Baylor
Columbia
BSB Welcomes Columbia For Weekend Series
3/10/2022 2:57:00 PM | Baseball
Bears are 4-0 all-time against Ivy League teams
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BAYLOR BEARS (7-5, 0-0 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Steve Rodriguez (Pepperdine, 2001) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (7-5, 0-0) vs COLUMBIA (3-4, 0-0) March 12, 2022 • 2:00 p.m. CT (DH 1) March 12, 2022 • 6:00 p.m. CT (DH 2) March 13, 2022 • 3:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Baylor Ballpark (5,000) LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Talent: Pete Sousa (PxP), Pat Combs (Analyst) LISTEN: Fox Sports Central Texas 1330 AM/93.9 FM (Fri-Sat) Talent: Ryan Boyd (PxP), Ryan Bertelsman (Analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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COLUMBIA LIONS (3-4, 0-0 IVY LEAGUE) Location: New York City, N.Y. Conference/Affiliation: Ivy League Head Coach: Brett Boretti (Davidson, 1994) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Playing six of its last eight games against ranked teams, Baylor baseball (7-5) had Duke, UCLA, Tennessee and LSU targeted squarely in its sights, winning two of three against the Blue Devils and two at the Shriners Children's College Classic.
Much like it was in Wednesday's 6-4 win at Abilene Christian, the Bears will have the target on them for a three-game series this weekend at Baylor Ballpark against the Ivy League Columbia Lions (3-4). The series starts with a 3 p.m. game Friday, weather permitting, followed by 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.
"The biggest thing was going into an environment like that, where you're playing in front of 15,000 to 20,000 people against really good teams, and you see your team step up," said Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez, whose team has won seven of its last nine after an 0-3 start.
"They didn't cower down to it, they didn't get nervous by it. You want to see your team get iso-focused on the task at hand, and that's what I really liked. I explained to them that when we go play teams, even at Abilene Christian, they're iso-focused on us, beating us, and they were on top of their game. We also have to understand we're going to have a target on us."
Rodriguez said the key is "playing the baseball that we know how and keeping the focus and the target on the game, not so much on your opponent."
"That's what I think our guys have done really well is, they're not so much worried about what the other color uniform is," he said, "as opposed to just playing against the game and executing offensively and defensively. When you do that, you're going to have some success."
Baylor's come up with big hits, beating UCLA, 2-1, on a two-run homer by Kyle Nevin, getting a go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth inning of Sunday's 9-6 win over No. 7 LSU and then a pinch-hit, three-run blast by freshman Casen Neumann in the eighth inning of the 6-4 win at ACU.
"We've just kind of gotten some experience now, coming off last year, and not letting those situations get to us," said Nevin, who leads the team with two homers and 12 RBI. "Just knowing that we have what it takes, and everybody can contribute in their ways. Just staying positive and not letting pressure really affect us that much."
Neumann's home run was just the freshman's second at-bat of the season.
"It's just been a matter of where we can put Casen in there to get him some at-bats," Rodriguez said. "We needed Beau (Wimpee) to go up there and get on base, which he did. Then, Alex (Gonzales) does a good job getting a single. Next thing you know, we've got second and third, and I'm just looking for somebody to get a ball elevated, and Casen has the ability to do that. They threw a pitch down and in, and he got the barrel to it. That was really impressive."
After getting swept by Maryland in the season-opening series at Baylor Ballpark, Rodriguez didn't go in and make wholesale changes. The Bears made some "uncharacteristic defensive mistakes . . . that ended up getting us beat."
"Watching how we've played, you start to do things that are more characteristic of how we do things and how our guys play," Rodriguez said. "And watching each one kind of settle into who they are as players and people, it starts to make a little more sense and gives us a lot more confidence as well."
Not that the team didn't have confidence going into the opening series, "but we're definitely building on it," Nevin said.
"Winning gets contagious, energy gets contagious," Nevin said. "We've got to stay positive. Everybody is up in the dugout and gets going."
Baylor's confidence starts with fifth-year senior ace Tyler Thomas (2-1, 1.31 ERA). The reigning Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, Thomas extended his scoreless-inning streak to 19.2 innings before giving up a solo home run in the ninth inning of the 2-1 win over No. 23 UCLA.
"For me to come out and throw that first pitch of the game as a strike, that sets the energy," Thomas said. "Maryland, I know I did not go out there and throw a first-pitch strike, and the dugout was silent. When you go out there and throw the first pitch as strike one, it gets everybody going and sets the tone."
Through his first three starts, Thomas has "done a great job of keeping their offenses off-balance, keeping our defense engaged and getting the big pitch when he needs it," Rodriguez said.
"Watching him go through the roller coaster of emotions from freshman year to now, it's just great for a coach to see," Rodriguez said, "because players who have that ability to withstand some of that storm and then come out on this end, it's pretty special."
Thomas will be matched against Columbia right-hander Sean Higgins (1-1, 6.00) in Friday's game. Jake Jackson (1-2, 6.75) and Will Rigney (0-0, 6.52 ERA) will try to bounce back from tough outings in starting the Saturday and Sunday games, respectively.
"If we play our game, we can compete with the best in the country," Thomas said. "Those three teams we played (in Houston) are up there as the best in the country. And if we play our brand of baseball and continue to execute, it'll be good for us. It just shows that we can compete with the best in the game."
All three games of the series will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Pete Sousa and former Baylor pitcher Pat Combs calling the action.
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor is heating up, having won seven of its last nine games after being swept by Maryland in the season-opening series.
• This marks the eighth time in the last four seasons that Baylor has gone on a stretch with at least seven wins and no more than two losses over the course of at least nine games.
• Last week, the Bears went 3-1 with a 2-1 record at the Shriners Children's College Classic, tying for the tournament's best record. No. 23 UCLA was crowned Tournament Champions thanks to a plus-15 run differential, which broke the four-way tie.
• BU boasts a 4-2 record against ranked opponents in 2022, with wins over No. 23 Duke, No. 23 UCLA and No. 7 LSU.
• Baylor is 75-30 (.714) in home games over the last five seasons.
• Baylor stays close to home in 2022, as 43 of its 52 regular-season contests will be played in the state of Texas.
• BU doesn't leave The Lone Star State until March 25-27, when it travels to take on Oklahoma in Norman.
SERIES HISTORY BY THE NUMBERS
• Baylor and Columbia have never met.
• The Bears are 4-0 against Ivy League teams all-time.
• BU last hosted an Ivy League team in Cornell in 2018, sweeping the three-game series.
• Baylor also previously defeated Cornell in 1997 in its first matchup against an Ivy League school.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Saturday, March 12 • 2:00 p.m. CT • LHP Tyler Thomas (2-1, 1.31 ERA) vs. RHP Sean Higgins (1-1, 6.00 ERA)
Saturday, March 12 • 6:00 p.m. CT • RHP Jake Jackson (1-2, 6.75 ERA) vs. RHP Joe Sheets (0-0, 1.50 ERA)
Sunday, March 13 • 3:00 p.m. CT • RHP Will Rigney (0-0, 6.52 ERA) vs. RHP Billy Black (0-2, 4.50 ERA)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• All three games on the weekend will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
• Pete Sousa (PxP) and Pat Combs (Analyst) will provide the call for the entire series.
• Fans can also tune in to Fox Sports Central Texas 1330 AM and 93.9 FM to hear the home radio broadcast, featuring Ryan Boyd (PxP) and former Baylor outfielder Ryan Bertelsman (Analyst) on the call.
FRESHMEN COME UP CLUTCH IN BIG SITUATIONS
• Freshman 1B Casen Neumann came through with a huge pinch-hit, three-run home run in the 8th inning of Baylor's 6-4 win over Abilene Christian Wednesay night.
• In just his second-career at-bat, Neumann turned on a fastball and drove it over the right field wall for the go-ahead blast.
• Fellow freshman, and former high school teammate of Neumann's, Mason Marriott closed the door once again with his third save of the season.
• The young right-hander came on with two outs in the eighth and notched his second four-out save of the season.
BEARS SHRINE BRIGHT
• Senior LHP Tyler Thomas was named the 2022 Shriners Children's College Classic Most Outstanding Player after going 8.2 IP with a career-high 10 strikeouts in the win against No. 23 UCLA.
• Thomas also earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Week distinction for his dazzling performance.
• Sophomore OF Kyle Nevin (4-for-10, 1 HR, 6 RBIs, 1 SB) and junior INF Jack Pineda (4-for-12, 5 R, 1 HR, 2 RBIs, 3 SB) joined Thomas on the All-Tournament Team.
T-THOM A TRUE FRIDAY NIGHT ACE
• Fifth-year senior LHP Tyler Thomas has turned himself into a bonafide Friday night ace, with three outstanding starts so far in 2022.
• Thomas is coming off a career outing in which he went 8.2 innings, allowing just four hits while recording a career-high 10 strikeouts in the 2-1 win over No. 23 UCLA.
• He faced the minimum through seven innings and didn't allow a second hit until the eighth. In fact, no UCLA batter advanced past first base until a one-out solo home run in the ninth.
• Prior to the home run, Thomas extended his scoreless innings streak to 19.2 innings.
• Thomas is 2-1 in 2022 with a 1.31 ERA, having surrendered just three runs across two different frames of his Big 12-leading 20.2 innings pitched.
• He has posted 24 K's and just three walks, leading the conference with an 8.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
BIG 12 HARDWARE
• Thomas was named the Big 12's Pitcher of the Week after his dazzling performance against the Bruins.
• It marked Baylor's first Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honor since 2018, when Cody Bradford won the award three times.
• It is the eighth weekly pitching accolade for the Bears under seventh-year head coach Steve Rodriguez.
• This was Baylor's first Big 12 weekly recognition since the opening week of the 2021 season, when Jared McKenzie was named the league's Newcomer of the Week, Baylor's only recognition of the 2021 campaign.
MARRIOTT TURNS OUT THE LIGHTS
• Freshman RHP Mason Marriott picked up the first two saves of his career in massive spots this past weekend.
• Against UCLA on Friday, he entered with the tying run on second base and, after walking and hitting a batter, was able to force a groundout with the bases loaded by Cody Schrier, who had already collected two of his team's four hits on the day.
• On Sunday against LSU, Marriott came on with two outs in the 8th to look for a four-out save. Though he allowed two hits, including a home run to one of the nation's top power hitters in Jacob Berry, he buckled down to strike out the final two batters looking and leave the tying run at the plate to complete the 9-6 win.
• Marriott followed that up with his third save of the young season on Wednesday at Abilene Christian.
• Once again, the freshman closer came on with two outs in the 8th inning and had no trouble completing the four-out save.
HIGH LEVERAGE HAMMER
• Sophomore RHP Hambleton Oliver leads the Big 12 with seven relief appearances.
• Six of those seven appearances have come in high leverage situations, where Oliver has been asked to record just 1 or 2 outs.
• He is currently riding a career-best six-appearance scoreless streak, having not allowed a run since his first outing of the year.
