Baylor
Oklahoma
BSB Squares Off With Oklahoma For Three
4/5/2023 5:41:00 PM | Baseball
Bears have raised team batting average by 30 points over last 13 games
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BAYLOR BEARS (10-19, 2-7 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Mitch Thompson (Fort Hays St., 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (10-19, 2-7) vs OKLAHOMA (16-14, 2-4) April 6, 2023 • 6:30 p.m. CT April 7, 2023 • 6:30 p.m. CT April 8, 2023 • 2:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Baylor Ballpark (5,000) LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Talent: John Morris (play-by-play), Pat Combs (analyst) LISTEN: ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM & 92.3 FM Talent: Derek Smith, Ryan Boyd Baylor Social Media:    |
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OKLAHOMA SOONERS (16-14, 2-4 Big 12) Location: Norman, Okla. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Skip Johnson (UTRGV, 1990) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Still winless on the road (0-9) and going through separate losing streaks of five and seven games, it would have been easy for Baylor baseball's players to get down on themselves, maybe even throw up the white flag.
But they haven't.
"I think the locker room is good, the players love each other," said first-year Baylor coach Mitch Thompson, whose Bears (10-19, 2-7) will host Oklahoma (16-14, 2-4) for a three-game series starting with Friday's 6:30 p.m. game at Baylor Ballpark.
"They're disappointed in where we're at right now, but it is what it is. We have to move forward, we've got to keep working. And really, those are your only two options. Are you going to let this beat you down and lay there on the ground? Or, are you going to get up and dust yourself off and go attack again? And I've been proud of them for that. I feel like they're handling that well and we're moving forward."
Snapping a seven-game skid that included getting swept on the road at Oklahoma State and Kansas, the Bears bounced back with a 10-3 win over SFA on Tuesday. Baylor is 5-2 in midweek games this season and 15-5 over the last two years.
"It's been interesting how well we've been playing midweek," said junior pitcher Anderson Needham, who tossed 1.2 innings of shutout relief in the win over SFA. "Coach Thompson said let's just pretend like we're playing on Tuesday going into the weekend series. We're comfortable at home. We know the ballpark and feel comfortable behind our fans."
Baylor is still last in the league in hitting, but has raised its batting average to .260 with double-digit hits in nine of the last 13 games. In conference-only games, the Bears have been even better, ranked fourth with a .292 average.
"We're just sticking to what the coaches are trying to put into us and keep an eye on it every week and getting better," said freshman infielder Kolby Branch, who's hitting .339 with four homers, 10 doubles and 23 RBIs. "That's all it is, just getting more used to it and getting used to everybody around coming together as a team."
Thompson shuffled the lineup for Tuesday's game, moving New Mexico transfer Cole Posey (.338) up to the leadoff spot and Branch into the 3-hole. Posey, Howard College transfer Hunter Simmons (.327) and MCC transfer John Ceccoli (.286) combining to go 10-for-12 with seven runs scored and six RBIs.
"The lineup every day is going to be a different thing," Thompson said. "It's just based upon feeling, it's based upon reading the analytics, reading how's this guy feeling, how's he swinging, what's he doing? How's he done his last four or five games? So, it'll constantly juggle. We have some guys who have stepped up offensively and given me a pretty warm, fuzzy feeling. I'm going to have to write this guy in the lineup every day and see what happens."
The Bears will also shift the pitching rotation for the series, with last week's Sunday starter, Blake Helton (0-3, 7.96 ERA) moving up to Thursday's series opener. Staying on their normal routine, sophomore Mason Marriott (1-4, 8.90) is slated to start Friday's 6:30 p.m. game, followed by senior Will Rigney (2-3, 3.97) going in Saturday's 2 p.m. series finale.
"It moves everything up a day. Your preparation, especially with your starting pitching, is different," Thompson said. "But we're in good shape there just because our guys did not go too far, pitch-wise, last week. One of the things that always happens when you're dealing with a pitching staff is if a guy is extended one week, very rarely does he come back the next week and pitch that well and be able to do that again. So, these guys were not extended very far."
All three games will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris and former Baylor standout Pat Combs calling the action.
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor Baseball welcomes Oklahoma for a three-game series this weekend at Baylor Ballpark as part of an eight-game stretch that includes seven home games.
• The Bears snapped their seven-game losing streak on Tuesday night against SFA with a 10-3 victory.
• Junior INF/OF Cole Posey, junior OF Hunter Simmons and sophomore 1B John Ceccoli combined to go 10-for-12 and reached base a total of 13 times, scoring seven runs and driving in six in the midweek win.
• Ceccoli launched his team-leading fifth home run of the season, as the Bears have now hit home runs in five-straight games and seven of their last eight.
• BU racked up 13 hits in the win, matching its second-highest output of the season and 13th game in double figures offensively, including the ninth time in the last 13 games.
• Baylor improved to 10-3 this season when scoring six or more runs and 3-0 when scoring 10 or more runs.
• BU is now 8-0 this year when leading the ballgame after six innings and 8-2 when out-hitting its opponent.
• Sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky leads the squad with a 17-game on-base streak, while junior INF/OF Cole Posey has a team-leading 13-game hitting streak.
• Freshman INF Kolby Branch has reached base safely in 28 of BU's 29 games this year.
• Junior RHPs Adam Muirhead, Anderson Needham, Hambleton Oliver and Cole Stasio are each tied for the team lead with 12 appearances out of the bullpen this year.
• Needham and junior righty Brett Garcia are tied for the team lead with eight scoreless outings in relief.
• Garcia (.188), sophomore RHP Gabe Craig (.200), Oliver (.211) and junior RHP Grant Golomb (.230) have each held opposing hitters to under a .230 batting average.
ADD IT TO THE K-COUNTER
• The Bears have eclipsed double-digit strikeouts on the mound in 16 of their 29 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 ranks second in the Big 12 and 27th nationally with 288 strikeouts.
• BU's 9.98 strikeouts per nine innings also ranks second the conference and 47th nationally.
OFFENSE HEATING UP
• Over the last 13 games, Baylor's offense is hitting .296 and has raised its batting average 30 points, from .230 to .260.
• During conference games, BU is hitting .292 as a team, the fourth-best mark in the league.
• Baylor's offense has produced 13 double-digit hitting outputs this season, including nine in its last 13 games.
• Junior INF/OF Cole Posey is on an absolute tear, hitting .429 (21-for-49) during the stretch with a hit in all 13 games, including seven doubles.
• Four Bears are hitting .333 or better during that stretch in Posey (.429), junior OF Hunter Simmons (.396), sophomore INF Hunter Teplanszky (.354) and freshman INF Kolby Branch (.333).
SERIES HISTORY VS OKLAHOMA
• Baylor trails the all-time series, 55-50, to Oklahoma, though the two sides have split the last 10 meetings 5-5.
• The Bears dropped two of three to the Sooners last year in Norman, but salvaged the series finale with a 16-8 win on Sunday.
• BU is looking for its first series win over OU since 2019.
PROBABLE STARTERS
• Thursday, April 6 • 6:30 p.m. • RHP Blake Helton (0-3, 7.96 ERA) vs. RHP Braxton Douthit (4-1, 3.26 ERA)
• Friday, April 7 • 6:30 p.m. • RHP Mason Marriott (1-4, 8.90 ERA) vs. LHP James Hitt (1-0, 4.88 ERA)
• Saturday, April 8 • 2:00 p.m. • RHP Will Rigney (2-1, 3.97 ERA) vs. RHP Will Carsten (1-1, 5.21 ERA)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• All three games on the weekend will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+
• John Morris (play-by-play) will join former Baylor pitcher Pat Combs (color analyst) for the call.
• Fans can also tune in to the Baylor radio broadcast on ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM, featuring Derek Smith (play-by-play) and Ryan Boyd (color analyst) on the call.
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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