Baylor baseball secured a 5-2 win over UT Arlington on April 7 at Clay Gould Ballpark in Arlington. The Bears improved their record to 19-13 with this victory, marking their seventh win in the last nine games and fifth midweek win of the season.
The game was highlighted by strong pitching from Baylor, as six bullpen pitchers combined for scoreless appearances after the first inning. Redshirt junior infielder Travis Sanders delivered a key two-run single in the fifth inning to give Baylor the lead. The team also capitalized on five stolen bases and several mistakes by UT Arlington.
UT Arlington took an early lead with a two-run home run in the first inning, but Baylor responded with runs in both the second and third innings. Brayden Buchanan drove in his second run of the season with a single, while Ty Johnson tied it up with an RBI hit. Throughout the game, Baylor continued its aggressive base running, including freshman Brady Janusek’s team-leading twelfth steal of the year.
In addition to Sanders’ performance at bat and on base—extending his on-base streak to 35 games—pitching was central to Baylor’s success. “That’s a big deal, we didn’t give them many free bases and they gave us quite a few. We took advantage of that, stole a bunch of bags, ended up getting just enough hits to make it work. But I thought after the first inning of the game, we really pitched the ball well. Every guy that went out there kept them off balance and didn’t give up many hard-hit balls. Pitching and defense was definitely the key,” said head coach Mitch Thompson.
Pitcher Brayden Bergman commented on his own outing: “Our whole staff, we’ve got some dudes that every time we go out there we’re confident in our abilities and what Sned has taught us to get in there, throw strikes, dominate our outing and put up a zero and hand it off to the next guy. For me, I went out there, threw strikes, trusted my pitches, trusted Sned’s pitch calling and did my thing.” Sanders reflected on his hitting streak: “As a leadoff hitter, the goal is to get on base… It’s cool to have done it 35 times.”
Looking ahead, Baylor will travel for a three-game series against Cincinnati starting Friday.
