Baylor baseball earned a 10-0 win over UTSA on Tuesday evening at Roadrunner Stadium. The Bears (33-17) used four pitchers to post a shutout of the Roadrunners (28-23).
Kameron Esthay led off the second inning with a solo home run, but the Bears weren’t done in the frame. Aaron Dodson singled with one out, Josh Bissonette doubled, Andy Thomas walked, Tucker Cascadden had an RBI fielder’s choice and T.J. Raguse singled up the middle to score the third run of the inning.
In the fifth, Raguse led off with a walk, stole second and scored on a single by Richard Cunningham. Then the Bears played long ball with a two-run homer by Thomas in the sixth that scored Bissonette after a leadoff double and a solo blast by Dodson in the seventh.
Baylor capped the scoring in the ninth with three more runs. Esthay and Davis Wendzel walked to start the inning and Dodson had an infield single to load the bases. Thomas posted a one-out RBI ground out and Cascadden followed with a two-run double.
BU starter Hayden Kettler (3-0) earned the win, giving up two hits with one strikeout in two shutouts innings. UTSA starter Chance Kirby (1-3) took the loss, allowing three runs on six hits and one walk with one strikeout in four innings.
NOTES
*Baylor racked up its sixth shutout of the season, marking the first time have six or more shutouts in a season since 2000 (6).
*Baylor has won 14 of its last 19 games, nine of its last 10 and six straight after going through a stretch of losing eight of 10 games from March 24-April 8.
*Baylor has won 33 or more games for the first time since 2012 (49-17) and 12th time in the last 20 seasons.
*Baylor’s 33-17 record through 50 games is its best since a 39-11 start in 2012.
*Baylor is 11-3 in midweek games this season.
*Baylor has hit 27 home runs in its last 23 games after hitting 14 homers in its first 26 games of the season.
*Baylor has 41 home runs this season through 50 games, which are seven more than its season output of 34 in 53 games in 2016. BU has 40 or more homers for the first time since 2012 (46).
*Baylor leads the all-time series vs. UTSA 34-8 and 9-4 in San Antonio.
*Baylor is 14-8 away from Baylor Ballpark this season (12-7 on road, 2-1 in neutral sites).
*Senior first baseman Aaron Dodson has a career-high 20-game on-base streak and six-game hitting streak as he posted his 14th multi-hit game and hit his career-high ninth home run of the season and 19th of his career.
*Junior left fielder Kameron Esthay has an eight-game on-base streak as he hit his career-high seventh home run of the season and 15th of his career.
*Senior designated hitter Matt Menard has a six-game hitting streak.
*Sophomore center fielder Richard Cunningham has a five-game hitting streak as he notched his 12th multi-hit game.
*Freshman catcher Andy Thomas has a four-game hitting streak as he tied a career-high with three RBI for his second multi-RBI game, hitting his first career home run.
*Junior outfielder Levi Gilcrease has a three-game on-base streak.
*Sophomore left fielder T.J. Raguse had his 11th multi-hit game.
*Sophomore infielder Josh Bissonette had his 13th multi-hit game.
*Junior JUCO infielder Tucker Cascadden had his sixth multi-hit game and fifth multi-RBI game.
*Junior RHP Kyle Ott posted a career-high three innings in relief.
*Senior RHP Drew Robertson tied a career high with three strikeouts.
STAT OF THE GAME
4 – The amount of pitchers Baylor used for the shutout and amount of innings BU’s offense did not score.
QUOTE OF THE GAME
“Our guys are in a really good place mentally, physically and emotionally, and they are really playing free. My job right now is to kind of stay out of the way. They are doing a good job of understanding what their roles are, executing, and it’s really fun to watch.” – Head Coach Steve Rodriguez
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor finishes the regular season with a three-game series at home against Kansas State with games at 6:35 p.m. CT Thursday, 6:35 p.m. Friday and 2:05 p.m. Saturday at Baylor Ballpark.
