Thursday, April 1
Waco, Texas
6:30 p.m.
Baylor
vs
North Carolina A&T
Photo by: Ellman Photography
Four-Game Series Starts Thursday as BSB Hosts NC A&T
3/31/2021 3:56:00 PM | Baseball
The Bears and the Aggies will start their series tomorrow night at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark
WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball is set for a four-game series against North Carolina A&T beginning on Thursday, April 1 at 6:30 p.m. On Friday, the two sides will play a doubleheader with the seven-inning contest starting at 2 p.m., followed by a nine-inning game approximately 45 minutes after the conclusion of the first contest. The finale was moved up an hour to 12 p.m. on Saturday.
The Bears (14-10) are coming off a midweek win over Texas State on Tuesday, while the Aggies (7-17) are on a four-game losing streak. Individual tickets for the games are still available on BaylorBears.com/tickets.
SERIES INFO
Date: April 1-3 (Thurs.-Sat.)
Game Times: 6:30 p.m./2 p.m. (DH)/12 p.m.
Site: Waco, Texas / Baylor Ballpark (5,000) (50 percent capacity)
TV: Big 12 Now (ESPN+)
• Talent: Pete Sousa (pxp), Pat Combs (color)
Radio: ESPN 1660/92.3 FM
• Talent: Derek Smith (pxp)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Twitter Updates: @BaylorBaseball
Series History: First Meeting
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Hoping to build off a 4-2 win over Texas State that snapped a four-game losing streak, Baylor baseball (14-10) will take a break from conference play to host North Carolina A&T (7-17) in a four-game series starting with Thursday's 6:30 p.m. tilt at Baylor Ballpark.
Freshman Hambleton Oliver, one of six pitchers used in Tuesday's win over Texas State, said it was a "good bounce back" after getting swept by TCU in a three-game series in Fort Worth.
"It was definitely a fun time to be out there and get back to the win column," said Oliver, who could get a start this weekend. "It was good for us, because we could have our guys go out there and we could hit better, pitch better. All aspects of the game, we did better."
Sixth-year head coach Steve Rodriguez made a change in the infield, with Jack Pineda and Tre Richardson swapping positions and moving to shortstop and second base, respectively. They also provided two of the three-straight hits to open the game, with Richardson drilling a two-run triple to left field.
"I've been wanting to do it for a while, but I didn't want to disrupt things," Rodriguez said. "I want to make sure we get some guys kind of moving around in regards to position, just because I have to make sure we're prepared for any possible things tht might pop up with contract tracing and COVID. I might do a few more changes this weekend before we get conference going again next weekend."
In their last non-conference series of the year, the Bears get a North Carolina A&T team that got swept by Florida A&M last weekend and is just 3-13 on the road.
"The biggest thing we've learned is that you have to play well to win," said Pineda, who's hitting .345 with seven doubles and 13 RBI. "We've played some teams where we didn't really have to play our best and still win. Out of the six conference games that we've played, the team that played better won. It's unfortunate that we were the team that played better only one time, but I think we've learned from that."
For Rodriguez, whether it was two of the remaining top-20 teams in the Big 12 play or a four-game series against the visiting Aggies, "I just want to play."
"I don't really care who we're playing or whatever it is, we have things to work on," he said. "Going through the gauntlet of pitching staffs the first two weekends with Texas and TCU, I think it's given us a good opportunity this week to try some things out and get things fixed and get ready for the rest of this home stretch."
The game against Texas State was the first of a nine-game home stand that includes a midweek game against UTA next Tuesday and a back-to-conference series against West Virginia next weekend.
"We're really young, probably one of the youngest teams in our conference right now," Rodriguez said. "We're learning a lot, trying to find some tangible things that we can adjust, making things simple for our guys. . . . I wouldn't say a reboot, it's more of an adjustment period to see what we're doing right, what we're doing wrong and make some adjustments before we get going again."
Baylor and NC A&T will play a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. Friday, then finish the series with a 12 p.m. game Saturday. All four games will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with KWTX-TV anchor Pete Sousa and former Baylor All-American pitcher Pat Combs calling the action.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Thurs. April 1 – Baylor LHP Tyler Thomas (2-2, 2.08 ERA) vs. NC A&T RHP Michael Johnson (0-4, 4.50 ERA)
Fri. April 2 – Baylor RHP Blake Helton (1-2, 4.64 ERA) vs. NC A&T LHP Derek Martinez (0-2, 6.33 ERA)
Fri. April 2 – Baylor TBA vs. NC A&T RHP Xavier Meachem (0-4, 8.16 ERA)
Sat. April 3 – Baylor RHP Hayden Kettler (2-1, 4.79 ERA) vs. NC A&T TBA
STORY LINES
• BU has an impressive 13-5 record against non-conference opponents in 2021.
• Lefthanded pitcher Tyler Thomas was a bright spot for the Bears after carrying a no-hitter into the 5th inning of Friday night's game at No. 12 TCU. Thomas finished the night throwing 6.2 innings while only allowing two runs on four hits and striking out seven. The 6.2 innings set a new career-long outing for the Keller, Texas native. On the season, Thomas is sporting a 2.08 ERA and leads the team in innings pitched (34.2) and strikeouts (37).
• The Bears are still one of the top hitting teams in the country statistically with a .301 team average which is good enough for 2nd in the Big 12 and 21st in the nation. With the Bears 249 hits in 24 games, BU ranks 2nd in the conference and 3rd in the country.
• Jared McKenzie has a .349 average in 2021. McKenzie is 6th in the Big 12 in batting average, T-4th with six home runs, after not hitting any in 2020. He also ranks 3rd in the conference in hits (37) and 7th nationally, in addition, he is T-1st in the league in runs scored (32) and T-2nd in the Big 12 in total bases (63).
• Head Coach Steve Rodriguez is in his sixth year at the helm for the Bears, sporting a 154-108 overall record.
• The Bears are 12-2 this season at Baylor Ballpark. BU has finished its home schedule with a .500 record or better in all 21 seasons (Since 1999) and is 468-208 all-time at the park.
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).
The Bears (14-10) are coming off a midweek win over Texas State on Tuesday, while the Aggies (7-17) are on a four-game losing streak. Individual tickets for the games are still available on BaylorBears.com/tickets.
SERIES INFO
Date: April 1-3 (Thurs.-Sat.)
Game Times: 6:30 p.m./2 p.m. (DH)/12 p.m.
Site: Waco, Texas / Baylor Ballpark (5,000) (50 percent capacity)
TV: Big 12 Now (ESPN+)
• Talent: Pete Sousa (pxp), Pat Combs (color)
Radio: ESPN 1660/92.3 FM
• Talent: Derek Smith (pxp)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast.com
Twitter Updates: @BaylorBaseball
Series History: First Meeting
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Hoping to build off a 4-2 win over Texas State that snapped a four-game losing streak, Baylor baseball (14-10) will take a break from conference play to host North Carolina A&T (7-17) in a four-game series starting with Thursday's 6:30 p.m. tilt at Baylor Ballpark.
Freshman Hambleton Oliver, one of six pitchers used in Tuesday's win over Texas State, said it was a "good bounce back" after getting swept by TCU in a three-game series in Fort Worth.
"It was definitely a fun time to be out there and get back to the win column," said Oliver, who could get a start this weekend. "It was good for us, because we could have our guys go out there and we could hit better, pitch better. All aspects of the game, we did better."
Sixth-year head coach Steve Rodriguez made a change in the infield, with Jack Pineda and Tre Richardson swapping positions and moving to shortstop and second base, respectively. They also provided two of the three-straight hits to open the game, with Richardson drilling a two-run triple to left field.
"I've been wanting to do it for a while, but I didn't want to disrupt things," Rodriguez said. "I want to make sure we get some guys kind of moving around in regards to position, just because I have to make sure we're prepared for any possible things tht might pop up with contract tracing and COVID. I might do a few more changes this weekend before we get conference going again next weekend."
In their last non-conference series of the year, the Bears get a North Carolina A&T team that got swept by Florida A&M last weekend and is just 3-13 on the road.
"The biggest thing we've learned is that you have to play well to win," said Pineda, who's hitting .345 with seven doubles and 13 RBI. "We've played some teams where we didn't really have to play our best and still win. Out of the six conference games that we've played, the team that played better won. It's unfortunate that we were the team that played better only one time, but I think we've learned from that."
For Rodriguez, whether it was two of the remaining top-20 teams in the Big 12 play or a four-game series against the visiting Aggies, "I just want to play."
"I don't really care who we're playing or whatever it is, we have things to work on," he said. "Going through the gauntlet of pitching staffs the first two weekends with Texas and TCU, I think it's given us a good opportunity this week to try some things out and get things fixed and get ready for the rest of this home stretch."
The game against Texas State was the first of a nine-game home stand that includes a midweek game against UTA next Tuesday and a back-to-conference series against West Virginia next weekend.
"We're really young, probably one of the youngest teams in our conference right now," Rodriguez said. "We're learning a lot, trying to find some tangible things that we can adjust, making things simple for our guys. . . . I wouldn't say a reboot, it's more of an adjustment period to see what we're doing right, what we're doing wrong and make some adjustments before we get going again."
Baylor and NC A&T will play a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. Friday, then finish the series with a 12 p.m. game Saturday. All four games will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with KWTX-TV anchor Pete Sousa and former Baylor All-American pitcher Pat Combs calling the action.
PITCHING MATCHUP
Thurs. April 1 – Baylor LHP Tyler Thomas (2-2, 2.08 ERA) vs. NC A&T RHP Michael Johnson (0-4, 4.50 ERA)
Fri. April 2 – Baylor RHP Blake Helton (1-2, 4.64 ERA) vs. NC A&T LHP Derek Martinez (0-2, 6.33 ERA)
Fri. April 2 – Baylor TBA vs. NC A&T RHP Xavier Meachem (0-4, 8.16 ERA)
Sat. April 3 – Baylor RHP Hayden Kettler (2-1, 4.79 ERA) vs. NC A&T TBA
STORY LINES
• BU has an impressive 13-5 record against non-conference opponents in 2021.
• Lefthanded pitcher Tyler Thomas was a bright spot for the Bears after carrying a no-hitter into the 5th inning of Friday night's game at No. 12 TCU. Thomas finished the night throwing 6.2 innings while only allowing two runs on four hits and striking out seven. The 6.2 innings set a new career-long outing for the Keller, Texas native. On the season, Thomas is sporting a 2.08 ERA and leads the team in innings pitched (34.2) and strikeouts (37).
• The Bears are still one of the top hitting teams in the country statistically with a .301 team average which is good enough for 2nd in the Big 12 and 21st in the nation. With the Bears 249 hits in 24 games, BU ranks 2nd in the conference and 3rd in the country.
• Jared McKenzie has a .349 average in 2021. McKenzie is 6th in the Big 12 in batting average, T-4th with six home runs, after not hitting any in 2020. He also ranks 3rd in the conference in hits (37) and 7th nationally, in addition, he is T-1st in the league in runs scored (32) and T-2nd in the Big 12 in total bases (63).
• Head Coach Steve Rodriguez is in his sixth year at the helm for the Bears, sporting a 154-108 overall record.
• The Bears are 12-2 this season at Baylor Ballpark. BU has finished its home schedule with a .500 record or better in all 21 seasons (Since 1999) and is 468-208 all-time at the park.
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).
Players Mentioned
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