Baylor
Texas
BSB Travels to Texas for Weekend Series
3/21/2024 3:00:00 PM | Baseball
Bears and Longhorns to meet for final time as conference foes
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BAYLOR BEARS (7-13, 2-4 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Mitch Thompson (Fort Hays St., 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (7-13, 2-4) at TEXAS (13-8, 2-1) March 22, 2024 • 6:30 p.m. CT March 23, 2024 • 2:30 p.m. CT March 24, 2024 • 1:00 p.m. CT Austin, Texas • UFCU Disch-Falk Field (7,211) LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com WATCH: Longhorn Network Talent: Keith Moreland, Greg Swindell LISTEN: 104.9 FM KBHT OR ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM* Talent: Tom Barfield, Troy Montemayor (Fri.), Kurtis Quillin (Sat. & Sun.) Radio broadcast will be on 104.9 FM KBHT in the event of a conflict with Baylor Men's or Women's Basketball Baylor Social Media:    |
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TEXAS LONGHORNS (13-8, 2-1 Big 12) Location: Austin, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: David Pierce (Houston, 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – A baseball rivalry that started 121 years ago, Baylor (7-13, 2-4) and Texas (13-8, 2-1) will meet for the last time as conference foes when the Bears travel down I-35 to Austin for a three-game series against the Longhorns at Disch-Falk Field.
Together in the same league since they were founding members of the old Southwest Conference in 1915, Baylor and Texas were also part of the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996. But those conference ties will be cut with the Longhorns' move to the SEC at the end of the 2023-24 academic year.
"I hate to see it go," said second-year Baylor head coach Mitch Thompson. "It's been a great rivalry for a long time. Being 90 miles away, it's always a nice trip. We used to play them home-and-home every year and do a split series. So, I hope we can still figure out ways to get together and keep playing in Austin and keep playing in Waco."
The final conference series, though, begins with Friday's 6:30 p.m. game at Disch-Falk Field. While Texas swept a midweek pair of games from Air Force after losing a series against unranked Washington, the Bears took two of three from then-No. 23 Texas Tech before an 18-3 loss on Tuesday at Sam Houston.
"Whether you win, whether you lose, you've got to get up and get going," Thompson said. "Obviously, Tuesday's game didn't go as we planned. It got away from us there in the third inning. And then, we were just trying to finish it out. We move on, and we've got a big one with the University of Texas this weekend. Should be a lot of fun."
Baylor trails the all-time series, 252-113-4 and is looking for its first series win against Texas since 2017. Last year, in a tight series, the Bears had nine hits and 10 walks in a 10-9 Saturday win before giving up an eighth-inning run and committing three errors in a 7-6 loss on Sunday that decided the series.
This season, especially after a rough start, Baylor's relief has come from a young pitching staff and newer faces in the bullpen. In sweeping a pair of games from Tech last Sunday, freshman pitchers threw 14 1/3 innings, allowing just one earned run on seven hits and four hits while striking out 13.
That included a masterful start in the series finale by true freshman Mason Green (1-1, 3.60), who had a two-hit shutout through six innings before a 1 ½-hour weather delay.
"It's just a positive that those guys are getting experience, that there are good things on the horizon," Thompson said. "That's the whole thing. We're trying to be good right now, we're fighting for it and we're trying to claw our way back to .500.
"We still have room to grow, but we're 6-6 in our last 12 games and probably haven't played as well as we would like. But the bullpen and the young pitching staff have been positives. Lots of freshman innings, so that says good things about the future, hopefully."
Freshman reliever RJ Ruais (1-0, 1.50 ERA) picked up the win with 3.1 innings of relief in Saturday's suspended game that was finished on Sunday. But two of Baylor's most impressive relievers have been sophomore left-hander Ethan Calder (0-1, 1.23) and Patrick Hail (1-0, 0.93), a 6-6 right-hander who transferred from Lamar.
"(Calder) has just given us a real stable left-hander, for sure," Thompson said. "Last year's experience of 30 innings, you can that it's paid off. And he continued to get better over the summer. He's a guy with good confidence, he believes in himself, he believes in his stuff. He's never had overpowering stuff, so he has to pitch. He has to be able to locate and mix it up, and he's done a really nice job with that. And we'll need him to keep it up this week."
Baylor faces a Texas team that is fourth in the Big 12 in both hitting and pitching with a .305 batting average and 4.24 ERA. A second-team All-American last year, redshirt junior Lebarron Johnson Jr. (1-1, 3.08 ERA, 33 strikeouts) will be paired against Baylor junior right-hander Mason Marriott (0-3, 5.25) in Friday's series opener.
"Friday night guy (Johnson) is going to be a high draft pick . . . a talented, talented kid," Thompson said. "Typical Texas team. Athletic, they can hit with power, they can run, got good arms. They're a really good club."
Redshirt freshman Collin McKinney (1-2, 5.66), who was in line for the win before Saturday's game was suspended, will be matched against Texas lefty Ace Whitehead (1-0, 2.08) in Saturday's 2:30 p.m. game. In Sunday's 1 p.m. series finale, Green and Texas right-hander Max Grubbs (2-0, 2.61) are the scheduled starters.
All three games of the series will be streamed by the Longhorn Network.
Returning to Baylor Ballpark, the Bears kick off an eight-game home stand with a 6:30 p.m. game Tuesday against UTSA.
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor Baseball hits the road for a three-game set against Texas in Austin this weekend.
• Before a midweek loss at Sam Houston, the Bears were coming off a series win over No. 23 Texas Tech -- their third conference series win under second-year head coach Mitch Thompson, first series win against a ranked team since 2022 and first series win against the Red Raiders since 2021.
• Baylor has played the 21st-ranked strength of schedule in 2024.
• According to Pro Baseball Radar, BU faced the nation's toughest schedule through the first month of the season based on 2023's RPI and win percentage.
• Baylor plays 26 games against the RPI top-50 this season, the most in the Big 12.
• 59% of Baylor's offense (101 of 170 hits) has been produced by underclassmen or players in their first season at Baylor.
• True or redshirt freshmen have accounted for 46% of innings pitched on the mound this season (79.1 of 174.0).
• Eighteen Bears have made their Baylor debuts so far in 2024, including 13 players making their Division I debut and nine freshmen making their collegiate debuts.
THE FINAL MEETING
• This will be the final weekend series between Texas and Baylor as conference foes, as UT departs the Big 12 for the SEC after this season.
• The Longhorns lead the all-time series 252-113-4.
• Baylor is looking for its first series win over UT since 2017, and first series win in Austin since 2016.
• BU is 4-7 against teams from the state of Texas in 2024.
ST. PATRICK'S DAY SWEEP
• In a rain affected weekend series, the green & gold struck gold on St. Patrick's Day with two wins over No. 23 Texas Tech, clinching the series over the Red Raiders.
• BU held TTU to just five runs on the weekend, the lowest output in a weekend series so far this year by the Red Raiders (next closest was 19 runs).
• Freshman pitchers combined to throw 14.1 innings for BU, allowing just one earned run on seven hits and four walks, while striking out 13.
GREEN FINDS GOLD IN SUNDAY FINALE
• Freshman left-handed pitcher Mason Green dazzled in the series finale, throwing six shutout innings against Texas Tech en route to his first career win.
• He matched his season and career best with three strikeouts, while holding the Red Raiders to just two hits on 66 pitches.
• 14 of the 18 outs that Green recorded came on four pitches or less.
• Green never faced more than four Red Raiders in an inning.
• For his efforts, Green was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week, Baylor's second weekly conference honor in 2024.
JORDAN'S MAMMOTH BLAST
• In Saturday's game against Texas Tech, Wesley Jordan launched a two-run blast that traveled 476 feet and cleared the videoboard in left-center field at Baylor Ballpark.
• The moonshot was the second-longest home run captured on Trackman (since 2018) by a Bear at Baylor Ballpark.
• Jordan is now tied for the team lead with three home runs, which have traveled an average of 449 feet.
PROBABLE STARTERS
• Fri. March 22 • 6:30 p.m. • RHP Mason Marriott (0-3, 5.25) vs. RHP Lebarron Johnson Jr. (1-1, 3.08)
• Sat. March 23 • 2:30 p.m. • RHP Collin McKinney (1-2, 5.66) vs. LHP Ace Whitehead (1-0, 2.08)
• Sun. March 24 • 1:00 p.m. • LHP Mason Green (1-1, 3.60) vs. RHP Max Grubbs (2-0, 2.61)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• All three games this weekend will be televised on Longhorn Network with Keith Moreland and Greg Swindell calling the action.
• Fans can also tune in to the Baylor radio broadcast on 104.9 FM or ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM with former Baylor closer Troy Montemayor (Friday), and Kurtis Quillin (Sat/Sun) joining Tom Barfield on the call.
THE LAW FIRM OF CALDER AND HAIL
• Sophomore LHP Ethan Calder and redshirt junior RHP Patrick Hail are becoming BU's go-to relievers out of the bullpen, and for good reason as the duo both boast sub-1.25 ERA's.
• In eight relief appearances, Calder has posted four scoreless and three hitless outings. The southpaw's usage has not been limited to left-handed hitters, as he's gone longer than an inning five times.
• On the year, Calder owns a 1.23 ERA, has struck out 14 batters, has not allowed a walk, and collected BU's only save of 2024.
• One of the more experienced arms in the BU bullpen, Hail has been fantastic with a 0.93 ERA across six separate outings, five of which have been scoreless.
• Hail is currently riding a 7.2-inning scoreless streak.
YOU GO, WE GO, 'ZO!
• Redshirt junior OF Enzo Apodaca has either scored a run or driven in a run in 23 of the 40 times (58%) he has reached base this season.
• In the 56 innings that Baylor has scored at least one run, Apodaca has reached base in 29 of them (52%).
• Apodaca ranks as the toughest Big 12 hitter to strike out, fanning once every 10.3 at-bats.
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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