WACO, Texas – Tyriq Kemp's monster night carried Baylor baseball past Utah, 4-3, Friday night at Baylor Ballpark to even the weekend series.
 
The senior shortstop from The Netherlands drove in all four runs for the Bears, tallying his first-career two-home run game and coming up a double shy of hitting for the cycle. Kemp's first home run of the night, a two-run shot, opened the scoring in the bottom of the first. Then, he hit a go-ahead solo blast in his final at-bat in the bottom of the eighth that put the Bears up for good.
 
Freshman southpaw Carson Bailey turned in his third-consecutive quality start, allowing just three runs over six innings without allowing a walk. Senior right-hander Caleb Bunch bridged the way to sixth-year senior closer Gabe Craig as the duo combined to collect the final nine outs without allowing a hit and fanning five.
 
THE RUNDOWN
Kemp got BU going right away and followed up redshirt senior outfielder Enzo Apodaca's leadoff single with a 404-foot long ball over the right-center wall, giving the Bears a quick 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Kemp stayed hot in the bottom of the second, roping an RBI triple to the gap to extend the Baylor advantage to 3-0.
 
Meanwhile, Bailey got off to a strong start on the mound, retiring 10 of the first 11 batters he faced with three strikeouts before allowing a game-tying three-run homer in the top of the fourth. After that, the rookie out of Richardson, Texas, settled in nicely and dealt back-to-back shutout frames to finish with his third-consecutive quality start and a no-decision.
 
BU called on Bunch to start the seventh inning, who quickly mowed down the side and sandwiched a walk around two outs to start the eighth. That's when Craig came on to record the final out of the inning, stranding the potential tying run on third base with a huge strikeout.
 
In the home half, Kemp struck again and went deep for the second time on the evening, putting the Bears ahead 4-3. Thought BU was unable to add any insurance, Craig wouldn't need it, as he fanned two in the top of the ninth to shut the door and even the weekend series.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor collected its first win over Utah in program history and is now 1-2 all-time against the Utes.
• BU improved to 17-2 when striking out nine or more batters this season.
• The Bears are now 15-2 when allowing two walks or less in games this season.
• Baylor is 10-4 in games after a loss this season.
• Redshirt senior OF Enzo Apodaca recorded his 12th multi-hit game of the year.
• Senior INF Tyriq Kemp tied a career high with four hits and four RBIs and notched his first-career multi-home run game.
• Kemp extended his hitting streak to 14 games, recording his 14^th multi-hit and seventh multi-RBI game of the year.
• Redshirt senior 1B Will Pendergrass recorded his first extra-base hit of the year.
• Freshman LHP Carson Bailey collected his third-consecutive quality start, allowing three runs and fanning four in six innings of work.
• Senior RHP Caleb Bunch recorded his ninth scoreless appearance of the year.
• Sixth-year senior RHP Gabe Craig earned his second win of the year by making his 14^th scoreless appearance.
• This was also Craig's 11^th multi-strikeout outing and 10^th hitless appearance of the season.
 
STAT OF THE DAY
4 – Senior infielder Tyriq Kemp tallied four hits to match his career high and drove in all four runs, bolstered by his first-career two-homer game.
 
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mitch Thompson 
On tonight's win…
"I'm proud of the guys, they just keep responding. We challenged them again today to respond and they did. It starts on the mound, and Carson (Bailey) was great, followed by Caleb (Bunch) who was really good and Gabe Craig was fantastic to end it. The star of the game is over there at shortstop (Tyriq Kemp), and he just keeps getting better and better. It's been fun watching him play. I think it shows in us moving him from the nine-hole to the three-hole and now today, the two-hole. We just can't wait to get him up to the plate."
 
Senior INF Tyriq Kemp
On his performance at the plate…
"I've never had a game like this in my life … it's definitely one of the coolest things that's ever happened to me. I thought (the second homer) was gonna get caught because it was way up there, but it gave me a lot of confidence because I didn't know I could get the ball out to center. But, I had some pop today."
 
Sixth-Year Senior RHP Gabe Craig
On his performance and being named to the National Pitcher of the Year Watch List…
"It's really cool, you know, I'm super blessed. God has been a huge blessing my life. My family, my coaches, this team has just had my back in so many ways and it's helped build my confidence. That being said, it's just one of those things where you have to keep moving forward, stay locked in and focus on what we're trying to do – win ballgames."
 
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (24-14, 7-10) and Utah (16-18, 5-12) return for a Sunday rubber match beginning at 1 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.
 
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