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Baylor Baseball Takes A Midweek Thriller Against Dallas Baptist In Extra Innings

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Baseball

Baylor baseball (5-8) won an extra-inning thriller over DBU (7-5) Tuesday night at Baylor Ballpark by a final of 8-7.
 
In a back-and-forth affair, it was finally BU freshman INF Kolby Branch who came through with the walk-off knock, his third hit of the night, in the bottom of the 12th to send the Bears home winners.

Branch and fellow freshman Zach Mazoch each had three hits, while sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky joined Branch as the only Bears with two RBIs on the night. Junior RHP's Grant Golomb, Cole Stasio and Hambleton Oliver combined for nine strikeouts in 7.2 innings out of the bullpen without allowing an earned run.
 
The win was Baylor's second walk-off victory of the season, and longest game played since going 13 innings at UT Arlington on April 9, 2019.
 
THE RUNDOWN
DBU struck first in the top of the second with three runs off Baylor starter Jared Matheson, who struck out three for the third time in four appearances this year. But, a Branch RBI single in the third and a Teplanszky sacrifice fly in the fourth pulled BU within a run, 3-2, through the first four frames.
 
Golomb put up three zeros and faced just 10 hitters over the middle innings, making quick work of his three innings out of the pen. He struck out four without allowing a hit and surrendered just one walk to the first batter he faced.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, Baylor put up a three-spot as Teplanszky delivered another sac fly, then junior OF Hunter Simmons scored on a wild pitch, and junior INF Will Pendergrass made it 5-3 with an RBI double.
 
However, the Patriots would go back in front with three runs in the top of the seventh, re-taking a 6-5 lead that they would hold until the bottom of the ninth inning.
 
After Stasio held DBU off in the eighth and ninth, it was the top of the BU order that nearly hit back-to-back jacks to end it. Branch led off with a blast to the warning track in left field that was caught just a couple feet shy of clearing the wall, but then redshirt freshman OF Gavin Brzozowski crushed a no-doubter over the right field wall to even the score at 6-6.
 
With the bases loaded in the top of the 10th, Stasio buckled down for a huge strikeout that prevented DBU from going back in front. But, BU was unable to score the winning run in the bottom of the frame, as Teplanszky was stranded just 90 feet away on third.
 
The top of the 11th came to an emphatic end as Harrison Caley caught his third runner stealing on the night, but once again the Bears were unable to win it in the bottom half with nothing coming of a Brzozowski one-out walk.
 
In the 12th, a two-out error sparked a DBU rally that ultimately resulted in a run-scoring wild pitch and a 7-6 lead. But, the Bears wouldn't go down quietly as Mazoch led off the bottom of the inning with a single, and his pinch-runner Daniel Altman advanced to third on Teplanszky's second knock of the night.
 
With Pendergrass at the dish, Altman crossed the plate on a wild pitch to knot the tally at 7-7. Then, after an error and a walk loaded the bases, Branch blooped in a single down the right field line to score Teplanszky and stamp the victory.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
• Baylor improved to 54-28 all-time against DBU and snapped a two-game losing streak against the Patriots.
• BU is now 2-1 in midweek games in 2023, all against fellow teams from the state of Texas.
• Baylor is now 2-1 in extra-inning contests this season.
• 12 innings marked the longest Baylor game since playing 13 at UT Arlington on April 9, 2019.
• The Bears are now 4-0 when they out-hit their opponents.
• BU pitchers struck out a season-high 15 batters against DBU.
• 15 punchouts are the most by a Baylor team since doing so against Texas A&M on Feb. 26, 2021.
• The Bears have eclipsed double-digit strikeouts in 10 of 13 games this season.
• BU has punched out at least 13 opposing hitters in six of 13 games this year.
• Freshman INF Kolby Branch extended his on-base streak to 13 games.
• Branch recorded his fourth multi-hit game of the year with three. All four of his multi-hit games have come with at least three hits.
• Branch also tallied his fourth multi-RBI game of the year, with two.
• Redshirt freshman OF Gavin Brzozowski crushed his second home run of the year.
• Junior LHP/OF Kobe Andrade notched his sixth double of the season. 10 of Andrade's 13 hits on the year have gone for extra bases.
• Junior OF Hunter Simmons recorded his third multi-hit game of the year.
• Freshman C Zach Mazoch collected a career-high three hits, his second multi-hit game of 2023.
• Sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky notched his fourth multi-hit and first multi-RBI performance of the season.
• Junior RHP Grant Golomb recorded a season-high four strikeouts and worked a season-long three innings.
• Junior RHP Cole Stasio worked a career-long 2.2 innings. This is his third scoreless appearance in five outings this season.
• Fourth-year junior RHP Hambleton Oliver tied his season high with three strikeouts and earned his second win of the year.

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor (5-8) welcomes Mercer (9-4) for a three-game series this weekend at Baylor Ballpark in Waco. Friday night's first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. between the Bears and the Bears.