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BAYLOR BEARS (14-23, 5-10 Big 12)
Location: Waco, Texas
Conference/Affiliation: Big 12
Head Coach: Mitch Thompson (Fort Hays St., 1988)
Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (14-23, 5-10) at TEXAS TECH (27-12, 6-6)
April 21, 2023 • 6:30 p.m. CT
April 22, 2023 • 2:00 p.m. CT
April 23, 2023 • 2:00 p.m. CT
Lubbock, Texas • Rip Griffin Park (4,432)
LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com
WATCH: ESPNU (Friday)
Talent: Clay Matvick, Mike Rooney
WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Saturday & Sunday)
LISTEN: ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM & 92.3 FM
Talent: Derek Smith, Max Calderone
Baylor Social Media:    |
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TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS (27-12, 6-6 Big 12)
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Conference/Affiliation: Big 12
Head Coach: Tim Tadlock (Texas Tech, 1992)
Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Mitch Thompson would just as soon forget about some of Baylor baseball's trips to Lubbock in the 18 years when he was an assistant coach with the Bears.
"I don't even want to go there," said Thompson, in his first season as Baylor's head coach. "I'm trying to remove all those memories."
This weekend, Thompson and the Bears (14-23, 5-10) hope to make some good memories when they play 13th-ranked Texas Tech (27-12, 6-6) in a three-game series that begins Friday at Rip Griffin Park.
"I've had some pleasant memories there the last several years at MCC as we played the regional tournament there," said Thompson, who led the Highlanders to four NJCAA College World Series, winning the 2021 national championship. "So, I'm going to try and remember those wins."
Baylor lost its first 10 road games this season, including getting swept in series at Duke, Oklahoma State and Kansas, before ending that streak with a 7-6, come-from-behind win over Sam Houston State on Tuesday when Hunter Teplanszky and Kolby Branch had two-out RBI hits in the eighth.
"It was huge," said freshman outfielder Caleb Bergman, who extended his hitting streak to five games. "Really good for the team morale and spirits. It showed us that we could actually get it done. I think coming into a big weekend like Tech, where there are games that we need to win, proving to ourselves that we can do it on the road and getting that win is definitely some good momentum going into Lubbock."
The Bears are 5-5 in their last 10 games with three one-run losses, going 1-2 against 12th-ranked Texas in a weekend series at Baylor Ballpark. After scoring six ninth-inning runs in a 11-9 loss in the series opener, they plated five runs in the ninth in Game 2 for a walk-off 10-9 victory on a two-out, two-RBI single by Teplanszky.
"We're not having a good year right now, there's no question about that," Thompson said. "But at the same time, I don't feel in despair. And I don't think (the players) do either. I think they're upbeat, they're pulling together, we're growing as a team. They can see the improvement. I think our fans can see the improvement. They see the fight in this team, so there's a lot of good things there."
Cole Stasio (4-2, 5.33 ERA) has been impressive in his last two outings, pitching a combined 3.2 no-hit innings in picking up wins in two of the last three games.
"Any guy could have been put out there and done the same thing," Stasio said. "It's just trusting your stuff once you get on the mound and trusting your teammates behind you. It's a good feeling when your teammates have your back."
Tech, which is 9-4 since getting swept in a series at Texas, is hitting a league-best .320 with 58 home runs and averaging 9.2 runs per game. Sophomore transfer Gavin Kash is hitting .415 and is tied for second nationally with 19 homers.
"We've got to keep them in the park," Thompson said of the Red Raiders, who are 23-4 at home. "They're really explosive offensively, especially at home. . . . Giving up a one-spot is probably not a bad thing. Giving up a 4- or 5-spot, that's a killer. And Tech kind of thrives on that. We're going to have to try and eliminate that."
In the last 10-game stretch, the Bears have had several players get hot at the plate, particularly the top of the lineup with Cole Posey (.318), Teplanszky (.350), Branch (.356) and Hunter Simmons (.309). But Simmons has missed the last three games with an injury and will be sidelined again this weekend.
"That's a big blow for us because we'd like for him to hit in the west Texas wind," Thompson said.
Branch has hit .464 with 10 RBIs and eight runs scored since moving from the leadoff spot to the 3-hole nine games ago. For the season, the freshman infielder is hitting a team-best .356 with four homers, 14 doubles and 33 RBIs.
"Really consistent, talented kid, hard-nosed kid, fully team kid," Thompson said of Branch, who was named to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list earlier this week. "The thing I'm most impressed with is just his maturity – how he came in here right from the start, how he went about his business. . . . To move him into the 3-hole and he be able to handle that, the maturity factor is really big."
Baylor will keep its pitching rotation the same, with fifth-year senior Blake Helton (0-4, 7.88 ERA) starting Friday's 6:30 p.m. series opener. Sophomore Mason Marriott (1-5, 8.60) will go in Saturday's 2 p.m. game, with senior Will Rigney (3-1, 3.80) going in Sunday's 2 p.m. series finale.
"Coming in with the road win to Tech and not having to get that first one is a big thing," Bergman said. "We can come in and just worry about getting the win."
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor Baseball hits the road for what amounts to be its longest stretch of consecutive road games this season, with a midweek matchup at Sam Houston before heading to Texas Tech for a three-game weekend series.
• The Bears went 1-3 in four very close ballgames last week, having only been outscored 33-30 by No. 21 DBU and No. 12 Texas.
• On Tuesday at Sam Houston, Baylor won its first road game of the season in a contest that had seven lead changes and two ties.
• The Bears has nine hits and nine strikeouts as team, marking the 10th time to accomplish that in the same game this season.
• Over the last 10 games, the Bears are 5-5; all five of those losses have come within a three-run margin.
• Baylor is 13-5 this season when scoring six or more runs and 5-0 when scoring 10 or more runs.
• BU is also 9-1 this year when leading the ballgame after six innings and 9-3 when out-hitting its opponent.
• Freshman INF Kolby Branch continues to produce offensively at a high rate, ranking fifth in the Big 12 with 52 hits, tied for third with 14 doubles, and eighth in the league with a .356 batting average.
• Sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky leads the squad with a season-high 25-game on-base streak, and also boasts a 13-game hitting streak. He's slashing .365/.453/.604 over those 25 games.
• Junior RHP Will Rigney struck out a career-high nine in five innings against Texas on Sunday.
PITCHERS COMING UP BIG
• Over the last 10 games, Baylor pitchers have inherited 33 baserunners and have allowed just four of them to score.
• Southpaws Ethan Calder (freshman) and Cam Caley (junior) gave the Bears great length out of the bullpen on Friday and Saturday, respectively, against Texas, going 4.1 innings with nearly identical statlines.
• Junior RHP Hambleton Oliver continues to come up clutch in big situations. He had a pair of saves last week against Oklahoma, then stranded the bases loaded with back-to-back strikeouts on Sunday against UT to keep the Bears within a run.
• Junior RHP Cole Stasio leads the team with 11 scoreless relief outings, including each of his last four appearances.
ADD IT TO THE K-COUNTER
• The Bears have eclipsed double-digit strikeouts on the mound in 18 of their 37 games so far this season.
• BU has punched out at least 13 opposing hitters in 10 games this year.
• Furthermore, Baylor has racked up 15 or more K's in four games this season, including a program record for Big 12 games with 18 at Oklahoma State on March 24.
• Baylor is tied for second in the Big 12 with 353 strikeouts, and BU's 9.61 strikeouts per nine innings also ranks second in the conference.
AGAINST THE RED RAIDERS
• Baylor trails the all-time series against Texas Tech, 93-86.
• The Bears dropped two of three to the Red Raiders last season in Waco.
• BU took two of three over TTU the last time the two sides met in Lubbock, with a road series win in 2021 against the No. 5-ranked Red Raiders.
• In the last 10 meetings, the Bears are 4-6 against Texas Tech.
PROBABLE STARTERS
• Friday, April 21 • 6:30 p.m. • RHP Blake Helton (0-4, 7.88 ERA) vs. LHP Mason Molina (3-2, 4.60 ERA)
• Saturday, April 22 • 2:00 p.m. • RHP Mason Marriott (1-5, 8.60 ERA) vs. RHP Trendan Parish (2-0, 5.09 ERA)
• Sunday, April 23 • 2:00 p.m. • RHP Will Rigney (3-1, 3.80 ERA) vs. TBA
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• Friday night's game will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
• Clay Matvick (play-by-play) and Mike Rooney (analyst) will have the call, on-site from Lubbock.
• The rest of the series will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+
• Fans can also tune in to the Baylor radio broadcast all three days on ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM, featuring Derek Smith (play-by-play) and Max Calderone (color analyst) on the call.
SWAP AT THE TOP
• Since shuffling the top of the batting order on April 4, the Bears are hitting .273 as a team across those nine games.
• The top four of Cole Posey (.444 OBP), Hunter Teplanszky (.400 AVG, 10 RBI), Kolby Branch (.394 AVG, 11 RBI) and Hunter Simmons (3 HR) have really taken to the lineup change and produced for the Bears.
KERPLANK!
• Sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky is on fire at the plate for the Bears, riding a 25-game on-base and 13-game hitting streak entering Tuesday's game against Sam Houston.
• Teplanszky came up big all series long against Texas, with three-straight two-RBI games.
• On Friday, he sparked the late rally with a two-run double down the right field line. Then on Saturday, he delivered the walk-off, two-run single to win it. Finally on Sunday, he hit a two-run double off the center field wall that put the Bears ahead, 5-3.
• Once again on Tuesday at Sam Houston, "Plank" came through with a game-tying double in the top of the eighth, then scored the game-winning run on Kolby Branch's RBI single.
SHAPING UP TO BE ONE OF THE GREATS
• Through his first 37 career games, freshman INF Kolby Branch's stats compare very favorably to each of BU's last five Freshmen All-Americans:
2023 - Kolby Branch: .356 AVG, 4 HR, 33 RBI 2017 - Shea Langeliers: .273, 6 HR, 21 RBI
2020* - Jared McKenzie: .406 AVG, 0 HR, 5 RBI 2010 - Logan Vick: .328, 6 HR, 16 RBI
2018 - Nick Loftin: .277 AVG, 3 HR, 20 RBI 2010 - Max Muncy: .327, 10 HR, 40 RBI
BRANCH ADDED TO BROOKS WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST
• Freshman INF Kolby Branch was one of 101 shortstops named to the Brooks Wallace Award watch list this week.
• The award honors the nation's top shortstop and recognizes outstanding defenisve play as much as it does production at the plate.
• He is one of seven Big 12 players and one of only 10 freshmen named to the award's watch list.
CARDIAC KIDS
• 15 of Baylor's 37 games this year have been decided by two runs or less, including nine one-run ballgames.
• In nine of BU's 14 wins this year, the game has been tied in the 7th inning or later.
• BU has won three games on walk-off hits, including two in extra innings.
• Baylor has already played five extra-inning games so far in 2023, it's most in a season since playing five in 2013.
• The last time BU played six extra-inning games in a season was 2011.
To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.
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