Baylor
Oklahoma
BSB Travels to Oklahoma for Three-Game Set
3/24/2022 4:36:00 PM | Baseball
Bears have won four of last seven against the Sooners
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BAYLOR BEARS (11-9, 1-2 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Steve Rodriguez (Pepperdine, 2001) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (11-9, 1-2) vs OKLAHOMA (12-7, 0-0) March 25, 2022 • 6:30 p.m. CT March 26, 2022 • 2:00 p.m. CT March 27, 2022 • 2:00 p.m. CT Norman, Okla. • L. Dale Mitchell Park (3,180) LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com WATCH: Bally Sports Oklahoma Extra (Fri.) WATCH: Sooner Sports TV (Sat.) WATCH: Bally Sports Oklahoma (Sun.) LISTEN: Learfield / ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM & 92.3 FM Talent: Derek Smith (PxP), Max Calderone (Analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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OKLAHOMA SOONERS (12-7, 0-0 Big 12) Location: Norman, Okla. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Skip Johnson (UTRGV, 1990) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Tre Richardson is keeping things simple.
Hitting .458 (11-of-24) over the last five games, the Baylor sophomore second baseman has raised his batting average to a team-high .313 going into the Bears' three-game series this weekend at Oklahoma (12-7, 0-0).
"Just going back to swinging at strikes and taking balls. As simple as it sounds, that's the biggest thing for me," he said. "Being aggressive, but not being overly aggressive. The biggest thing for me is driving in people the opportunities I get. And if there's nobody on base, getting on base and having somebody drive me in. Just doing anything I can to help the team win."
Riding a modest two-game winning streak, Baylor (11-9, 1-2) travels outside of Texas for the first time this year and plays its first true road series at Dale Mitchell Park in Norman. The first game will be 6:30 p.m. Friday, followed by 2 p.m. games on Saturday and Sunday.
"We've played some midweek games on the road, which has been great just to make sure we have been road-tested," Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez said. "Going up to Norman, it's going to be a great test for us. I'm excited about what our guys have been doing this past week, so this should be a really fun weekend."
Baylor has the advantage of a conference series under its belt, but the Bears lost two of three at home to No. 21 TCU. After giving up a three-run, ninth-inning lead in an 11-9 loss on Saturday, they bounced back to salvage the series with a 7-3 win on Sunday, when Richardson went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBI.
"I think it does kind of get some of the nerves out of the way. Our guys have been in the thick of it already," Rodriguez said. "Is there some advantage? I think so. It would be great if they were down here, so they would have to be on the road first. At the same time, we've got to play the games just like they do. And hopefully, we can take advantage of some of the mistakes that they might make."
Since a 5-5 start that included getting swept by LSU, UCLA and Tennessee at the Shriners Children's College Classic in Houston, the Sooners have won seven of their last nine games. OU is third in the league with a .290 batting average, but eighth with a 5.26 ERA.
"They obviously have some great talent in regards to their offense," Rodriguez said. "And they've been a menace on the bases early on this year. So, we're going to have to make sure we do a great job holding runners, minimizing some of the mistakes to allow base runners to get on and try to keep the ball down. We just have to make sure we control what we can control."
In Tuesday's 3-2 win over UTSA, when Jack Pineda had a bases-loaded walk in the ninth to score the winning run, the Bears tried some pitchers in different roles. Freshman Mason Marriott got his first start after nine relief appearances, while Nevada grad transfer Jake Jackson (2-2, 7.20 ERA) picked up the win in his first bullpen stint.
A shuffled weekend rotation has sophomore transfer Kobe Andrade (2-0, 2.57) starting Saturday's game and matched against OU right-hander David Sandlin (2-2, 6.94). In a matchup of two of the league's top pitchers, Baylor fifth-year senior Tyler Thomas (3-2, 1.30) is pitted against OU lefty Jake Bennett (1-0, 0.90) on Friday, while Will Rigney (1-0, 3.10) goes on Sunday against Chazz Martinez (2-2, 2.81).
"I think the biggest thing is just getting them more experience," Rodriguez said of the pitching staff. "Are they going to come in and be a little more aggressive? Are they going to be able to get out there and get after it as quickly as possible? That's what's great is sometimes I don't need five or six innings, I just need an out."
Chandler Freeman, who ranks among the team leaders with 10.0 bullpen innings in seven appearances, said the Bears have "a lot of guys that can do a lot of different things."
"It's just a matter of finding out who goes where," Freeman said. "And as time goes on, we will. . . . I think the big thing is just pounding the strike zone, getting ahead. If you're 0-1 on a hitter instead of 1-0, it's huge, because then you can start to do a lot of things that you want to do. And you can throw the pitches that you want instead of what the hitter wants."
All three games will be streamed this weekend, with Bally Sports on Friday and Saturday and Sooner Sports TV on Saturday.
"I think (pitching coach Jon Strauss) is still tweaking things here and there," Freeman said, "but all in all, we have a pretty good idea of where we're at and what we can do."
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor leaves the state of Texas for the first time this season as the Bears travel to Norman, Okla. for their first road series during Big 12 play.
• BU has won two in a row after salvaging its three-game series against No. 21 TCU on Sunday, then defeating UTSA on Tuesday in walk-off fashion.
• The Bears are 5-4 against ranked opponents in 2022, with wins over No. 23 Duke, No. 23 UCLA, No. 7 LSU and No. 21 TCU.
• BU is 8-8 in Big 12 road series over the past four conference seasons.
• Baylor stays close to home in 2022, as 43 of its 52 regular-season contests will be played in the state of Texas.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Oklahoma leads the all-time series over Baylor, 53-49.
• The Sooners hold an 11-8 advantage in the series during the Steve Rodriguez era, though the Bears have won four of the last seven meetings.
• Baylor owns a 1-4 series record against Oklahoma under Rodriguez.
• 2018 was the last time the two sides met in Norman, as OU swept the three-game series which included a two-run decision in the Friday night game (4-2) and an extra-innings affair on Saturday (5-4, 10 inn.).
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, March 25 • 6:30 p.m. CT • LHP Tyler Thomas (3-2, 1.30 ERA) vs. LHP Jake Bennett (1-0, 0.90 ERA)
Saturday, March 26 • 2:00 p.m. CT • LHP Kobe Andrade (2-0, 2.57 ERA) vs. RHP David Sandlin (2-2, 6.94 ERA)
Sunday, March 27 • 2:00 p.m. CT • RHP Will Rigney (1-0, 3.10 ERA) vs. LHP Chazz Martinez (2-2, 2.81 ERA)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• All three games will be televised by various outlets over the weekend.
• Bally Sports Oklahoma Extra will carry Friday's opener, while Sooner Sports TV will produce the Saturday affair. The main Bally Sports Oklahoma channel will broadcast the Sunday series finale.
• Fans can also tune in to the home radio broadcast, featuring Derek Smith and Max Calderone, on ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM and 92.3 FM all weekend long.
BEARS BATS HEATING UP
• Over the past five games, Baylor's offense erupted for 51 hits as a team, posting a .277 batting average.
• The Bears have tallied seven multi-hit performances in 2022, with three of them coming in the last five games.
• BU set a season-high with 17 hits as a team last Saturday against No. 21 TCU in the 11-inning loss.
• The Bears followed that up with a 14-hit day last Sunday in the 7-3 victory over the Horned Frogs.
• The top of the order has led the charge, as Tre Richardson is 15 for his last 37 during an eight-game hit streak.
• Jack Pineda has collected multiple hits in five of his last seven games, and Jared McKenzie is hitting .325 in his last 10 games.
HERE COMES JARED
• Baylor slugger Jared McKenzie is starting to heat up, going 13-for-40 (.325) over his last 10 games.
• The third-year sophomore preseason All-American has raised his batting average to .250 for the year with a pair of three-hit performances over his last three games.
• McKenzie crushed one against TCU for his second HR of the season, but it was his first long ball of 2022 that left the yard, as he previously circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run in Game 2 of Saturday, March 12's doubleheader against Columbia.
• The inside-the-parker was Baylor's first since March 19, 2011, when Chris Slater did so against Texas Tech.
T-THOM A TRUE FRIDAY NIGHT ACE
• Fifth-year senior LHP Tyler Thomas has turned himself into a bonafide Friday night ace, with five outstanding starts so far in 2022.
• Thomas logged a career day on March 4 against No. 23 UCLA, throwing 8.2 innings and allowing just four hits while notching a career-high 10 strikeouts in the 2-1 win over the Bruins.
• He followed up his career-best outing with another stellar start, going 8.0 scoreless against Columbia with seven strikeouts and just three hits allowed.
• Thomas is now 3-2 in 2022 with a 1.30 ERA, having surrendered just five earned runs across four different frames of his Big 12-leading 34.2 innings pitched.
• He has posted 32 K's and just five walks, ranking second in the conference with a 6.40 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
• T-Thom recorded the second-highest game score in college baseball after his start vs. Columbia, an 83, according to D1Baseball.com. He also scored an 82 in his outing against UCLA, the fourth-best rating amongst March 4 pitchers.
• Thomas has helped lead the BU pitching staff to fourth in the Big 12 with a combined 4.01 team ERA.
TURNING TWO
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks third nationally with 22 double plays turned in 2022 (1.10 per game).
• Tre Richardson has an assist in 20 of those 22 twin killings so far this season.
• The Bears rolled just 33 double plays in all of 2021 (0.65 per game).
WALK-OFF WINNERS
• Baylor walked it off against UTSA Tuesday night, coming from behind to score two runs in the bottom of the ninth.
• Jack Pineda collected the game-winning RBI, as he took a bases loaded walk that plated Jacob Schoenvogel.
• Casen Neumann had a big pinch-hit single that scored Nolan Rodriguez to tie it.
• It was the Bears' second walk-off win in 2022, joining Sunday, March 13's 4-3 victory in 10 innings over Columbia.
• Against Columbia, it was Jared McKenzie's RBI single that scored Tre Richardson that won it for BU.
• The Bears are 1-1 in extra-inning games this season.
-BaylorBears.com-
