One college baseball player had a Baylor debut for the history books — and it left him “speechless” afterward.
Tyce Armstrong, a redshirt senior who transferred to the Bears after four seasons at UT Arlington, crushed three grand slams — tying a collegiate baseball record — and drove in 12 runs during a 15-2 win over New Mexico State on Friday.
From his spot as the cleanup hitter in the Baylor lineup, Armstrong was hit by a pitch during his first plate appearance, but he launched a 2-2 pitch from New Mexico State’s Cooper Reese over the left-field fence to give the Bears a 5-0 lead in the third inning.
Then, one frame later, Armstrong deposited an inside pitch over the left-field fence, too, to make it 9-0 with two outs.
And in the seventh inning, to give Baylor the win via mercy rule, Armstrong sent a 2-0 pitch from Matthew Yarc to nearly the same spot again, prompting the play-by-play announcer to unleash a “no way” as Armstrong rounded the bases.
“That is nuts,” the announcer continued later in his call. “That is absolutely nuts.”
He became just the second player since the NCAA started logging stats in 1957 to launch three grand slams in a game, joining Louisville’s Jim LaFountain — who did it in 1976, according to MLB’s Sarah Langs.
Only one MLB team — the Yankees with Russell Martin, Curtis Granderson and Robinson Canó — has managed to hit three grand slams in a game, according to Langs. However, the feat has never been accomplished by one player in a big league contest.
As he fielded questions from reporters on the field postgame, Armstrong, who played first base Friday and earned second-team All-Western Athletic Conference honors with UT Arlington last season, described it as the “coolest night of my life for sure.”
He talked about sticking to his approach, about wanting to hit fastballs hard, about how he wasn’t trying to hit another grand slam in that last at-bat — even though the situation certainly presented that opportunity — and was rather just trying to find that right pitch.
“I mean, it’s a great feeling for sure,” Armstrong said, “and I’m hoping to keep it going.”
Armstrong and Baylor continue their season-opening series against New Mexico State on Saturday.
