Baseball Heads to Fort Worth to Play No. 12 TCU

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            The Big 12 office certainly didn't do Baylor baseball (13-7, 1-2) any favors with a schedule that had the Bears opening with 10^th-ranked Texas and then going on the road this weekend to face No. 12-ranked TCU (13-7) in Fort Worth.
            But, after last year's entire conference slate was wiped out by COVID-19, Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez says, "I just like being able to jump in play, regardless of who it is."
            After dropping a pair of close games to the Longhorns in the opening weekend, the Bears bounced back to take Sunday's game, 11-2. Fifth-year senior Hayden Kettler (2-0, 1.45 ERA) gave up just one earned run on four hits and no walks with six strikeouts in 7.0 innings.
            "We have a lot of guys who have not played Big 12 baseball yet," Rodriguez said. "So, that was a good taste for them playing against a really good Texas team. Minus a couple mistakes, I thought they played really well. And I'm expecting the same thing this weekend. I want them to play relaxed, play to have some fun and do what they're capable of doing."
            What the Bears can do is hit with the best of them. They lead the league and rank sixth nationally with a .325 batting average.
            Led by second-year freshman centerfielder Jared McKenzie, who's hitting .374 with six homers and 20 RBI, eight of Baylor's everyday players are hitting better than .300.
            They will be challenged by a TCU pitching staff that ranks among the league leaders with a 3.57 ERA (4^th), 215 strikeouts (2^nd) and a .223 opponent's batting average (2^nd).
            Baylor's Tyler Thomas (2-1, 1.93 ERA) will go against TCU's Russell Smith (3-1, 2.39) in Friday's 6:30 p.m. series opener in a matchup of left-handers, followed by Baylor righty Blake Helton (1-1, 4.43) versus TCU left-hander Austin Krob (2-0, 3.16) in Saturday's 2 p.m. game and Kettler going in Sunday's 1 p.m. series finale, opposed by TCU righty Johnny Ray (1-1, 3.31).
            "They had a tremendous amount of turnover, so we're going to have really learn who they are," Rodriguez said of TCU, which is opening up league play this weekend after winning two of three on the road last weekend at Louisiana-Lafayette. "We know they have really good pitching, good team speed, they're going to play better defense. The biggest thing for us is just eliminating the free bases."
            Kettler has been one of the best at that, walking just two batters in 18.2 innings in three quality starts. He has given up a combined three earned runs and held teams to a .164 batting average.
            "You hear about it in Major League baseball all the time, it's the veteran factor," Rodriguez said. "You have a guy who knows who he is, knows what he can do. When you see guys in Major League Baseball who are older, but they continue to find a way to be on teams, it's because they're trustworthy, they have the ability to go out there and create some constancy and some normalcy. And that's what Hayden does for us. He has the ability to get deep into games, which really helps our team win."

SERIES INFO
Date: March 26-28 (Fri.-Sun.)
Game Times: 6:30 p.m./2 p.m./1 p.m.
Site: Fort Worth, Texas / Lupton Baseball Stadium (4,500)
TV: Big 12 Now (ESPN+)
• Talent: Chuck LaMendola (pxp), Connor Wanhanen (color)
Radio: ESPN 1660/92.3 FM
• Talent: Derek Smith (pxp)
Live Stats: GoFrogs.com
Twitter Updates: @BaylorBaseball
Series History: BU leads, 150-124
                        Streak: TCU, W1
                        First Meeting: April 4, 1904
                        Last Meeting: May 25, 2019 (TCU, 5-2)
                        Under Rodriguez: 10-5

PITCHING MATCHUP
Fri. March 26 – Baylor LHP Tyler Thomas (2-1, 1.93 ERA) vs. TCU LHP Russell Smith (3-1, 2.39 ERA)
Sat. March 27 – Baylor RHP Blake Helton (1-1, 4.43 ERA) vs. TCU LHP Austin Krob (2-0, 3.16 ERA)
Sun. March 28 – Baylor RHP Hayden Kettler (2-0, 1.45 ERA) vs. TCU RHP Johnny Ray (1-1, 3.38 ERA)

STORY LINES
• The Bears have swept the last two series against the Horned Frogs in 2018 and 2019. In those six games, BU outscored TCU 49-11. Baylor also won the series in 2017 and 2016. Head Coach Steve Rodriguez is 10-5 all-time against TCU, including a 5-1 at Lupton Baseball Stadium.

• The Bears are first in the nation with 229 total hits and are averaging a league-best .325 batting average (6th in the nation). Eight of Baylor's top 10 hitters are hitting .300 or better with Jared McKenzie (.374) and Jack Pineda (.372) leading the way. On the season, BU has had double-digit hits in 15-of-20 games.

• Friday night and Sunday afternoon starters, Tyler Thomas and Hayden Kettler have been on a tear in the rotation this season. Thomas has continued to impress after compiling a 1.93 ERA while sporting a 2-1 record. The Keller, Texas native has a team-best 30 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .184 batting average in five starts. Thomas has thrown more innings than he did last year as he threw a total of 6.2 innings, all in relief after coming off of surgery to remove a rib in June 2019 due to his Thoracic Outlet Syndrome.

• As a fifth-year senior, Kettler has anchored down the rotation with a 1.45 ERA and 2-0 record in his three Sunday starts. The Coppell, Texas native has struck out 18 batters compared to two walks in 18.2 innings pitched. In his last two starts, he has tied his career-long outing by going seven innings vs. Xavier (March 14) and vs. Texas (March 21) and having a combined 0.64 ERA in those two starts

• Fifth-year senior Andy Thomas finished last week hitting 11-for-21 (.524) and a .905 slugging percentage, including two home runs, two doubles, seven runs scored and eight RBI in the five games. On the week he also finished second in the Big 12 in total bases (19). In his first Big 12 series in 2021, he went 8-for-15 (.615) with five runs and three RBI against No. 10 Texas. On the season, Thomas is hitting .355, with 24 RBI (3rd in Big 12) and 24 runs scored (5th in Big 12). For his efforts, he was named the Bobby Bragan Player of the Week on Wednesday.

To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on Facebook (Baylor Baseball), Twitter (@BaylorBaseball) and Instagram (@BaylorBaseball).

Baseball Heads to Fort Worth to Play No. 12 TCU

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Players Mentioned

Blake Helton

Hayden Kettler

Jared McKenzie

Jack Pineda

Andy Thomas

Tyler Thomas

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