, you're going to be mentally drained. You have to relax. But then, as soon as they tell you we're about to get going, you get locked back in really quick."
 
Freshman reliever Stephen Sepulveda gave up an unearned run in the seventh when Cade McGee led off with a single through the left side, moved up to second on a passed ball and scored on an RBI groundout by TJ Pompey to cut the deficit to 3-1.
 
Baylor answered with a four-spot in the bottom of the inning. Loading the bases with singles by Ty Johnson and Greer and a hit by pitch, the Bears scored when Jordan was hit by a pitch, Hunter Teplanszky delivered an RBI single to left and two more came across on back-to-back groundouts by Altman and freshman Chase Womack to extend the lead to 7-1.
 
"Probably the biggest runs we put on the board were in response to them in the seventh inning, when they cut the lead to 3-1," Thompson said. "To then expand it back to 7-1 was a really good feeling for all of us."
 
The Red Raiders, who came into the series averaging just over 12 runs per game, got a leadoff home run by Drew Woodcox off Sepulveda in the eighth. But senior reliever Kobe Andrade retired five of the last six batters he faced, working around a one-out walk in the ninth, to close out the game and pick up the series win.
 
"I think this weekend was a great confidence boost," Ruais said. "We've got two really good opponents coming up next week, and it'll be a good testament to see how we do next week. We just have to keep looking forward and keep winning."
 
Going back on the road, the Bears will face Sam Houston (13-7) at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Huntsville and then No. 24 Texas (11-8, 2-1) in a three-game series next weekend in Austin.



WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (7-12, 2-4) picked up a pair of wins over No. 23 Texas Tech (14-6, 2-4) on Sunday, capping off a 5-1 victory of a previously suspended game and taking a 7-2 finale to clinch the series at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.
 
BU benefitted from 14.1 innings pitched by true or redshirt freshmen in its two wins. The rookies allowed just one earned run on seven hits, while walking four and striking out 13. Freshman southpaws RJ Ruais and Mason Green each collected their first-career wins, while right-hander Collin McKinney gave the Bears 3.2 impressive frames.
 
Junior outfielder Wesley Jordan and fifth-year senior infielder Mason Greer both hit big blasts in the first game, while junior outfielder Ty Johnson notched three hits in the nightcap and scored in a four-run seventh inning that helped BU pull away and take the series.
 
THE RUNDOWN – GAME 1
A pair of early home runs had Baylor out to an early lead, as Jordan demolished a two-run blast that traveled 476 feet in the bottom of the first and Greer left the yard with a three-run shot in the second.
 
McKinney was cruising on the mound, holding the Red Raiders to just one hit and allowing two walks while striking out four through 3.1 scoreless frames before the rain came and forced the suspension on Saturday.
 
Upon resuming the game on Sunday, Ruais struck out the first batter he faced and kept things rolling on the bump for the Bears. Texas Tech did plate a run on one hit and an error in the fifth, as a sacrifice fly made it 5-1. However, Ruais continued to put up zeroes, going a career-best 3.1 innings and fanning three.
 
In the eighth, redshirt junior right-hander Patrick Hail took over and held the Red Raiders scoreless, punching out four in the final two frames as Baylor evened the series.
 
THE RUNDOWN – GAME 2
The Bears got out to another early lead in the series finale as senior infielder Daniel Altman put BU on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the second. Baylor added a run in the third on redshirt junior outfielder Enzo Apodaca's sacrifice fly and then made it 3-0 in the fifth with Greer's RBI double.
 
Meanwhile, Green was dealing on the mound, going six scoreless before another rain delay forced him out of the game. Green struck out three and held the Red Raiders to just two hits en route to his first career win. He never faced more than four batters in a single inning.
 
When play resumed after an hour and 26-minute delay, Tech got on the board in the seventh with an RBI groundout to make it 3-1, but Baylor responded with a four-spot in the bottom half to pull away. Johnson and Apodaca singled ahead of back-to-back hit by pitches which forced in a run. Junior infielder Hunter Teplanszky knocked in one before RBI groundouts by Altman and freshman infielder Chase Womack completed the crooked number.
 
A solo home run for the Red Raiders in the top of the eighth marked the final tally of the ballgame, as TTU inched closer. But senior lefty Kobe Andrade came on to shut the door and recorded the final five outs without allowing a hit to seal the series victory.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
Weekend
• The series win marked Baylor's first over Texas Tech since 2021.
• This is the third Big 12 series win under second-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
• The Bears held TTU to just five runs on the weekend, the lowest output in a series so far this year by the Red Raiders.
• Freshman pitchers combined to throw 14.1 innings for BU, allowing just one earned run on seven hits and four walks, while striking out 13.
Game One
• Baylor pitchers struck out 12 Red Raiders, marking the eighth time this year that BU has eclipsed double digits in punchouts, and the 28^th time to do so in the Thompson era.
• Junior OF Wesley Jordan hit his third home run to tie for the team lead.
• The blast traveled 476 feet, the second-longest by a Bear at Baylor Ballpark in the Trackman era (since 2018).
• Jordan tallied his third multi-hit and third multi-RBI game of the season.
• Senior INF Mason Greer hit his second home run of the year and drove in a season-high three runs, his first multi-RBI effort of 2024.
• Junior INF Hunter Teplanszky tacked on two hits for his sixth multi-hit game of the season.
• Freshman RHP Collin McKinney threw 3.2 scoreless frames and struck out five to tie his season high.
• Freshman LHP RJ Ruais collected his first-career win in a personal-best 3.1 innings of relief, matching his season high with three strikeouts.
• It was Ruais' fifth appearance without allowing an earned run, and fourth consecutive.
• Redshirt junior RHP Patrick Hail made his fifth scoreless appearance, striking out four in two clean frames.
Game Two
• Junior OF Ty Johnson matched his season best with three hits, his fifth multi-hit performance of 2024.
• Greer added two hits for his third multi-hit game of the year.
• Senior INF Daniel Altman drove in a pair of runs for his first multi-RBI effort of the season.
• Freshman LHP Mason Green dazzled in six scoreless innings on the mound, a career best.
• Green matched his personal best with three strikeouts.
• Freshman RHP Stephen Sepulveda made his second multi-strikeout appearance out of the bullpen.
• Senior LHP Kobe Andrade pitched his fourth scoreless outing of the year.
 
STAT OF THE DAY
14.1 – Freshman pitchers combined to throw 14.1 innings in Baylor's two wins over Texas Tech.
 
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On the mindset after resuming a suspended game…
"The [rain delay] part of it stunk, to be honest with you. We were off to a good start, but there was a lot of ballgame left. To run out there today and go with 14-plus innings of freshman pitching, that was exciting. They handled themselves against a really good club in a really good environment, and we got out of there with two wins, so it was a big deal."
 
On Mason Green's performance…
"He was fantastic. He got them to take a bunch of swings that they didn't really want to take and he got a bunch of outs on them. To be six innings into the game and have a pitch count in the 60's, that's pretty good. He's the kind of guy that can go finish one for you."
 
Freshman Left-Handed Pitcher RJ Ruais
On coming in after a suspended game…
"That's not ideal, obviously, to have a game suspended in the top of the fourth inning when your starter is having a great day. Collin [McKinney] did a great job for those first three innings. We were all just ready for our number to be called at any time, and mine happened to be called. I just tried to go out there and throw strikes. I didn't necessarily feel like I had my best stuff today, but just went out and competed. That's a good hitting team over there and to be able to get the best of them today was good."
 
Junior Outfielder Wesley Jordan
On his 476-foot home run…
"It was just a fastball up. I didn't try to do too much, and I got it, I guess. It was really fun. I was pushing myself a little bit to start the season. I just had to settle in and play how I play."
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (7-12) hits the road to face Sam Houston (13-7) in Huntsville on Tuesday, March 19. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. from Don Sanders Stadium.
 
To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.