Baylor
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Kansas
BSB Returns Home To Face Kansas For Three
4/13/2022 6:25:00 PM | Baseball
Bears are 11-5 against the Jayhawks under Coach Rodriguez
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BAYLOR BEARS (16-16, 2-7 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Steve Rodriguez (Pepperdine, 2001) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (16-16, 2-7) vs KANSAS (13-18, 1-5) April 14, 2022 • 6:30 p.m. CT April 15, 2022 • 5:00 p.m. CT April 16, 2022 • 12:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Baylor Ballpark (5,000) LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Talent: John Morris (PxP), Pat Combs (Analyst) LISTEN: Learfield / ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM & 92.3 FM Talent: Derek Smith, Ryan Boyd Baylor Social Media:    |
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KANSAS JAYHAWKS (13-18, 1-5 Big 12) Location: Lawrence, Kan. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Ritch Price (Willamette, 1978) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Trying to snap a five-game losing skid and get back on track, Baylor baseball (16-16, 2-7) will host Kansas (13-18, 1-5) for a three-game weekend series that starts with Thursday's 6:30 p.m. game at Baylor Ballpark.
"I think it's just a matter of staying confident in us," said sophomore left-hander Kobe Andrade (2-1, 3.56), who will start Friday's 5 p.m. Game 2. "These last five games mean nothing, they're over with. What matters is the game (Thursday), the game Friday and game Saturday. We can't look back at games and say, 'What if?' We have to drop it and move on."
As tough as this last stretch has been, including getting swept last weekend at West Virginia, coach Steve Rodriguez said "it's obvious the talent level is there, they've just got to have that confidence."
"We've kind of hit a little bit of a skid, but we have a top-10 schedule in the country," Rodriguez said. "I think someone rated us seventh- or sixth-hardest schedule in the country. So, it's not like they haven't been tested. For me, it's just a matter of getting that confidence back and having some of our bullpen guys start to have some success again. Once that gets going, I'm really excited to see where we go."
That challenging schedule included five wins over ranked teams – two of three against then-No. 23 Duke, taking two of three at the Shriners Children's College Classic in Houston against UCLA and LSU and then one of three against 21st-ranked TCU.
"I think we know what our potential is," said junior shortstop Jack Pineda, who's hitting .283 with eight doubles, two homers and 17 RBI out of the leadoff position. "I never feel like we're overmatched or when we go on the field that the other team is better than us. That gives you some sense of comfort, just knowing that the talent is there, and you've just got to put the pieces together."
The Bears will have to do it this weekend without senior ace Tyler Thomas (4-3, 1.97 ERA), who had made eight-consecutive series-opening starts and leads the Big 12 in ERA. Sophomore righty Will Rigney (2-0, 4.40) is slated to start Thursday's series opener, with the starter for Saturday's noon series finale listed as TBD.
"He threw over 100 pitches in 35 degrees and wet weather. I think he's just a little more sore than normal," Rodriguez said of Thomas. "You could tell, he just wasn't warming up right. The big thing for me is we're going to shoot for making sure he's ready to pitch against Texas and maybe give him a couple more days off."
Thomas' absence will put more stress on a pitching staff that has an overall ERA of 4.99, which ranks sixth in the league. Baylor's normal weekend rotation of Thomas, Andrade and Rigney are a combined 8-4 with a 3.07 ERA, compared to 8-12 with a 6.23 ERA for the rest of the staff.
Whether it's at the plate, on the mound or on defense, Pineda said the key is "slowing down and letting the game come to you."
"When the game gets out of hand, or you feel like you can't catch a break, you want to speed up," Pineda said.
Rodriguez said older players have the ability to slow the game down.
"When you see these big-leaguers doing the things they do, man, the game is going so slow for them, because they've done it so much, they've had so many repetitions and they've seen so much," Rodriguez said.
"That's one of the things that we're missing, we're missing some of those older guys on the mound right now. Everybody talks about the 'Old Guys' from the years past. There was a point when they weren't the old guys, they were the young guys. They didn't have the seasoned ability and the seasoned, veteran outlook that they did the last couple of years they were here."
Kansas is last in the Big 12 in batting average (.260) and pitching ERA (6.67), but the Jayhawks have won four of their last six games, including beating then-No. 4 Texas Tech, 8-5, a day after losing 28-2.
Sophomore shortstop Maui Ahuna is hitting a league-best .453 with five homers, four triples, 10 doubles and 33 RBI. But, fifth-year senior catcher/first baseman Nolan Metcalf (.315) is the only other player hitting above .300.
Hitting .462 over the last 19 games (30-for-65) with 12 extra-base hits and a career-high 19-game on-base streak, Baylor sophomore outfielder Jared McKenzie has raised his batting average 171 points to a team-best .306.
The Jayhawks' weekend rotation has senior left-hander Daniel Hegarty (3-3, 5.91) going Thursday night, followed by senior righty Cole Larsen (1-5, 5.44) on Saturday and sophomore right-hander Ryan Vanderhei (5-2, 4.44) in Saturday's series finale.
"Something we talk about a lot is knowing how to win," Pineda said. "When you go on a skid like this, you kind of forget about it. Having that feeling and remembering how good it feels, you want to get back there."
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor returns home after a five-game road stretch for a unique Thursday-Saturday series vs. Kansas.
• BU currently sits in seventh place in the Big 12 standings at 2-7 in conference play, with 5 Big 12 series remaining.
• The Bears continue to turn double plays at a high rate, leading the Big 12 and ranking third nationally with 35 total twin killings and 1.09 per game.
• BU has recorded at least one extra-base hit in each of its last 11 games, and have notched at least three XBH in 14 games this season.
• Sophomore OF Jared McKenzie has been on an absolute tear of late, batting .462 (30-for-65) since the second game of a doubleheader on March 12. 12 of McKenzie's 30 hits have gone for extra bases and he has driven in 19 runs across those last 19 games.
• McKenzie's 19-game on-base streak is a career high.
• Senior LHP Tyler Thomas leads the Big 12 and ranks 38th nationally with a 1.97 ERA. He also ranks second in the league with a 6.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio and a 0.89 WHIP.
• Current members of the weekend rotation (Tyler Thomas, Kobe Andrade, Will Rigney) boast a combined 3.07 ERA.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Baylor leads the all-time series 59-22 over Kansas.
• Under seventh-year head coach Steve Rodriguez, the Bears are 11-5 against the Jayhawks.
• BU has won five of the last seven meetings and each of the last two series over KU.
• Last year, Baylor came very close to sweeping the Jayhawks in Lawrence after winning both ends of a Saturday doubleheader, but dropping the Sunday finale by one run, 3-2.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Thursday, April 14 • 6:30 p.m. CT • RHP Will Rigney (2-0, 4.40 ERA) vs. LHP Daniel Hegarty (3-3, 5.91 ERA)
Friday, April 15 • 5:00 p.m. CT • LHP Kobe Andrade (2-1, 3.56 ERA) vs. RHP Cole Larsen (1-5, 5.44)
Saturday, April 16 • 12:00 p.m. CT • TBD vs. RHP Ryan Vanderhei (5-2, 4.44 ERA)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• All games this weekend will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ with John Morris (PxP) and Pat Combs (Analyst) on the call.
• Fans can also tune in to ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM and 92.3 FM for the Baylor radio broadcast, featuring Derek Smith (Play-by-Play) and Ryan Boyd (Analyst) on the call.
TURNING TWO
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and is tied for second nationally with 35 double plays turned in 2022 (1.09 per game).
• Sophomore 2B Tre Richardson has an assist in 27 of those 35 twin killings so far this season.
• The Bears rolled just 33 double plays in all of 2021 (0.65 per game).
WE WENT TO JARED
• Baylor slugger Jared McKenzie is on a tear, going 29-for-65 (.462) since March 12 and 17-for-39 (.436) over his last 10 games.
• The third-year sophomore preseason All-American has raised his batting average from .163 to .306 with nine multi-hit performances over that span.
• 12 of those 30 hits have gone for extra-bases, as McKenzie has tallied seven doubles, one triple, and four HRs.
• Two of McKenzie's home runs have been inside-the-parkers, most recently coming on April 1 vs. ETSU.
• His first inside-the-parker was Baylor's first since March 19, 2011, when Chris Slater did so against Texas Tech.
• McKenzie's 19-game on-base streak is a career high.
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