Baylor
Cornell
No. 12 Baseball Hosts Cornell for Three
2/21/2019 7:05:00 PM | Baseball
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Just like one man's trash is another man's treasure, Baylor baseball coach Steve Rodriguez looks at one player's injury as another player's opportunity.
Coming off a four-game sweep of Holy Cross in last weekend's season-opening series, the 12th-ranked Bears host Cornell (0-0) in a three-game series this weekend that begins with Friday's 6:35 p.m. game at Baylor Ballpark.
But, they will do it without catcher Shea Langeliers, who broke the hamate bone in his wrist and will miss several weeks; and first baseman Andy Thomas, who is still recovering from an illness that sidelined him for the opening weekend. Additionally, returning Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Cody Bradford is on a limited pitch count dealing with soreness in his shoulder.
Taking a next-man-up approach, redshirt freshman catcher Kyle Harper collected his first hit and threw out a baserunner in Sunday's 6-1 win over Holy Cross, while redshirt sophomore Chase Wehsener has filled in at first base for Thomas. Freshman Anderson Needham had an impressive collegiate debut Sunday, taking a no-hitter into the fifth and striking out six batters in 4 2/3 innings.
"You can view it as an amazing opportunity, and that's kind of how we're looking at it," Rodriguez said. "It's a great opportunity for guys who may not have had that opportunity to come out and play and show what they can do and take advantage of it. I always think it allows us to get stronger as a team, because guys have to start doing different things. As the same time, it gives us a lot more depth as the season goes on and we get healthier."
As a team, Baylor hit .340 on the opening weekend with a phenomenal .456 on-base percentage aided by 22 walks and 12 hit batters. The projected top six batters in the lineup are all hitting .385 or better, with senior centerfielder Richard Cunningham (.400) and sophomore shortstop Nick Loftin (.385) setting the table at the top of the lineup.
"Having guys like Richie and Nick start off the game hot, we build off of it," said senior second baseman Josh Bissonette, who's hitting .364. "We see that they can get on, get hits, and it doesn't matter if the guy's up there throwing 98 (mph) or he's throwing 84. They do a good job of setting the tone, and we just follow in their footsteps."
Another player that's stepped up is sophomore DH Ryan Bertelsman, who is hitting .455 for the season and blasted a three-run, walk-off home run in Saturday's 8-5 win in Game 1 of a doubleheader.
"It's a lot of fun, because you go into the box with this mentality of I'm taking this at-bat for the next guy behind me," Cunningham said of the Bears' lineup. "Because if I get on second base, I know Nick Loftin and everyone behind him is more than capable of scoring me. When you go into the box with that mentality – that collectively a lot of guys can do damage – you take the pressure off yourself not to be a hero. . . . It becomes a nine-man effort as opposed to a one-man effort."
Harper made his collegiate debut last Friday, catching the last two innings of a 12-0 season-opening win, then went 1-for-3 with an RBI in the Sunday series finale. But, the redshirt freshman's biggest moment came in the sixth inning when he threw out a baserunner for the back end of a strike-'em-out, throw-'em-out double play.
"He's got an absolute hose," Cunningham said of Harper. "He did some things this fall in the outfield, I've seen him on the mound. The guy throws absolute bullets wherever he is. It's a next-man-up mentality, and I'm so excited for Kyle Harper and what he's going to do for us back there. Even though it's not Shea, there's still going to be some fun going on."
Keeping the same rotation, Rodriguez will start junior right-hander Hayden Kettler (1-0, 0.00 ERA) in Friday's series opener, followed by sophomore Tyler Thomas and Bradford. Collectively, the Bears have a 1.95 ERA with 47 strikeouts in 37.0 innings.
Rodriguez said he will still be cautious with Bradford, who struck out three in 2 1/3 innings in the nightcap of Saturday's doubleheader.
"We're going to go based on feel for him," Rodriguez said. "We're not in the business of pushing guys past where we feel comfortable. He's unbelievably honest an true to who he is and what he is, and he's going to do everything he can to help us win. But, we're not going to push it to the point where we injure him at any point."
Cornell, which is opening the season, returns four starting position players and four of its best five arms from a team that finished 14-24-1 overall and 9-12 in the Ivy League last year.
"I don't know a whole lot about them in regard to what they bring to the table, offense, pitching-wise," Rodriguez said. "I know it's their first weekend. I'm more worried about, and we'll just try to adjust accordingly to what they're giving us."
All three games this weekend will have live video streaming available on Facebook Live @ Baylor Baseball.
Story lines
• After inclement weather cancelled the Bears' Tuesday contest at Texas State, the team remains at home for the second-straight weekend of the season, hosting Cornell in a three-game set starting on Friday, Feb. 22. All three games of the series will be streamed on Facebook Live (facebook.com/baylorbaseball).
• Projected Pitching Matchup
Fri., Feb. 22 • 6:35 p.m. CT • RHP Hayden Kettler vs. RHP Seth Urbon
Sat., Feb 23 • 3:05 p.m. CT • LHP Tyler Thomas vs. RHP John Natoli
Sun., Feb. 24 • 12:05 p.m. CT • LHP Cody Bradford vs. RHP Jeb Bemiss
• Cornell Capsule
• The Big Red will open the 2019 season this weekend in Waco. The team finished the 2018 season 14-24-1 overall, 9-12 in the Ivy League, but finished the season on a high note, winning three-of-four series to end the season. The 2019 roster is fairly young and features 12 freshmen to just four seniors. They return four starting position players from 2018, one pitcher from the weekend rotation and four of their five best arms from last season.
The Bears are 1-0 all-time against Cornell, with the one previous matchup coming March 19, 1997 in Waco. The Bears won that contest, 6-5.
• Last Weekend Recap
• The Bears are coming off a big opening weekend victory, sweeping Holy Cross in a four-game set. The four-game sweep is the first time in program history since defeating Louisiana Tech on March 10-13, 2011 and the first opening weekend series sweep since the Bears defeated Niagra in three games on Feb. 17-18, 2017.
• On opening day, the Bears defeated Holy Cross, 12-0, the largest opening day victory margin since defeating Centenary 15-1 to open up the 1997 season. RHP Hayden Kettler was outstanding, tying his career-long outing with 7.0 IP and collected a new career-high 8 strikeouts.
• In game one of the double-header on Saturday, the Bears needed the heroics of redshirt sophomore Ryan Bertelsman to defeat the Crusaders. The Bears entered the top of the 10th inning trailing by one run but turned a two-out comeback. With two down and a runner on second, Davion Downey delivered his first game-tying hit of the series, doubling in the run to tie the game up at 5-5. Then Ryan Bertelsman, who entered the game as a pinch hitter in the sixth inning, came through with his first-career home run, a walk-off three-run shot.
• In game two of the double-header, senior Richard Cunningham was the star, going 5-for-5 with 2 RBIs as he was just a home run away from the cycle, tying his career-high mark of five hits, just one shy of the program single-game record.
• In game four, freshman RHP Anderson Needham looked strong, striking out 6 batters in his first collegiate action in 4.2 innings of work. Sophomore Davion Downey looked strong in the game, going 2-for-3 with 2 runs scored, 2 RBIs, including his first homer of the season, a two-run shot in the 7th inning.
