Baylor
ETSU
BSB Plays Three Against ETSU
3/31/2022 4:58:00 PM | Baseball
Bears are 4-0 all-time against SoCon opponents
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BAYLOR BEARS (13-11, 2-4 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Steve Rodriguez (Pepperdine, 2001) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (13-11, 2-4) vs ETSU (17-5, 0-0) April 1, 2022 • 6:30 p.m. CT April 2, 2022 • 3:00 p.m. CT April 3, 2022 • 1:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Baylor Ballpark (5,000) LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ LISTEN: Learfield / ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM & 92.3 FM Talent: Derek Smith (PxP), Ryan Boyd (Analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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EAST TENNESSEE STATE BUCCANEERS (17-5, 0-0 SoCon) Location: Johnson City, Tenn. Conference/Affiliation: SoCon Head Coach: Joe Pennucci (Northern Colo.) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Taking a break from Big 12 play, Baylor baseball (13-11) will host East Tennessee State (17-5) from the Southern Conference in a three-game series this weekend at Baylor Ballpark.
While coach Steve Rodriguez says "nothing changes for us," Baylor will try to work out some kinks in a bullpen that has had three blown saves in a two-week stretch that has seen the Bears go 4-5 overall and get off to a 2-4 start in conference.
"It's different, but it might be a good thing for us," Rodriguez said of a non-conference series that starts with Friday's 6:30 p.m. game. "We want to get some more guys in there this weekend to solidify our bullpen a little bit better.
"We're trying to figure that out as best we can with some different arms and trying to find roles for guys, whether it's one hitter, one inning, one situation. It's going to be a big weekend for us in regards to just trying to give some guys some different opportunities and different options for us, hopefully, coming out of the bullpen."
Baylor's current weekend rotation of Tyler Thomas (3-3, 1.79 ERA), Kobe Andrade (2-0, 1.89) and Will Rigney (1-0, 4.74) has a combined ERA of 2.68. The problem is trying to nail down roles for a bullpen that includes Matt Voelker, Mason Marriott and Hambleton Oliver, who have all been used as closers.
Grad transfer Jake Jackson from Nevada, who had struggled as a weekend starter, picked up a save in Sunday's 16-8 win over Oklahoma when he allowed just one run on two hits in 3 1/3 innings.
After a slow start, Baylor's bats have produced double-digit hits in five of the last seven games and kept the hot streak going with 16 hits in Tuesday's 15-9 win over UTA.
"When the bats get hot, it's a lot of fun offensively," said sophomore centerfielder Jared McKenzie, who has raised his batting average to .284 with two homers, four doubles, one triple and 11 RBI, "and it gives more help to our pitchers, especially, to just go out there and know that we have runs on the board. They can just throw strikes and let the defense play a little bit. It's fun when we can pass the bat to each other and get runs on the board."
The Bears have also recorded at least three extra-base hits in five of the last seven games, including four doubles and a pair of home runs by Jack Pineda and Casen Neumann against UTA.
"Honestly, I think our approach has changed a little bit as far as looking for pitches in hitter's counts to dominate and taking balls," McKenzie said. "When we get those 2-0, 3-1 counts, be ready to smash the ball. And it's been working out lately."
East Tennessee State is off to a 17-5 start this season, but the Bucs fell 4-1 to sixth-ranked Tennessee in their only previous game against a Power 5 team and are playing their first series against a Power 5 team in six years. In 2016, ETSU took three of four from Purdue in a series in its home park in Johnson City, Tenn.
"I'm sure this is their big challenge in the season, and they're probably all looking forward to it. And I hope they are," Rodriguez said. "They have really good starting pitching and have hit 37 homers in 22 games. So, we have our work cut out for us. We need to make sure we eliminate free bases as best we can just because of the amount of home runs they hit. But for us, it's about playing well, playing clean on both sides of the baseball."
Thomas will be matched against ETSU right-hander Hunter Loyd (3-0, 1.21) in Friday's series opener. Andrade and fellow lefty Colby Stuart (3-0, 5.88) will get the start for Saturday's 3 p.m. game, followed by Rigney versus right-hander Landon Smiddy (1-2, 2.88) in Sunday's 1 p.m. series finale.
"For a young man like Tyler to be able to persevere through several years of (injuries) and to be able to come out where he is right now, it just says a lot about who he is as a man, as a player and hopefully as a professional athlete here pretty soon," Rodriguez said.
All three games this weekend will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, using the home radio feed featuring Derek Smith and Ryan Boyd on the call.
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor hosts its final non-conference weekend series of the regular season as ETSU comes to town for a three-game set.
• The Bears scored 31 runs in their last two games combined (16 at OU, 15 vs. UTA), making this the 10th time in the Steve Rodriguez era that BU has posted 30 or more runs in consecutive games.
• Baylor has out-hit its opponent in each of its last seven games, going 4-3 over that stretch.
• BU knocked six extra-base hits on Tuesday against UTA and has now recorded at least 3 XBH in five of its last seven games.
• BU has eclipsed double-digits in hits 10 times this season, including in five of its last seven games.
• Baylor continues to turn double plays at a high rate, leading the Big 12 and ranking second in the nation with 27 total twin killings, 1.13 per game.
• The Bears rank third in the Big 12 with a 4.34 ERA, while current members of the weekend rotation boast a combined 2.68 ERA.
• 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.
• 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
• Baylor has won both of the only two previous meetings against ETSU, as the Bears swept a doubleheader over the Buccaneers on March 13, 1979.
• BU is 4-0 all-time against teams from the SoCon, including two wins over Wofford in 2016.
• BU is 80-33 (.708) at home over the past five seasons, including an 8-7 mark in 2022 and wins in each of the last three.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, April 1 • 6:30 p.m. CT • LHP Tyler Thomas (3-3, 1.79 ERA) vs. RHP Hunter Loyd (3-0, 1.21 ERA)
Saturday, April 2 • 3:00 p.m. CT • LHP Kobe Andrade (2-0, 1.89 ERA) vs. LHP Colby Stuart (3-0, 5.88 ERA)
Sunday, April 3 • 1:00 p.m. CT • RHP Will Rigney (1-0, 4.74 ERA) vs. RHP Landon Smiddy (1-2, 2.88 ERA)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• All three weekend games will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
• The broadcast will pull the home radio feed, featuring Derek Smith and Ryan Boyd on the call.
• Fans can also tune in to ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM and 92.3 FM for the radio broadcast.
BEARS BATS HEATING UP
• In their last seven games, the Bears have erupted for 86 hits as a team, posting a .316 batting average.
• The Bears have tallied 24 extra-base hits over that stretch, including five games with at least three such knocks.
• BU has recorded its top four hitting outputs in that stretch, including a 17-hit game vs. TCU (3/19), a 16-hit performance vs. UTA (3/29) and 14-hit efforts against the Horned Frogs (3/20) and Sooners (3/27).
• Baylor leads the Big 12 in hits during conference play with 66.
TESTED EARLY AND OFTEN
• 2022 is the first season since 1952 in which 9 of Baylor's first 11 opponents currently compete in Power 5 conferences.
• All nine of those opponents have been, or currently are, ranked in one of the two major polls (D1Baseball, Baseball America).
• In the latest D1Baseball rankings, eight of BU's 2022 opponents cracked the top-25 in No. 1 Tennessee, No. 6 Oklahoma State, No. 7 Texas Tech, No. 8 Texas, No. 12 TCU, No. 13 LSU, No. 19 DBU and No. 20 Texas State.
• In the latest RPI standings, Baylor comes in at No. 54, with the 31st-best rated strength of schedule.
• 11 of Baylor's 24 games so far in 2022 have come against the RPI top-50 in Tennessee (2), Maryland (13), Oklahoma (31), TCU (35) and LSU (37).
• Baylor has yet to play 11 more games against other current RPI top-50 squads, including DBU (1), Texas (6), Texas Tech (12), Oklahoma State (24) and Texas State (44).
• The Bears will play 22 games against 10 teams who competed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, including five teams that reached a Super Regional and two that reached the College World Series.
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