Will Baker (Georgia Tech) continued to heat up at the plate on Sunday, collecting his second consecutive multihit game by going 2-for-3 with a homer and a walk in the 3-2 loss to Harwich.
After having just six hits during the first 15 games of July, Baker has doubled his hit total for the month in the past four games, going 6-for-13 to raise his batting average by over 30 points. Even during his struggles, Baker kept the same daily mindset, which has helped lead to his success over the past week.
“Trusting the process, trusting what you do before you get to the field and the work you do before the game will lead to a good outcome when you play,” Baker said. “I think that’s the key to what we’ve been doing.”
Baker got the Y-D offense started on Sunday by being the first baserunner to reach against Troy Dressler (Wake Forest). With one out in the second inning, Baker lined an 0-2 changeup into center field for a base hit to extend his hitting streak to four games.
Although it was his only at-bat of the night that didn’t result in a hit, Baker still put an excellent swing on the ball against Dressler in the fourth inning. He scorched a first-pitch fastball into deep center field, but Niko Brini (Wofford) was able to make the catch just in front of the warning track. Baker was one of the few Y-D hitters to have success against the Mariners starter on Sunday, as Dressler tossed five scoreless innings with only two hits allowed.
Baker provided a jolt of energy into a struggling Y-D offense when he led off the seventh inning with a solo blast to get the team on the board. After working a nine-pitch battle against Ryan Reich (Seton Hall), Baker jumped on an inside fastball and launched it 386 feet over the right field wall to cut Y-D’s deficit to 3-1.
“We’re a great team; I just think we need to get on a roll, and a home run is a great way to get started,” Baker said. “I felt like once we did that, we were a different team. We went ahead and got a bunch of hits in the later innings, and it just shows that we’re a team that’s really gritty.”
The rest of the Y-D offense followed Baker’s lead, as Armando Briseño (Cal State Fullerton) lined an RBI single into right field with one out in the eighth inning to make it a one-run ballgame. Following Briseño’s run-scoring hit, Baker capped off his huge night by working a seven-pitch walk against Tanner Duke (Kansas State) to put the tying run in scoring position and the go-ahead run on base.
Despite the fact that Y-D wasn’t able to complete the comeback, Baker had arguably his most impressive night of the summer, reaching base three times for the second straight game and hitting his first home run since July 2 against Falmouth.
“I was just trying to hunt down pitches in certain spots and put a good swing on them,” Baker said. “Once you really decide that you’re going, it’s easy to put a good swing on the ball.”
Following an off-day on Monday, Baker will look to maintain his recent hot streak when Y-D hosts Falmouth at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
