Friday, May 7
Waco, Texas
6:30 p.m.
Baylor
vs
Kansas State
Baseball Back in Action with Home Series Versus K-State
5/6/2021 4:34:00 PM | Baseball
The Bears and Wildcats will play game one on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Waco
WACO, Texas – Baylor is back following exam week with a three-game series against Kansas State beginning on Friday, May 7 at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears (27-13, 7-8 Big 12) and Wildcats (27-16, 6-9 Big 12) will play game two on Saturday at 3 p.m. and then the series finale on Sunday at 12 p.m.
The Bears are 51-27 all-time against the Wildcats, while Coach Rodriguez is 7-5 against K-State. Baylor has won the last two series against K-State, including the most recent in 2019 in Waco. BU holds a 29-9 record against Kansas State in Waco.
Promotions for the weekend contest include a Baylor pennant giveaway (Fri.) and trading card giveaway (Sat.). On Friday, the six-time national champion Baylor acrobatics and tumbling team will throw out the first pitch.
SERIES INFO
Date: May 7-9 (Fri.-Sun.)
Game Times: 6:30 p.m./3 p.m./12 p.m.
Site: Waco, Texas /Baylor Ballpark (5,000) (50 percent)
TV: Big 12 Now (ESPN+)
• Talent: (Fri.) John Morris (pxp), Pat Combs (color); (Sat.-Sun.) Pete Sousa (pxp)
Radio: ESPN 1660/92.3FM
• Talent: Derek Smith (pxp)
Live Stats: BaylorBears.com
Twitter Updates: @BaylorBaseball
Series History: BU leads, 51-27
Streak: KSU, W1
First Meeting: March 28, 1996
Last Meeting: May 3-5, 2019 (BU won series)
Under Rodriguez: 7-5
PITCHING MATCHUP
Fri. May 7 – RHP Hayden Kettler (3-2, 3.71 ERA) vs. RHP Connor McCullough (4-2, 4.17 ERA)
Sat. May 8 – LHP Cam Caley (1-1, 5.23 ERA) vs. LHP Jordan Wicks (5-2, 3.36 ERA)
Sun. May 9 – RHP Blake Helton (3-2, 3.29 ERA) vs. RHP Kasey Ford (4-0, 1.59 ERA)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Living the dream.
Obviously, every one of Baylor's baseball players are here as student-athletes – student comes first. But with the spring semester final exams behind them, it's all baseball, all the time.
"I'll be honest, that's most players' dream," said fifth-year senior pitcher Hayden Kettler (3-2, 3.71), who will get the start when the Bears (27-13, 7-8) face Kansas State (27-16, 6-9) at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the first of a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark. "Waking up every day and knowing that I've got to go to the field and practice and work out and that's it. That's fun to be able to really focus on baseball, and I think it helps with the energy on the team."
Taking a nine-day break for finals, Baylor is playing its first game since a 14-0, run-rule victory over Prairie View A&M on April 27. The Bears have won 14 of their last 17 games, including series victories over West Virginia, Kansas and then-No. 5 Texas Tech.
"Breaks are great, because it gives everybody a chance to recoup," Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez said. "(Now), you get to focus on baseball and come out here as much as you want to hit, throw. You don't have to worry about some of the other things that can be on your plate. But, we were playing really well before finals happened. Now, we're hoping with timing and rhythm and all that, stuff falls into place again."
One snag before the first pitch was "some COVID issues," Rodriguez said, but "just based off the privacy things, I'm not going to talk about names or the numbers of guys who are kind of dealing with it."
These types of issues are why the NCAA did away with the standard 35-player roster max for this season. The Bears have 46 players listed on the roster.
"The expanded roster definitely helps," Rodriguez said. "We told our guys there would be moments like this. I thought we've done an amazing job throughout the fall, throughout spring, managing it really well. For us, we've explained it to our guys, everybody needs to be ready at any moment, because things like these can happen. It's unfortunate, but at the same time, it's an opportunity for someone else."
That's been the theme all season. If one player goes down, it's just the next man up.
"I think everybody has the same mentality," Kettler said. "If your name is called, this is an opportunity to not just prove what you can do but also to help the team. We've got so many guys that can be good in any situation. . . . The way it works is we've still got to win the games. However that looks, or however it needs to get done, it's got to get done."
Throughout his career, Kettler has pitched in just about every situation, coming out of the bullpen some as a freshman, starting midweek games and starting each of the three days in weekend series. The only role he hasn't take on is closer, but Luke Boyd seems to have a good handle on that with a Big 12-leading eight saves (sixth in the country) and a 1.35 ERA in 18 appearances this season.
"I think Luke and I have kind of established ourselves in different roles," Kettler said. "I'm sure if you asked Luke if he could cover my spot, he would say yeah. So, I'm going to say yeah, I could cover his spot if Coach would let me."
After getting swept by TCU (March 26-28) in the second conference series, Rodriguez switched up infield roles, with second-year freshman Tre Richardson moving from shortstop to second and trading places with sophomore Jack Pineda.
"I think it just helped us get back to being confident in what we're here to do and why we're here," said Richardson, who's hitting .298 with 13 doubles, three homers and 29 RBI. "That was a real punch in the mouth getting swept the way we did. But, I think getting down here and knowing we have to change some things to get where we want to go was the biggest point. And we've taken off since then."
With the recent surge, the Bears are up to fourth in the Big 12 standings and 31st in the latest RPI rankings. Most projections have them slotted for a NCAA regional berth.
"We just take it with a grain of salt," Richardson said. "The biggest thing we focus on I just the fact that we were counted out at the beginning of the season. Just having that motivation, and going out and winning games, we've seen ourselves climb. It's cool to see, but we've still got business to take care of. It's just nice to start getting the recognition we deserve."
While Kettler will be opposed by K-State righthander Connor McCullough (4-2, 4.17 ERA) in Friday's 6:30 p.m. game, Baylor freshman lefty Cam Caley (1-1, 5.23) will get his first weekend start in Saturday's 3 p.m. game and Blake Helton (3-2, 3.29) will slide to Sunday's 12 p.m. series finale.
STORY LINES
• The Bears are 20-3 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 474-208 all-time at the park.
• Baylor is in the postseason conversation after going 13-3 in the month of April. Both D1Baseball and Baseball America have the Bears projected as a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Bears have climbed all the way up to the No. 4 spot in the Big 12 after starting conference play 1-5 in March. The Bears currently have a 31 RPI and are receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the second-straight week.
• Baylor is outscoring its opponents 46-19 in the first inning and has a 21-6 when scoring first (20-5 when scoring in the first frame). The Bears also hold a 31-15 advantage in the eighth inning.
• Fifth-year senior Andy Thomas was on a tear bringing runners home as he was on a 13-game RBI streak from 4/1-4/23. Thomas has had at least one RBI in 14 of his last 16 games. On the season, Thomas has a career-best 44 RBI, which is first on the team and 3rd in the Big 12. His 44 RBI in 39 games is also 13th in the country.
• Baylor has scored double-digit runs in 11 games in 2021. The Bears are first in the Big 12 in batting average (15th nationally) with a .303 clip. BU is second in the Big 12 in earned run average with a 3.48 ERA (15th nationally) and has allowed the least amount of earned runs in the league.
• Individually, the Bears have a number of players at the top of the conference as second-year freshman Jared McKenzie is 1st in runs scored (7th in the nation), 2nd in hits (8th in the nation), 2nd in triples (9th in the nation), 4th in batting average, Thomas is 5th in RBI, Luke Boyd is 1st in saves (11th in the nation) with eight, Jimmy Winston is 2nd in wins with six, while Ryan Leckich is 1st in pitching appearances with 19.
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 are 51-27 all-time against the Wildcats, while Coach Rodriguez is 7-5 against K-State. Baylor has won the last two series against K-State, including the most recent in 2019 in Waco. BU holds a 29-9 record against Kansas State in Waco.
Promotions for the weekend contest include a Baylor pennant giveaway (Fri.) and trading card giveaway (Sat.). On Friday, the six-time national champion Baylor acrobatics and tumbling team will throw out the first pitch.
SERIES INFO
Date: May 7-9 (Fri.-Sun.)
Game Times: 6:30 p.m./3 p.m./12 p.m.
Site: Waco, Texas /Baylor Ballpark (5,000) (50 percent)
TV: Big 12 Now (ESPN+)
• Talent: (Fri.) John Morris (pxp), Pat Combs (color); (Sat.-Sun.) Pete Sousa (pxp)
Radio: ESPN 1660/92.3FM
• Talent: Derek Smith (pxp)
Live Stats: BaylorBears.com
Twitter Updates: @BaylorBaseball
Series History: BU leads, 51-27
Streak: KSU, W1
First Meeting: March 28, 1996
Last Meeting: May 3-5, 2019 (BU won series)
Under Rodriguez: 7-5
PITCHING MATCHUP
Fri. May 7 – RHP Hayden Kettler (3-2, 3.71 ERA) vs. RHP Connor McCullough (4-2, 4.17 ERA)
Sat. May 8 – LHP Cam Caley (1-1, 5.23 ERA) vs. LHP Jordan Wicks (5-2, 3.36 ERA)
Sun. May 9 – RHP Blake Helton (3-2, 3.29 ERA) vs. RHP Kasey Ford (4-0, 1.59 ERA)
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Living the dream.
Obviously, every one of Baylor's baseball players are here as student-athletes – student comes first. But with the spring semester final exams behind them, it's all baseball, all the time.
"I'll be honest, that's most players' dream," said fifth-year senior pitcher Hayden Kettler (3-2, 3.71), who will get the start when the Bears (27-13, 7-8) face Kansas State (27-16, 6-9) at 6:30 p.m. Friday in the first of a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark. "Waking up every day and knowing that I've got to go to the field and practice and work out and that's it. That's fun to be able to really focus on baseball, and I think it helps with the energy on the team."
Taking a nine-day break for finals, Baylor is playing its first game since a 14-0, run-rule victory over Prairie View A&M on April 27. The Bears have won 14 of their last 17 games, including series victories over West Virginia, Kansas and then-No. 5 Texas Tech.
"Breaks are great, because it gives everybody a chance to recoup," Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez said. "(Now), you get to focus on baseball and come out here as much as you want to hit, throw. You don't have to worry about some of the other things that can be on your plate. But, we were playing really well before finals happened. Now, we're hoping with timing and rhythm and all that, stuff falls into place again."
One snag before the first pitch was "some COVID issues," Rodriguez said, but "just based off the privacy things, I'm not going to talk about names or the numbers of guys who are kind of dealing with it."
These types of issues are why the NCAA did away with the standard 35-player roster max for this season. The Bears have 46 players listed on the roster.
"The expanded roster definitely helps," Rodriguez said. "We told our guys there would be moments like this. I thought we've done an amazing job throughout the fall, throughout spring, managing it really well. For us, we've explained it to our guys, everybody needs to be ready at any moment, because things like these can happen. It's unfortunate, but at the same time, it's an opportunity for someone else."
That's been the theme all season. If one player goes down, it's just the next man up.
"I think everybody has the same mentality," Kettler said. "If your name is called, this is an opportunity to not just prove what you can do but also to help the team. We've got so many guys that can be good in any situation. . . . The way it works is we've still got to win the games. However that looks, or however it needs to get done, it's got to get done."
Throughout his career, Kettler has pitched in just about every situation, coming out of the bullpen some as a freshman, starting midweek games and starting each of the three days in weekend series. The only role he hasn't take on is closer, but Luke Boyd seems to have a good handle on that with a Big 12-leading eight saves (sixth in the country) and a 1.35 ERA in 18 appearances this season.
"I think Luke and I have kind of established ourselves in different roles," Kettler said. "I'm sure if you asked Luke if he could cover my spot, he would say yeah. So, I'm going to say yeah, I could cover his spot if Coach would let me."
After getting swept by TCU (March 26-28) in the second conference series, Rodriguez switched up infield roles, with second-year freshman Tre Richardson moving from shortstop to second and trading places with sophomore Jack Pineda.
"I think it just helped us get back to being confident in what we're here to do and why we're here," said Richardson, who's hitting .298 with 13 doubles, three homers and 29 RBI. "That was a real punch in the mouth getting swept the way we did. But, I think getting down here and knowing we have to change some things to get where we want to go was the biggest point. And we've taken off since then."
With the recent surge, the Bears are up to fourth in the Big 12 standings and 31st in the latest RPI rankings. Most projections have them slotted for a NCAA regional berth.
"We just take it with a grain of salt," Richardson said. "The biggest thing we focus on I just the fact that we were counted out at the beginning of the season. Just having that motivation, and going out and winning games, we've seen ourselves climb. It's cool to see, but we've still got business to take care of. It's just nice to start getting the recognition we deserve."
While Kettler will be opposed by K-State righthander Connor McCullough (4-2, 4.17 ERA) in Friday's 6:30 p.m. game, Baylor freshman lefty Cam Caley (1-1, 5.23) will get his first weekend start in Saturday's 3 p.m. game and Blake Helton (3-2, 3.29) will slide to Sunday's 12 p.m. series finale.
STORY LINES
• The Bears are 20-3 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 474-208 all-time at the park.
• Baylor is in the postseason conversation after going 13-3 in the month of April. Both D1Baseball and Baseball America have the Bears projected as a No. 2 or No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Bears have climbed all the way up to the No. 4 spot in the Big 12 after starting conference play 1-5 in March. The Bears currently have a 31 RPI and are receiving votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the second-straight week.
• Baylor is outscoring its opponents 46-19 in the first inning and has a 21-6 when scoring first (20-5 when scoring in the first frame). The Bears also hold a 31-15 advantage in the eighth inning.
• Fifth-year senior Andy Thomas was on a tear bringing runners home as he was on a 13-game RBI streak from 4/1-4/23. Thomas has had at least one RBI in 14 of his last 16 games. On the season, Thomas has a career-best 44 RBI, which is first on the team and 3rd in the Big 12. His 44 RBI in 39 games is also 13th in the country.
• Baylor has scored double-digit runs in 11 games in 2021. The Bears are first in the Big 12 in batting average (15th nationally) with a .303 clip. BU is second in the Big 12 in earned run average with a 3.48 ERA (15th nationally) and has allowed the least amount of earned runs in the league.
• Individually, the Bears have a number of players at the top of the conference as second-year freshman Jared McKenzie is 1st in runs scored (7th in the nation), 2nd in hits (8th in the nation), 2nd in triples (9th in the nation), 4th in batting average, Thomas is 5th in RBI, Luke Boyd is 1st in saves (11th in the nation) with eight, Jimmy Winston is 2nd in wins with six, while Ryan Leckich is 1st in pitching appearances with 19.
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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