THE BRIDGE
5/17/2025 12:10:00 AM | Baseball
Bunch throws 3.2 innings of relief in Bears’ 5-4, series-clinching win over UCF
By Jerry Hill
BaylorBears.com
ORLANDO, Fla. – Caleb Bunch never tries to over-think things. Just come in, fill up the zone and "make them get themselves out."
One of Baylor baseball's main two "bridge" guys out of the bullpen, Bunch (2-0) had his second-longest outing of the season, throwing 3.2 innings and giving up one run on two hits with three strikeouts to help the Bears (33-20, 13-16) clinch their final regular-season series with a 5-4 win over the UCF Knights Friday night at John Euliano Park.
"Coming into the situations that I do, being able to have the trust that I do in the guys behind me," Bunch said, "just throwing the ball over the plate and letting them do their thing, get guys out and get us back in so we can score some runs."
That plan worked to perfection Friday night.
The Bears were trailing 3-0 when Bunch came out of the bullpen with two out in the fourth inning. Throwing an efficient 39 pitches, the 6-6 right-hander never got to a three-ball count and put up three-straight zeroes before the Knights (28-26, 8-21) scratched across a run in the eighth.
"One thing Coach Sned (pitching coach Sean Snedeker) has kind of put on us since he's gotten here has been, fill up the zone, make them get themselves out and see how it goes for us," said Bunch, who has better than a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio with 30 punchouts and only eight free passes in his 20 appearances. "That's something we take a lot of pride in."
Hurt by the long ball, Baylor starter Ethan Calder gave up solo homers to Antonio Jiminez in the second and Andrew Williamson in the third and allowed an unearned run in the fourth before Bunch came on in relief.
UCF starter Russell Sandefer took a three-hit shutout into the sixth, but the Bears put up a crooked number in a late inning for their third-straight comeback win and 15th of the season.
Capped by freshman Pearson Riebock's two-run homer, Baylor strung together three-consecutive hits to open the top of the sixth and tied it at 3-3 on Riebock's blast, knocking Sandefer out of the game.
"The first three guys that inning just smoked the ball," Baylor coach Mitch Thompson said. "Tyriq (Kemp) hit a hard ball, Wesley (Jordan) had a double. And then, Pearson goes out of the yard and ties it up."
The Bears weren't done, though. Will Pendergrass had a one-out single through the left side, went to third when the UCF first baseman booted a Ty Johnson grounder and scored the go-ahead run on JJ Kennett's push bunt off reliever Kevin Schoneboom (1-2).
"It gives us a ton of confidence," Riebock said, "because all of our guys, we don't give up on each other. We're going to go to war for each other every day. The score can be 15-0, or we can be up 15-0, and we're still going to play as hard as we can every game."
Baylor's 3-4-5 hitters were a combined 6-for-14, with Jordan recording a pair of doubles out of the cleanup spot.
"Wesley was killing the ball and killing it right at people," Thompson said. "And he was getting frustrated with it. Then, all of a sudden, here we go. He comes up with the big hits and swung the bat really well all day long. He was big."
The Knights had only one baserunner off Bunch until the eighth, Edian Espinal getting on base when he was hit by a pitch leading off the sixth.
Baylor added an insurance run in the top of the eighth on singles by Hunter Simmons and Johnson and back-to-back walks by Enzo Apodaca and Travis Sanders to make it 5-3.
Trying to rally in the bottom of the frame, the Knights got a pair of one-out singles off Bunch before scoring a run on a grounder to third by Andrew Sundean. With a pair of runners on base, reliever Grayson Murry got a pop-up and grounder to first to end the threat.
Picking up his second save of the season, Murry induced a double-play grounder by Chase Krewson after Braden Calise reached on a bloop single to right-center field.
"I think Murry is a guy that offers a different look," Bunch said of the sidearm-throwing right-hander. "He's not something you see every game. Grayson's been a guy that's gone out every outing and done well for us. So, we have a lot of confidence throwing him out there in that situation. And he did it again."
Baylor moved up to ninth in the Big 12 standings, a half-game ahead of Houston (29-23, 12-16), and will go for its first conference series sweep of the season in Saturday's 11 a.m. CT finale. UCF was officially eliminated from the Big 12 tournament with BYU (27-25, 10-19) beating Texas Tech, 6-5, to earn the final spot in the 12-team tournament that starts next Wednesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
BaylorBears.com
ORLANDO, Fla. – Caleb Bunch never tries to over-think things. Just come in, fill up the zone and "make them get themselves out."
One of Baylor baseball's main two "bridge" guys out of the bullpen, Bunch (2-0) had his second-longest outing of the season, throwing 3.2 innings and giving up one run on two hits with three strikeouts to help the Bears (33-20, 13-16) clinch their final regular-season series with a 5-4 win over the UCF Knights Friday night at John Euliano Park.
"Coming into the situations that I do, being able to have the trust that I do in the guys behind me," Bunch said, "just throwing the ball over the plate and letting them do their thing, get guys out and get us back in so we can score some runs."
That plan worked to perfection Friday night.
The Bears were trailing 3-0 when Bunch came out of the bullpen with two out in the fourth inning. Throwing an efficient 39 pitches, the 6-6 right-hander never got to a three-ball count and put up three-straight zeroes before the Knights (28-26, 8-21) scratched across a run in the eighth.
"One thing Coach Sned (pitching coach Sean Snedeker) has kind of put on us since he's gotten here has been, fill up the zone, make them get themselves out and see how it goes for us," said Bunch, who has better than a 3-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio with 30 punchouts and only eight free passes in his 20 appearances. "That's something we take a lot of pride in."
Hurt by the long ball, Baylor starter Ethan Calder gave up solo homers to Antonio Jiminez in the second and Andrew Williamson in the third and allowed an unearned run in the fourth before Bunch came on in relief.
UCF starter Russell Sandefer took a three-hit shutout into the sixth, but the Bears put up a crooked number in a late inning for their third-straight comeback win and 15th of the season.
Capped by freshman Pearson Riebock's two-run homer, Baylor strung together three-consecutive hits to open the top of the sixth and tied it at 3-3 on Riebock's blast, knocking Sandefer out of the game.
"The first three guys that inning just smoked the ball," Baylor coach Mitch Thompson said. "Tyriq (Kemp) hit a hard ball, Wesley (Jordan) had a double. And then, Pearson goes out of the yard and ties it up."
The Bears weren't done, though. Will Pendergrass had a one-out single through the left side, went to third when the UCF first baseman booted a Ty Johnson grounder and scored the go-ahead run on JJ Kennett's push bunt off reliever Kevin Schoneboom (1-2).
"It gives us a ton of confidence," Riebock said, "because all of our guys, we don't give up on each other. We're going to go to war for each other every day. The score can be 15-0, or we can be up 15-0, and we're still going to play as hard as we can every game."
Baylor's 3-4-5 hitters were a combined 6-for-14, with Jordan recording a pair of doubles out of the cleanup spot.
"Wesley was killing the ball and killing it right at people," Thompson said. "And he was getting frustrated with it. Then, all of a sudden, here we go. He comes up with the big hits and swung the bat really well all day long. He was big."
The Knights had only one baserunner off Bunch until the eighth, Edian Espinal getting on base when he was hit by a pitch leading off the sixth.
Baylor added an insurance run in the top of the eighth on singles by Hunter Simmons and Johnson and back-to-back walks by Enzo Apodaca and Travis Sanders to make it 5-3.
Trying to rally in the bottom of the frame, the Knights got a pair of one-out singles off Bunch before scoring a run on a grounder to third by Andrew Sundean. With a pair of runners on base, reliever Grayson Murry got a pop-up and grounder to first to end the threat.
Picking up his second save of the season, Murry induced a double-play grounder by Chase Krewson after Braden Calise reached on a bloop single to right-center field.
"I think Murry is a guy that offers a different look," Bunch said of the sidearm-throwing right-hander. "He's not something you see every game. Grayson's been a guy that's gone out every outing and done well for us. So, we have a lot of confidence throwing him out there in that situation. And he did it again."
Baylor moved up to ninth in the Big 12 standings, a half-game ahead of Houston (29-23, 12-16), and will go for its first conference series sweep of the season in Saturday's 11 a.m. CT finale. UCF was officially eliminated from the Big 12 tournament with BYU (27-25, 10-19) beating Texas Tech, 6-5, to earn the final spot in the 12-team tournament that starts next Wednesday at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
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