Baylor
Texas
No. 17 Baseball Hosts Oklahoma for Three
4/11/2019 8:40:00 PM | Baseball
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Baylor baseball has made a living on two-out RBI hits, scoring just under 50 percent of its runs this season with two outs (111-of-223).
Coming off a frustrating 2-1, 13-inning loss at UT-Arlington, the 17th-ranked Bears (22-9, 6-2) will try to get back to that winning formula when they host Oklahoma (24-10, 5-4) for a three-game series starting with Friday's 6:35 p.m. game at Baylor Ballpark.
"I told them by the time we get off the bus, I want this game gone and focus on this weekend," coach Steve Rodriguez said of Tuesday's road game, where the Bears were 0-for-15 with runners in scoring position and stranded a season-high 18 runners. "I'm sorry, but there are days like that. It's frustrating not only for a coach but I know as a player. You're like, 'Oh my gosh, I feel like I've never played this game before.' It's going to happen and they have to find a way to deal with it."
By Wednesday's practice, it was forgotten.
"We had a great practice (Wednesday), real light, kept it fun," said redshirt freshman first baseman Chase Wehsener, who's hitting .424 in conference play. "There was no worry after the game, no panic from anybody. We're ready to get out here this weekend and win a series and get back to what we've been doing the whole season"
Junior catcher Shea Langeliers took it a step further, saying the Bears have to take that midweek loss "with a grain of salt."
"It's baseball, sometimes stuff like that happens," said Langeliers, who's hitting .264 for the season. "But obviously, we have to execute better next time when we have runners in scoring position with less than two outs. It's just making sure you're hunting the right pitches. You're looking for a pitch in the zone you can handle. If you get it early in the count, take advantage of it. And just be patient if it's not there."
The weekend series with the Sooners matches, at least statistically, the top two pitching staffs in the league. OU has a league-best 3.11 ERA, with the Bears a notch behind at 3.25.
Ben Abram (6-0, 2.35 ERA) recorded his league-high sixth win in the Sooners' 10-2 victory over Texas Southern on Tuesday and isn't even part of the weekend rotation. Baylor's Jimmy Winston (3-0., 0.95 ERA) is going against Cade Cavalli (4-1, 2.30) in a matchup of sophomore right-handers in Friday's game, followed by junior lefty Paul Dickens (3-1, 4.01) versus the Sooners' Nathan Wiles (5-1, 3.28) in Saturday's scheduled 3:05 p.m. game.
Baylor hasn't named a starter for Sunday's 3 p.m. series finale, but OU will go with sophomore left-hander Levi Prater (5-3, 2.22).
"Their pitching is really good, so our offense is going to have to be on-point in regards to our execution," Rodriguez said. "Really, just being tough outs, that's going to be a big thing for us. We just have to go out there and play well. We've been doing a really good job in conference so far. As long as we just continue to do that, we should have some pretty good baseball games this weekend."
At 6-2, the Bears sit atop a tightly-bunched standings that has six of the nine teams within two games of first place. Oklahoma is in a three-way tie for third but only a game behind second-place Oklahoma State.
"It's nice to be at the top, but it's so early in the season," Langeliers said. "We've just got to make sure we keep doing our thing and playing our game."
STORY LINES
• The Bears return home to Baylor Ballpark to host Oklahoma for three starting on Friday, April 12 at 6:35 p.m. Game two is set for 3:05 p.m. on Saturday, April 13 and game three is set for Sunday, April 14 at 3:00 p.m.
• The Bears dropped their first extra innings contest of the season on Tuesday, falling to UT Arlington, 2-1 in 13 innings. The 13-inning contest was the longest of the Steve Rodriguez era and the Bears stranded a season-high 18 batters as they just could not get the big hit.. Last weekend the Bears split two games with conference foe Texas after Sunday's rubber match was rained out. The Bears won Friday's game vs. Texas in walk-off fashion, 6-5 and but dropped Saturday's contest, 8-6.
HOW TO WATCH AND STREAM
Friday's game will be televised on FOX Sports Southwest Plus and on the FOX Sports Go App. Saturday's game will be streamed on the FOX Sports Go App and Sunday's contest will be on ESPNU.
Projected Pitching Matchup
Friday, April 12 • 6:35 p.m. CT • RHP Jimmy Winston (3-0, 0.95 ERA) vs. RHP Cade Cavalli (4-1, 2.30 ERA)
Sat., April 13 • 3:05 p.m. CT • LHP Paul Dickens (3-1, 4.01 ERA) vs. RHP Nathan Wiles (5-1, 3.28 ERA)
Sun., April 14 • 3:00 p.m. CT • TBD vs. LHP Levi Prater (5-3, 2.22 ERA)
AGAINST OKLAHOMA
• The Bears are 4-7 against the Sooners under the direction of head coach Steve Rodriguez. The Bears bring a two-game winning streak over the Sooners to the weekend series after defeating them twice en route to the Big 12 Tournament title. The Bears won in the semifinal 10-3 and in the previously in their tournament-opening game, 4-0. The Bears are still looking for their first conference series win over the Sooners under Coach Rod and their first series win since taking two-of-three at home, March 27-29, 2015.
TOPS IN THE CONFERENCE
• The Bears have started Big 12 play 6-2 and sit atop the conference standings. The Bears started conference play 5-1, the best start to conference under Coach Rodriguez and the best over the first two weekends of the season since starting 6-0 in 2012.
IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
• The Bears rank 32nd in scoring (72.) and a top 25 pitching staff (19th in ERA). The Bears boast the seventh-highest batting average in the nation (.313), 23rd in total hits (344), 16th with 2.23 doubles per game, 22nd with 69 total doubles, 15th in slugging percentage (.481), 24th in on-base percentage (0.404) and 32nd in scoring (7.2). The Bears' fielding percentage of 0.979 ranks 13th nationally. On the mound the Bears rank 19th in ERA (3.25) and sixth with just 6.72 hits allowed per nine innings.
