FORT WORTH, TX — The No. 18 Bears completed the sweep of TCU with a 12-1 eight-inning run-rule victory on Sunday afternoon at Lupton Stadium.
The Bears (30-12, 12-5) put up three runs in the third, three in the fourth and three in the fifth to put the game out of reach of the Horned Frogs (23-19, 6-9) with a 9-1 lead in the fifth inning. They added one in the seventh and two in the eighth to push their lead to 11 to complete the run-rule victory.
The Bears were led at the plate by Cole Haring, who was 3-for-3 with a team-high three RBIs on the day. Nick Loftin, Richard Cunningham and Chase Wehsener each had two hits on the day.
Baylor starter Jacob Ashkinos was outstanding in his first Big 12 start, tossing 4.0 innings, allowing just one unearned run on four hits with no walks and two strikeouts. The Baylor bullpen shut down the Horned Frogs down the stretch, as Logan Freeman threw two scoreless innings, followed by one apiece for Ryan Leckich and Luke Boyd.
Offensively, the Bears jumped on Horned Frog starter Brandon Williamson early, chasing him after 3.1 innings of work as he allowed six runs (three earned) on four hits with three walks and four strikeouts. The Bears followed by putting up three more runs on reliever Jared Janczak in 1.2 innings of work and three more on reliever Marcelo Perez in the final three frames.
The Bears also took advantage of defensive miscues by the Horned Frogs, scoring two on passed balls, one on a throwing error and one on a wild pitch.
Ashkinos earned the win to improve to 2-2 on the year in the predetermined staff day. TCU starter Brandon Williamson took the loss to fall to 3-3 on the year.
NOTES
* The sweep of TCU in Ft. Worth is the first for the Bears since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 in the 2012-13 season. It is also the fourth time they have swept the Horned Frogs in Fort Worth, first since 1990. Other three-game sweeps in Fort Worth came in 1984 and 1978.
*For the second-straight season the Bears have swept the Horned Frogs. The second-straight series win over the Horned Frogs and third in four years under head coach Steve Rodriguez.
*The Big 12 road sweep is the first for the Bears since doing so at Kansas State, April 27-29, 2018.
*The Bears have won seven straight against the Horned Frogs dating back to four straight last season.
*The Bears have swept two Big 12 series on the year (vs. West Virginia, at TCU).
*The Bears are now 20-6 in games in which they score first.
*The Bears have tallied double-digit hits in 26 times this season, and have outhit their opponents in 27-of-30 victories this year.
*137 of Baylor’s 306 total runs in 2019 have come with two outs, including 2 of 12 today.
*Seven-of-nine in the lineup had at least one hit on the day.
*Cole Haring led the way with a 3-for-5 day, 3 RBIs.
*Loftin, Cunningham and Wehsener each had two hits on the day.
*Richard Cunningham extended his hit streak to 14 games.
*Andy Thomas extended his hit streak to 14 games.
*Langeliers has a 12-game hit streak.
*Ashkinos made his 17th appearance of the year and fourth start of the year, but first Big 12 start.
*Freeman made his fifth appearance of the year.
*Leckich made his team-leading 23rd appearance of the year.
*Boyd made his 19th appearance of the year.
*The Bears have earned run-rule victories in two of their last four games.
*The Bears have now won four-of-five three-game Big 12 series on the year.
*The Bears have won seven-of-nine three game series on the year.
*33 runs on the weekend are the most by either team in a three-game series since the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 in the 2012-13 season.
*The Bears outscored the Horned Frogs 33-6 on the weekend.
STAT OF THE DAY
33 – The Bears’ offense scored 33 total runs this weekend, the most by either side in the series with the Horned Frogs since they joined the Big 12 in the 2012-13 season.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
On today’s all-around performance…
“Just a really well-played game. I think we did a lot of things right, from the starting pitching, Jacob Ashkinos did a great job working through a couple things, making sure he gave us opportunities, forcing them to make contact and allowing our defense to play defense. Offensively, the execution was really good. We kept putting pressure on them, executing when guys got in scoring position. Really proud of our guys being able to come here and sweep a really good TCU team on the road. It is something pretty special and I am very proud of the effort our guys put into it today and excited for this next week.
- Baylor head coach Steve Rodriguez
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears return home to host Lamar at 6:35 p.m. CT on Tuesday, April 30, before hosting Kansas State for their final Big 12 home series, May 3-5.
