When Opening Day Becomes Legend: Tyce Armstrong’s Historic Night in Waco

You go into Opening Day hoping for a few things. You want the hot dogs to be warm, the beer to be cold, and maybe, just maybe, you want to see your team squeeze out a win to start the season 1-0. It’s a day for optimism, sure, but usually, it’s a day for shaking off the rust.

Apparently, nobody told Tyce Armstrong about the rust.

In a sport that has been obsessively cataloged for over a century, where we count every pitch, every spin rate, and every launch angle, it is incredibly difficult to do something that makes the entire baseball world stop and say, “Wait, seriously?” But that is exactly what happened Friday night at Baylor Ballpark. Armstrong, the redshirt senior transfer making his debut for the Bears, didn’t just have a good game. He didn’t just have a great game.

He had the kind of game you usually only see when a bored teenager is playing a video game on ‘Easy’ mode.

A Debut Performance for the History Books

Let’s set the scene. It’s Friday night in Waco, Texas. The Baylor Bears are hosting New Mexico State. Armstrong, a big first baseman who transferred in from UT Arlington, steps into the box in the third inning. The Bears are up 1-0. The bases are loaded.

Most guys in their debut just want to make contact, maybe move the runner over. Armstrong had other ideas. He launched a 401-foot missile to extend the lead. Grand Slam number one. The crowd goes wild; it’s a great moment. If his night ended there, he’s the hero of the game.

But baseball is a funny game. The baseball gods have a weird sense of humor.

Armstrong comes back up in the fourth inning. Two outs. Bases loaded again. Surely, lightning doesn’t strike twice in back-to-back innings? The laws of probability say no. Armstrong’s bat said yes. He uncorked a 407-foot blast to left. Grand Slam number two.

At this point, the dugout is losing its mind. The fans are looking at each other in disbelief. Eight RBIs in two innings is a decent month for a leadoff hitter.

Chasing Ghosts: The Historical Significance

To understand how absurd this is, you have to look at the history books. In Major League Baseball, hitting two grand slams in a single game is the “white whale.” Only 13 players have ever done it—names like Josh Willingham, Nomar Garciaparra, and Frank Robinson. No one in the history of the MLB has ever hit three. Not Bonds, not Ruth, not Aaron.

In the college ranks, it’s almost as scarce. You have to go back to 1976—fifty years ago—to find the last time this happened. That was when Louisville’s Jim LaFountain did it. To put that in perspective, in 1976, Rocky was the number one movie in America and Apple was just a garage project. That is the kind of dust Armstrong blew off the record books on Friday.

Breaking Down the Swings

What makes this performance even more charming is the human element in the middle of it. In the sixth inning, Armstrong came up looking for a three-run homer. He struck out. It’s a reminder that this is still a game of failure, even when you’re having the game of your life.

But he didn’t have to wait long for redemption.

In the seventh inning, with Baylor cruising 11-2, the bases were loaded again. You could almost feel the anxiety in the stadium—not for the win, but for the moment. Could he actually do it?

Armstrong turned on a pitch high and away, sending it over the left-field wall for the third time. Twelve RBIs. Three swings of the bat.

Why This Matters for Baylor Baseball

Here is the kicker, and perhaps the funniest part of the whole evening: Armstrong’s third slam was a walk-off, but not in the traditional bottom-of-the-ninth sense. It put Baylor up 15-2, triggering the run rule.

He literally hit the ball so hard and so often that the officials decided, “Okay, that’s enough baseball for tonight.” He ended the game by breaking it.

For head coach Mitch Thompson, this is the kind of start you dream about. You bring in a transfer, hoping he provides some stability at first base and some pop in the middle of the lineup. Instead, he provides a national headline and a highlight reel that will be played on loop for the next decade.

We have a long season ahead of us. There will be slumps, rain delays, and tough losses. But for one night in Waco, Tyce Armstrong made baseball look like the easiest game on earth.

Welcome to Baylor, kid. Good luck topping that.