Friday, May 17
Waco, Texas
2 PM
Baylor
4
vs
6
UCF
Calder’s Gem Helps BSB Split Doubleheader Against UCF
5/17/2024 11:46:00 PM | Baseball
Bears drop opener, 6-4, but take nightcap, 4-2, behind seven strong innings by sophomore southpaw
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball split its doubleheader with UCF on Friday at Baylor Ballpark in Waco, dropping the opener, 6-4, but winning the nightcap by a final of 4-2.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Ethan Calder turned in seven strong innings on the mound, a career high, to lead the Bears (22-30, 10-19) past the Knights and even up the series. He allowed just two earned runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out four. The southpaw held UCF (32-18, 13-15) scoreless through the sixth as his club put up a trio of insurance runs thanks to junior infielder Tyriq Kemp's bases-clearing double.
To begin the day, the Bears mustered just six hits in game one but almost climbed back in it as junior outfielder Wesley Jordan's two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth made it a two-run ballgame. However, UCF's six runs on 10 hits were enough to take the weekend-opening win.
THE RUNDOWN
GAME ONE – UCF 6, Baylor 4
UCF struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the second and added to its lead with a tally in the third. However, BU plated two in the home half to trim the deficit to 3-2 after a hit and a pair of Knights errors.
Baylor starting pitcher junior righty Mason Marriott hung tough to give the Bears six innings of work on the mound. He allowed five runs on seven hits and four walks, exiting in the seventh after UCF had extended its lead to 4-2. Another two runs would score after Marriott's departure to make it 6-2, but the Bears had life after Jordan's two-run blast in the bottom of the eighth.
After a pair of strikeouts, Baylor brought the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs in the eighth following a double and a walk. But UCF was able to strikeout a BU pinch hitter and maintain its two-run advantage heading into the final frame.
Both sides went quietly in the ninth, allowing the Knights to hold on to their series-opening victory.
GAME TWO – Baylor 4, UCF 2
In the nightcap, Calder was the story as he cruised through the first six innings without allowing a run. After a one-out walk in the top of the second, the Austin, Texas, native retired 10 straight into the fifth.
The Bears grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the fourth thanks to another UCF fielding error that allowed fifth-year senior infielder Cole Posey to cross the plate.
Then, after putting up a couple more zeroes, Calder benefitted from some insurance runs in the form of Kemp's two-out, bases-clearing double in the bottom of the sixth, which increased the BU lead to 4-0. A two-run shot in the top of the seventh pulled UCF within a pair, but that was as close as the Knights would get as Calder finished off the longest outing of his career before turning the ball over to redshirt junior right-hander Andrew Petrowski.
Petrowski was perfect over the final two frames, earning his first-career save as he retired all six batters he faced with a pair of punchouts, helping Baylor to split the doubleheader, even the series and force a rubber match in the regular-season finale on Saturday.
HIGHLIGHTS
GAME ONE
• Redshirt junior OF Enzo Apodaca went 2-for-5 to tally his 17th multi-hit game of the season.
• Junior OF Wesley Jordan returned to the lineup after missing 10 games due to injury and hit his eighth home run of the year, a two-run shot to mark his team-leading ninth multi-RBI game of 2024.
• Sophomore C Zach Mazoch posted his seventh multi-hit game of the year.
• Junior C Cortlan Castle caught his 12th baserunner stealing and has thrown out 29% of attempted basestealers this season.
• Junior RHP Mason Marriott made his team-high 14th start of the season and went six innings on the bump for the third time in 2024.
• Senior RHP Grant Golomb pitched two perfect innings, marking his ninth scoreless appearance of the season and fourth consecutive.
GAME TWO
• Baylor moved to 1-1 all-time against UCF after earning its first-ever victory over the Knights.
• BU improved to 6-5 this year against Big 12 newcomers.
• Junior OF Ty Johnson extended his on-base streak to eight games.
• Junior OF Wesley Jordan extended his on-base streak to 33 games, tying for the sixth-longest such streak by a Bear since the 2003 season.
• Fifth-year senior INF Cole Posey logged his 11th multi-hit effort of the season and fourth in his last seven games.
• Junior INF Tyriq Kemp recorded his 11th multi-hit game and fourth multi-RBI game, going 3-for-4 with a career-high two doubles and three RBIs.
• Kemp has posted multi-hit efforts in three of his last five games.
• Sophomore LHP Ethan Calder set a career high with seven innings pitched on the mound and earned his fifth win of the season.
• Redshirt junior RHP Andrew Petrowski pitched two scoreless innings, his 10th scoreless outing of the year, and earned his first-career save.
STAT OF THE DAY
7.0 – In just his third-career start, sophomore LHP Ethan Calder pitched a career-best seven innings and earned his fifth win of the season.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On the win…
"It's great to get a win. It's been a struggle for several weeks. I thought today we played pretty well. We pitched pretty well throughout the entire day, and we definitely played pretty good defense. Even without swinging the bats particularly well, you can see that there were some differences. It's nice to have Wesley Jordan back in the lineup, he had a couple of big-time swings. Tyriq [Kemp] had a couple of doubles there at the end of the game, those were obviously big for us. Zach Mazoch had a pretty good day, too. We had some guys step up, but that was good and wins are wins. And they all feel good."
Sophomore Left-Handed Pitcher Ethan Calder
On his mentality as a starting pitcher…
"I guess the difference is, you don't see an end when you're starting. You just go in there for as long and as hard as you can. So that's something I've adjusted to the last couple of times. I've gotten to the fifth and kind of struggled out there. So it was big for me to get over that hump."
Junior Infielder Tyriq Kemp
On making adjustments at the plate…
"It feels really good. I hoped that I had started earlier with that, but at the end of the day you're just trying to get better. I'm happy that it's going good now and I can finish off the season pretty good."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (22-30, 10-19) rounds out its 2024 campaign in a rubber match against UCF (32-18, 13-15) on Saturday, May 18, with a 2 p.m. first pitch at Baylor Ballpark in Waco. Nine seniors will be recognized as part of BU's Senior Day ceremony prior to the game.
To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Ethan Calder turned in seven strong innings on the mound, a career high, to lead the Bears (22-30, 10-19) past the Knights and even up the series. He allowed just two earned runs on four hits and three walks, while striking out four. The southpaw held UCF (32-18, 13-15) scoreless through the sixth as his club put up a trio of insurance runs thanks to junior infielder Tyriq Kemp's bases-clearing double.
To begin the day, the Bears mustered just six hits in game one but almost climbed back in it as junior outfielder Wesley Jordan's two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth made it a two-run ballgame. However, UCF's six runs on 10 hits were enough to take the weekend-opening win.
THE RUNDOWN
GAME ONE – UCF 6, Baylor 4
UCF struck first with a pair of runs in the top of the second and added to its lead with a tally in the third. However, BU plated two in the home half to trim the deficit to 3-2 after a hit and a pair of Knights errors.
Baylor starting pitcher junior righty Mason Marriott hung tough to give the Bears six innings of work on the mound. He allowed five runs on seven hits and four walks, exiting in the seventh after UCF had extended its lead to 4-2. Another two runs would score after Marriott's departure to make it 6-2, but the Bears had life after Jordan's two-run blast in the bottom of the eighth.
After a pair of strikeouts, Baylor brought the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs in the eighth following a double and a walk. But UCF was able to strikeout a BU pinch hitter and maintain its two-run advantage heading into the final frame.
Both sides went quietly in the ninth, allowing the Knights to hold on to their series-opening victory.
GAME TWO – Baylor 4, UCF 2
In the nightcap, Calder was the story as he cruised through the first six innings without allowing a run. After a one-out walk in the top of the second, the Austin, Texas, native retired 10 straight into the fifth.
The Bears grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the fourth thanks to another UCF fielding error that allowed fifth-year senior infielder Cole Posey to cross the plate.
Then, after putting up a couple more zeroes, Calder benefitted from some insurance runs in the form of Kemp's two-out, bases-clearing double in the bottom of the sixth, which increased the BU lead to 4-0. A two-run shot in the top of the seventh pulled UCF within a pair, but that was as close as the Knights would get as Calder finished off the longest outing of his career before turning the ball over to redshirt junior right-hander Andrew Petrowski.
Petrowski was perfect over the final two frames, earning his first-career save as he retired all six batters he faced with a pair of punchouts, helping Baylor to split the doubleheader, even the series and force a rubber match in the regular-season finale on Saturday.
HIGHLIGHTS
GAME ONE
• Redshirt junior OF Enzo Apodaca went 2-for-5 to tally his 17th multi-hit game of the season.
• Junior OF Wesley Jordan returned to the lineup after missing 10 games due to injury and hit his eighth home run of the year, a two-run shot to mark his team-leading ninth multi-RBI game of 2024.
• Sophomore C Zach Mazoch posted his seventh multi-hit game of the year.
• Junior C Cortlan Castle caught his 12th baserunner stealing and has thrown out 29% of attempted basestealers this season.
• Junior RHP Mason Marriott made his team-high 14th start of the season and went six innings on the bump for the third time in 2024.
• Senior RHP Grant Golomb pitched two perfect innings, marking his ninth scoreless appearance of the season and fourth consecutive.
GAME TWO
• Baylor moved to 1-1 all-time against UCF after earning its first-ever victory over the Knights.
• BU improved to 6-5 this year against Big 12 newcomers.
• Junior OF Ty Johnson extended his on-base streak to eight games.
• Junior OF Wesley Jordan extended his on-base streak to 33 games, tying for the sixth-longest such streak by a Bear since the 2003 season.
• Fifth-year senior INF Cole Posey logged his 11th multi-hit effort of the season and fourth in his last seven games.
• Junior INF Tyriq Kemp recorded his 11th multi-hit game and fourth multi-RBI game, going 3-for-4 with a career-high two doubles and three RBIs.
• Kemp has posted multi-hit efforts in three of his last five games.
• Sophomore LHP Ethan Calder set a career high with seven innings pitched on the mound and earned his fifth win of the season.
• Redshirt junior RHP Andrew Petrowski pitched two scoreless innings, his 10th scoreless outing of the year, and earned his first-career save.
STAT OF THE DAY
7.0 – In just his third-career start, sophomore LHP Ethan Calder pitched a career-best seven innings and earned his fifth win of the season.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson
On the win…
"It's great to get a win. It's been a struggle for several weeks. I thought today we played pretty well. We pitched pretty well throughout the entire day, and we definitely played pretty good defense. Even without swinging the bats particularly well, you can see that there were some differences. It's nice to have Wesley Jordan back in the lineup, he had a couple of big-time swings. Tyriq [Kemp] had a couple of doubles there at the end of the game, those were obviously big for us. Zach Mazoch had a pretty good day, too. We had some guys step up, but that was good and wins are wins. And they all feel good."
Sophomore Left-Handed Pitcher Ethan Calder
On his mentality as a starting pitcher…
"I guess the difference is, you don't see an end when you're starting. You just go in there for as long and as hard as you can. So that's something I've adjusted to the last couple of times. I've gotten to the fifth and kind of struggled out there. So it was big for me to get over that hump."
Junior Infielder Tyriq Kemp
On making adjustments at the plate…
"It feels really good. I hoped that I had started earlier with that, but at the end of the day you're just trying to get better. I'm happy that it's going good now and I can finish off the season pretty good."
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (22-30, 10-19) rounds out its 2024 campaign in a rubber match against UCF (32-18, 13-15) on Saturday, May 18, with a 2 p.m. first pitch at Baylor Ballpark in Waco. Nine seniors will be recognized as part of BU's Senior Day ceremony prior to the game.
To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.
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