Baylor
Grand Canyon
BSB Returns to Action With Pair of Midweeks
5/8/2023 6:20:00 PM | Baseball
Bears host Grand Canyon, Lamar in five-game week
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BAYLOR BEARS (16-30, 6-15 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Mitch Thompson (Fort Hays St., 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (16-30, 6-15) vs GRAND CANYON (30-19, 17-7) May 9, 2023 • 6:30 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, Nolan Bay Baylor Social Media:    |
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GRAND CANYON ANTELOPES (30-19, 17-7 WAC) Location: Phoenix, Ariz. Conference/Affiliation: WAC Head Coach: Gregg Wallis (UC Irvine, 2005) Roster | Stats |
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LAMAR CARDINALS (27-20, 10-11 Southland) Location: Beaumont, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Southland Head Coach: Will Davis (LSU, 2007) Roster | Stats |
BAYLOR (16-30, 6-15) vs LAMAR (27-20, 10-11) May 10, 2023 • 6:30 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Baylor Ballpark (5,000) LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Talent: Pete Sousa (PxP), Pat Combs (Analyst) LISTEN: Learfield / ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM & 92.3 FM Talent: Derek Smith, Ryan Boyd, Nolan Bay Baylor Social Media: |
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor Baseball readies for its biggest week of the season with five games, including a pair of midweek contests at home before an important Big 12 series finale at TCU this weekend.
• BU embarks on a season-closing sprint, with nine games scheduled over the next 12 days.
• The Bears are coming off an idle weekend and five-day break after splitting a pair of midweeks last week against Abilene Christian and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
• In the win over the Islanders, BU set a season high with 18 hits and tied its season best with 12 runs.
• Baylor improved to 15-7 this season when scoring six or more runs and 6-0 when scoring 10 or more runs.
• BU is now also 11-2 this year when leading the ballgame after six innings and 11-4 when out-hitting its opponent.
• Junior OF Hunter Simmons returned to the lineup to go 6-for-9 with a home run and three RBIs in last week's two games.
• Sophomore C Cortlan Castle boasts a career-high nine-game hitting streak and 10-game on-base streak. He is hitting .405 over that stretch with four extra-base hits and five RBIs.
• Freshman INF Kolby Branch continues to lead the club in virtually every offensive category. He sits just two doubles shy of the program's doubles record by a freshman (18, Matt Williams, 1998).
• Junior RHP Anderson Needham notched his team-leading 13th scoreless appearance of the season in Wednesday's win, tying his season high with 2.2 innings of relief and four strikeouts.
• Junior RHP Jared Matheson worked a season-high 4.1 innings and struck out five to tie his 2023 best in getting the start on Wednesday against TAMU-CC.
• Junior RHP Grant Golomb tied his career best with 3.2 innings in relief on Tuesday at ACU and did not allow an earned run for the seventh time this season.
STRANDING RUNNERS
• Over the last 19 games, Baylor pitchers have inherited 68 baserunners and have allowed just 19 of them to score.
• Fifth-year junior RHP Anderson Needham leads the team with 13 scoreless appearances on the year.
• Sophomore RHP Gabe Craig has worked 12 scoreless outings and has stranded all seven of his inherited runners since the start of April.
• Junior RHP Cole Stasio is right behind him with 11 scoreless relief outings, including each of his last four appearances. He alone has stranded 11 baserunners in his last six outings.
ADD IT TO THE K-COUNTER
• The Bears have eclipsed double-digit strikeouts on the mound in 20 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 fourth in the Big 12 with 431 strikeouts, though BU's 9.49 K/9 innings ranks second in the conference.
BY THE NUMBERS
• Baylor trails the all-time series against Grand Canyon, 1-3-1, but has won the only prior meeting in Waco on April 15, 1991.
• BU and GCU were scheduled to play a three-game series in Waco in 2020 the weekend following the COVID-19 shutdown.
• Baylor leads the all-time series, 46-32-1, over Lamar and has won each of the last two meetings.
• BU is 7-5 this season in midweek games.
• Baylor is 8-9 this year against fellow teams from the state of Texas.
PROBABLE STARTERS
• Tuesday, May 9 • 6:30 p.m. • RHP Mason Marriott (1-5, 8.12 ERA) vs. GCU's LHP Connor Markl (3-1, 6.17 ERA)
• Wednesday, May 10 • 6:30 p.m. • RHP Jared Matheson vs. Lamar's RHP Daniel Cole (1-2, 3.23 ERA)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• Both midweek games will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
• The Voice of the Bears John Morris will handle play-by-play duties for Tuesday's game, while Pete Sousa will enter the booth for Wednesday's contest. Former Baylor pitcher Pat Combs will provide the color commentary all week.
• Fans can also tune in to the Baylor home radio broadcast on ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM, featuring Derek Smith, Ryan Boyd and Nolan Bay on the call.
RUH-ROH, SCOOB MAKES HIS RETURN
• After missing 10 games due to injury, junior OF Hunter Simmons has returned to the Baylor lineup with authority.
• In last week's two midweek games, Simmons went 6-for-9 with a home run and three RBIs.
• Simmons has now driven in at least one run in five-straight games and six of his last seven contests.
KING OF THE CORT
• Sophomore C Cortlan Castle is red hot at the plate for the Bears, hitting .405 over his last 10 starts.
• The local product from Midway HS is riding a career-best nine-game hitting streak and 10-game on-base streak.
CHASING ROOKIE HISTORY
• Freshman INF Kolby Branch sits just two doubles shy of tying Baylor's all-time freshman record of 18, set by Matt Williams in 1998.
• With 16 doubles, Branch currently ranks tied for third in the Big 12, and tied for second among Big 12 rookies.
• That mark is good for seventh nationally among first-year players, and tied for second among Power 5 freshmen.
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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