Winning in one of the nation’s best conferences on Friday night often involves a high level of opportunism early and execution late.
At Baylor Ballpark in Waco, the No. 10 Texas Longhorns effectively used that formula to take an early lead and preserve it late in a 5-3 win over the Baylor Bears to open conference play and secure the program’s seventh consecutive win.
In the second inning, the opportunism meant taking advantage of control issues suffered by Baylor left-hander Tyler Thomas, who didn’t enter the game with a high number of walks, but struggled to command his fastball and his curveball early.