BSB Closes Out Regular Season with Home Series vs. OU

Thursday, May 20

Waco, Texas

6:30 p.m.

Baylor

Oklahoma

BSB Closes Out Regular Season with Home Series vs. OU

5/19/2021 7:34:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes

The Bears and Sooners will begin the series Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Coming off its first series loss in seven weeks, Baylor baseball (30-16, 10-11) will close out the regular season by hosting the Oklahoma Sooners (25-25, 9-12) in a three-game series that starts Thursday at Baylor Ballpark.
            The Bears showed their resiliency by bouncing back from a couple difficult losses to beat Oklahoma State, 9-3, in Sunday's series finale in Stillwater. It was the third-straight Sunday win and fourth time in conference play that Baylor has won the series finale.
            "The way things go with our guys, the more we play, the better we get," Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez said. "Just really happy with where we are right now."
            One of 13 seniors that will be honored in Saturday's 3 p.m. series finale, catcher Andy Thomas said the Bears' conference record would potentially be a lot better if "a couple different pitches go our way in three or four games."
            "We're in those Friday and Saturday games quite a bit," said Thomas, who is hitting .343 with 10 homers and 54 RBI. "But, (the Sunday games), we light a fire under our butts and seem to get after it a little bit more. . . . Going in and getting swept somewhere leaves you feeling helpless, but 1-2 actually feels like somewhat of a tiny victory coming out of there with a win, especially on Sunday. Better bus ride back home."
            With Baylor at No. 31 in the latest RPI rankings and not selected as one of the potential host sites for an NCAA regional, the three-game series against the Sooners will be the last home games for Thomas and the rest of the seniors.
            Also honored prior to Saturday's series finale will be pitchers Jacob Ashkinos, Luke Boyd, Logan Freeman, Brooks Heimer, Hayden Kettler, Ryan Leckich, Tyler Thomas and Jimmy Winston, outfielder Davion Downey, catcher Kyle Harper and infielders Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo and Chase Wehsener.
            "I've thought about it, we all have, all the seniors," Winston said. "But, it's been fun, that's all I can say. It's been the best time of my life."
            Thomas said he has tried not to think about it too much. "I'm sure it will set in on Saturday when it's actually the last game. But, not too much. I'm just focused on getting a couple wins."
            "These guys are brothers, honestly," Thomas said. "When I first came in, Matt Menard and all those guys talked about these guys being your brothers, but you don't really understand it until you've spent that time with them, when you've spent the countless hours of workouts and practices and on the road, tough losses together, all the stuff that bonds people so well. Each and every one of these older guys are my brothers for life."
            Thomas (5-2, 2.49 ERA) will start Thursday's 6:30 p.m. game for the Bears and will be opposed by Oklahoma senior left-hander Jason Ruffcorn (4-1, 2.68), the son of former Baylor pitcher and first-round draft pick Scott Ruffcorn.
            "He's a big power arm that's pretty dominant," Thomas said of Ruffcorn, who struck out nine in six innings but gave up seven runs in the Sooners' 9-8, 10-inning win over Texas Tech last Friday. "We're going to have to get after him. And I think once we get after him a little bit, the rest of the weekend is a little bit of a let-up. But, we can't think that way. We've got to think, just smash the ball all over the yard and try to beat them by as many as possible, honestly."
            The Bears are 30-19 against the Sooners in Waco, but trail the all-time series, 51-48, including a 9-3 loss on Feb. 28 in the Round Rock Classic at Dell Diamond. With a series sweep, Baylor would finish 13-11 in conference play and jump ahead of Oklahoma State to earn the fourth seed for next week's Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City.
            Oklahoma has not named starting pitchers for the Friday (6:30 p.m.) or Saturday games, but the Bears will stick with their normal rotation of Kettler (4-3, 3.27) on Friday and sophomore Blake Helton (4-2, 3.20) on Saturday.
            "I don't think we manage it really any differently," Rodriguez said. "The biggest thing is making sure you try to get our pitching lined up. Weather is going to be a concern for this weekend, but for the most part I think we're going to be OK. We might have some scattered showers, but I don't think we're going to get stuck with any 12 hours of rain."

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball finishes the regular season with a home series against Oklahoma beginning on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. in Baylor Ballpark with 100 percent capacity. The Bears (30-16, 10-11 Big 12) and the Sooners (25-25, 9-12 Big 12) will play game two on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and the finale on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Promotions for this weekend include a trading card giveaway on Thursday, and foam Bear paw and pennant giveaway on Friday. Saturday is Senior Day as Baylor will honor 13 seniors; Jacob Ashkinos, Luke Boyd, Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo, Davion Downey, Logan Freeman, Kyle Harper, Brooks Helmer, Hayden Kettler, Ryan Leckich, Andy Thomas, Tyler Thomas, Chase Wehsener and Jimmy Winston all being recognized approximately 30 minutes before first pitch.

Oklahoma leads the all-time series 51-48, including winning the matchup in the 2021 Round Rock Classic earlier this season, 9-3 on Feb. 28. Baylor leads 30-19 in Waco, while head coach Steve Rodriguez is 7-9 against the Sooners.

SERIES INFO
Date: May 20-22 (Thurs.-Sat.)
Game Times: 6:30 p.m./6:30 p.m./3 p.m.
Site: Waco, Texas /Baylor Ballpark (5,000)
TV: Big 12 Now (ESPN+)
• Talent: Lincoln Rose (pxp) (Thurs. & Fri.), Pete Sousa (pxp) (Sat.), Pat Combs (color)
Radio: ESPN 1660/92.3FM
• Talent: Derek Smith (pxp)
Live Stats: BaylorBears.com
Twitter Updates: @BaylorBaseball
Series History: OU leads 51-48
                        Streak: Oklahoma, W1
                        First Meeting: 1936
                        Last Meeting: Feb. 28, 2021 (OU won 9-3)
                        Under Rodriguez: 7-9

PITCHING MATCHUP
Thurs. May 20 – LHP Tyler Thomas (5-2, 2.49 ERA) vs. LHP Jason Ruffcorn (4-1, 2.68 ERA)
Fri. May 21 – RHP Hayden Kettler (4-3, 3.27 ERA) vs. TBA
Sat. May 22 – RHP Blake Helton (4-2, 3.20 ERA) vs. TBA

STORY LINES
• Baylor is in the postseason conversation after winning 17 of its last 23 games. Both D1Baseball and Baseball America have the Bears projected as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Bears have climbed all the way up to the No. 5 spot in the Big 12 after starting conference play 1-5 in March. BU has an RPI of 31.

• If Baylor stays at the No. 5 spot in the Big 12, the Bears will have a first-round matchup with No. 4 seed Oklahoma State in next week's Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament. Baylor would need to sweep Oklahoma this weekend to move up to the No. 4 seed. The Bears could move up to the No. 3 spot with a sweep and with a series win from Kansas at Texas Tech.

• Fifth-year senior Andy Thomas has reached safely in 22 straight games and has a career-long 14-game streak. He leads the team and is 4th in the Big 12 in batting average (.373) through 21 conference games.

• After a slow start to his Baylor career, true freshman Cam Caley has become a reliable piece on the mound for the Bears. Over his last seven appearances, Caley has an impressive 0.44 ERA in 20.2 innings of work. He earned his second career win on Sunday after hurling 2.1 innings against No. 21 Oklahoma State.

• On the season, second-year freshman Jared McKenzie is hitting .377 (3rd Big 12), while leading the league and 7th in the nation in runs scored with 56. In addition, McKenzie's 117 total bases are 6th in the Big 12 and 33rd nationally.

• Baylor is outscoring its opponents 53-19 in the first inning and has a 24-9 record when scoring first (23-5 when scoring in the first frame). The Bears also hold a 37-15 advantage in the eighth inning.

• Baylor has scored double-digit runs in 13 games in 2021. The Bears are first in the Big 12 in batting average (13th nationally) with a .306 clip and second in the conference in earned run average with a 3.49 ERA (13th nationally).

• Individually, the Bears have a number of players at the top of the conference as McKenzie is 1st in runs scored (7th in the nation), 2nd in hits (10th in the nation), 3rd in batting average, Andy Thomas is 3rd in RBI, Hayden Kettler is 3rd in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.78) and 2nd in walks per nine innings (1.47), Tyler Thomas is T-2nd in opp. batting average (.202) and 5th in ERA (2.49), while Luke Boyd is 3rd in saves (22nd in the nation) with eight.

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).