Baylor
West Virginia
BSB Readies for Series at West Virginia
4/7/2022 5:15:00 PM | Baseball
Bears have won three-straight series over Mountaineers
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BAYLOR BEARS (16-12, 2-4 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Steve Rodriguez (Pepperdine, 2001) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (16-12, 2-4) vs WEST VIRGINIA (17-10, 2-1) April 8, 2022 • 5:30 p.m. CT April 9, 2022 • 3:00 p.m. CT April 10, 2022 • 12:00 p.m. CT Morgantown, W.Va. • Monongalia County Ballpark (3,500) LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ LISTEN: Learfield / ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM & 92.3 FM Talent: Derek Smith (PxP), Max Calderone (Analyst) Baylor Social Media:    |
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WEST VIRGINIA MOUNTAINEERS (17-10, 2-1 Big 12) Location: Morgantown, W.Va. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Randy Mazey (Clemson, 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
For Tyler Thomas, Baylor baseball's ace and Friday night starter, the mindset and approach for the Bears' weekend's series at West Virginia is simple: "Go win."
"That's about it," said Thomas, who is 4-3 with a league-best 1.59 ERA. "Go compete our butts off, do whatever it takes to get the win."
Sitting in seventh in the Big 12 standings after losing series against Oklahoma and TCU, Baylor (16-12, 2-4) has a chance to climb the ladder against a West Virginia team (17-10, 2-1) that took two of three in its conference-opening series at then-No. 10 TCU last weekend.
Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez didn't want to hear that it's "early in the Big 12 race." The Bears do have six Big 12 series to play, but Rodriguez said, "it's not early, it's not late, we're not in the middle."
"It's the Big 12, we need to start winning games. It's that simple," he said.
Going out of conference last weekend, the Bears swept an East Tennessee State team that came in with a 17-5 record and had hit 37 home runs in 22 games. Baylor kept its hot bats going, scoring a combined 30 runs in the three games and belting out six extra-base hits in a 15-1, series-opening win last Friday.
"I think early on in the year, we were trying to fulfill some expectations coming off of last year," said third baseman Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo. "And I think we realized that this year's team is just not the same as last year's (team). I think we found our team identity and what we do well on the offensive side of the ball. Now that we know what we can do, we've bought into that plan, and that's been working out for us."
While Baylor's team batting average (.267) is 35 points below last year's league-leading .302, the Bears are still finding ways to score, averaging 6.4 runs per game.
"We've talked a lot about taking the emotion out of at-bats and taking the emotion out of pitches, just being disciplined" Cardoza-Oquendo said. "Just having a good, disciplined approach at the plate. I think that helps a lot. And hopefully, that just keeps being contagious and keeps getting passed around 1 through 9 (in the batting order)."
Baylor's biggest problems have been on the mound, and more specifically in the bullpen. The weekend starting rotation of Thomas, Kobe Andrade (2-0, 2.52) and Will Rigney (2-0, 4.40) have a combined ERA of 2.67, but the rest of the pitching staff has a collective ERA of 5.77.
Those bullpen issues resulted in blown saves against Oklahoma and TCU, as well as an 11-10, 11-inning loss in a midweek game at Sam Houston State.
"Let's be honest, the consistency part is going to be the big key for all of our guys out of the bullpen," Rodriguez said. "We put guys out there, they have a great outing. We put them back out there, they start to struggle a little bit. Right now, it's a matter of giving them glimpses to have some success. Then, maybe we can get another guy in there to do the same thing."
That's what Brett Garcia did in Tuesday's game at 24th-ranked Dallas Baptist, tossing 3 2/3 innings of shutout, no-hit relief. That gave the Bears a chance to come back from an early seven-run deficit and make it a one-run game before eventually falling, 11-6.
"There was a big debate whether we let him go another inning," Rodriguez said of Garcia, a sophomore transfer from Cypress College by way of UC Irvine. "The big thing for us to make sure guys go out and have confidence. But you don't send them back out to run into some damage and their confidence gets hit a little. But, at the same time, he started to get a real good feel for his breaking ball. . . . Now, it's just a matter of where we're going to be able to plug him in."
West Virginia, which finished as high as fourth in the Big 12 just three years ago, had a rare off season last year when the Mountaineers were tied with Kansas at the bottom of the standings.
This year's team has struggled at the plate, hitting .259 as a team, but the Mountaineers lead the Big 12 and are ranked second nationally with 99 stolen bases (in 125 attempts). Victor Scott has more stolen bases (24) than Baylor as a team (21 of 27).
"They can really run," Rodriguez said. "They have video-game numbers when it comes to stolen bases. They have (99) stolen bases so far this year, which is ridiculous. We have to do everything we can to eliminate free bases, eliminate guys getting on base without earning it. Once they do get on base, we've got to make sure we do everything we can to minimize the extra stolen bases."
One way Baylor has slowed down running games is by turning double plays. The Bears are tied for second in the nation with 30 double plays, behind only New Mexico (39).
Shortstop Jack Pineda and second baseman Tre Richardson swapped places about halfway through last season and have had about a full year together now. "I think now that they've settled in, they've gotten comfortable," Thomas said. "It just comes natural."
"Anytime you can get a double play, it puts a little energy through the dugout and to your defense," said Cardoza-Oquendo, who has also started some of the double plays from his spot at third base, "and it kind of carries over into offense. We take a lot of pride in turning two."
The series begins with Friday's 5:30 p.m. CT game at Monongalia County Ballpark in Morgantown, followed by 3 p.m. CT Saturday and noon CT Sunday. All three games will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor continues its longest road stretch of the season, a five-game stretch away from home, at West Virginia for a three-game set in Morgantown.
• BU has won five of its last six games, including a series sweep over East Tennessee State.
• BU has scored 85 runs over its last 10 games and eclipsed double-digits in hits six times during that stretch.
• The Bears have tallied at least two extra-base hits in each of their last seven games, including six games with at least four XBH.
• Baylor continues to turn double plays at a high rate, leading the Big 12 and tying for second nationally with 30 total twin killings, 1.07 per game.
• Current members of the BU weekend rotation boast a combined 2.67 ERA.
• The Bears are 5-5 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 leads the all-time series 14-11 over West Virginia.
• Under seventh-year head coach Steve Rodriguez, the Bears are 9-7 against the Mountaineers.
• Last season, BU took two of three from WVU to win the weekend series in Waco.
• Baylor has won each of the last three series against West Virginia.
• BU is 3-5 all-time in Morgantown, 3-3 during the Rodriguez era, and hasn't played in W.Va. since 2018.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, April 8 • 6:30 p.m. EST • LHP Tyler Thomas (4-3, 1.59 ERA) vs. RHP Jacob Watters (2-1, 2.08 ERA)
Saturday, April 9 • 4:00 p.m. EST • LHP Kobe Andrade (2-0, 2.52 ERA) vs. LHP Ben Hampton (4-2, 3.14 ERA)
Sunday, April 10 • 1:00 p.m. EST • RHP Will Rigney (2-0, 4.40 ERA) vs. RHP Zach Bravo (3-0, 4.12 ERA)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• This weekend's series will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Lanny Frattare (PxP), Kyle Davis (Analyst), Jake Weghorst (Analyst), Amanda Mazey (Field Reporter) and Anjelica Trinone (Field Reporter) contributing to the broadcast.
• 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 Max Calderone (Analyst) on the call.
TURNING TWO
• Baylor leads the Big 12 and is tied for second nationally with 30 double plays turned in 2022 (1.07 per game).
• Sophomore 2B Tre Richardson has an assist in 26 of those 30 twin killings so far this season.
• The Bears rolled just 33 double plays in all of 2021 (0.65 per game).
BEARS BATS STAYING HOT
• In their last 10 games, the Bears have erupted for 108 hits as a team, posting a .303 batting average.
• Baylor has scored 85 runs over that span, including a three-game stretch with 46, it's most since April 24-28, 2018, when BU scored 51 in a three-game span.
• The Bears have tallied 38 extra-base hits over that stretch, including seven games with at least four such knocks.
• BU has eclipsed double-digit hits six times in that span.
WE WENT TO JARED
• Baylor slugger Jared McKenzie is on a tear, going 17-for-41 (.415) over his last 10 games.
• The third-year sophomore preseason All-American has raised his batting average to .296 for the year with six multi-hit performances over that span.
• Nine of those 17 hits have gone for extra-bases, as McKenzie has tallied seven doubles, one triple, and one HR.
• The Round Rock, Texas, native hit his third HR and second inside-the-parker in last Friday's series opener against ETSU. It is unclear when the last time was when a Baylor player, or Big 12 player, hit two inside-the-park home runs in the same season.
• He previously circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run in Game 2 of Saturday, March 12's doubleheader against Columbia.
• His first inside-the-parker was Baylor's first since March 19, 2011, when Chris Slater did so against Texas Tech.
• Since March 12, McKenzie has gone 24-for-59 (.407) as part of a career-best 15-game on-base streak.
ROTATION LEADING THE CHARGE
• Current members of Baylor's weekend rotation boast a combined 2.67 ERA.
• Senior LHP Tyler Thomas leads the pack with a 1.59 ERA, allowing just eight earned runs in his Big 12-leading 45.1 innings pitched as the Friday night ace.
• Newly-added weekend starter Kobe Andrade, a sophomore lefty, is not far behind with a 2.52 ERA across 25 innings of work.
• Sophomore RHP and Sunday starter Will Rigney has also produced well, standing at a 4.40 ERA through his first six starts of the season.
-BaylorBears.com-
