Baylor Baseball Shuts Out Wofford, 4-0
Bears received superb pitching from starter Andrew McInvale
THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball claimed a 4-0 win over Wofford on Wednesday evening at Baylor Ballpark to sweep a two-game set. The Bears (15-14) used a three-run second inning and very solid pitching to take down the Terriers (16-15) for the second day in a row.
BU’s big second started with a leadoff walk by T.J. Raguse. After another walk to Josh Bissonette, Levi Gilcrease’s sacrifice bunt attempt was thrown away by Wofford’s pitcher to score Raguse and put the runners at second and third. Justin Arrington delivered an RBI single and Steven McLean scored Gilcrease on a grounder to short for a 3-0 lead.
In the fifth, the Bears added a run on a Richard Cunningham one-out bunt single, wild pitch, grounder and Kameron Esthay RBI single.
BU starter Andrew McInvale (2-1) earned the win as he gave up no runs on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts in six innings. Wofford starter Quintin Pile (0-1) took the loss, giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks with one strikeout in 1.1 innings.
NOTES
*Baylor finished 5-1 on its six-game home stand.
*Baylor is 4-3 in midweek games in 2016.
*Baylor has won seven of its last nine games and four in a row.
*Baylor is 397-176 all-time at Baylor Ballpark and 12-10 under Steve Rodriguez.
*Baylor and Wofford met for the first time ever Tuesday, and the Bears lead the series 2-0.
*Baylor’s pitchers posted their first shutout of the season and first since a 3-0 win over Oklahoma on March 27, 2015.
*Steven McLean has a career-high 15-game on-base streak and career-high nine-game hitting streak.
*Richard Cunningham has a career-high 13-game on-base streak as he posted his sixth multi-hit game of the season.
*Darryn Sheppard’s career-high 11-game on-base streak ended.
*Matt Menard has a seven-game on-base streak and career-high-tying four-game hitting streak.
*Kameron Esthay has a five-game hitting streak.
*Justin Arrington has a six-game hitting streak as notched his fifth multi-hit game of the season.
*T.J. Raguse has a career-high nine-game on-base streak but his career-high eight-game hitting streak ended.
*Josh Bissonette has a career-high 13-game on-base streak.
*Levi Gilcrease has a three-game on-base streak.
*Andrew McInvale posted career highs of six innings pitched and five strikeouts.
*Kody Hessemer has four straight scoreless relief appearances.
*Troy Montemayor has four straight scoreless relief appearances as he tied a season high with two strikeouts.
STAT OF THE GAME
0 – The amount of runs given up by Baylor’s pitchers in the game for its first shutout of the season.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
“I think that everybody is starting to realize and find a role on this team and the expectations. Everybody knows that they can be called on at any time. The way I look at it, it’s just until the next game. It’s nice that we won six out of seven, but those are in the past. We need to make sure that we’re continuing to get better, continuing to put good swings on the ball and keep pitching down in the bottom of the zone. If we continue to do that, the wins will come, but if we don’t do that then what happened – the six of seven – is irrelevant.” – Baylor Head Coach Steve Rodriguez
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor heads to Norman, Oklahoma, for a three-game Big 12 weekend series against Oklahoma, starting with a 6 p.m. CT game on Friday.
