Baylor
HCU
BSB Continues Homestand Against HCU
4/1/2024 5:30:00 PM | Baseball
Bears in search of fourth-consecutive win over Huskies
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BAYLOR BEARS (10-17, 5-7 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Mitch Thompson (Fort Hays St., 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (10-17, 5-7) vs HCU (9-18, 2-4) April 2, 2024 • 6:30 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Baylor Ballpark (5,000) LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ Talent: John Morris, Pat Combs LISTEN: ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM Talent: Derek Smith, Tom Barfield Baylor Social Media:    |
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HCU HUSKIES (9-18, 2-4 Southland) Location: Houston, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Southland Head Coach: Lance Berkman (Rice, 1998) Roster | Stats |
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor Baseball continues along its eight-game homestand with another four-game week at Baylor Ballpark, playing host to HCU on Tuesday before welcoming Incarnate Word over the weekend.
• BU is coming off its second-straight Big 12 home series victory after taking two of three from Cincinnati.
• The Bears have played the nation's 46th-ranked strength of schedule in 2024, the seventh-best in the Big 12.
• 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 2023 RPI top-50 this season, the most in the Big 12.
• 56% of Baylor's offense (131 of 232 hits) has been produced by underclassmen or players in their first season at Baylor.
• True or redshirt freshmen have accounted for 43% of innings pitched on the mound this season (101.0 of 236.1).
• 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.
BACK-TO-BACK IN BIG 12 PLAY ON THE BANKS OF THE BRAZOS
• Baylor won its second-consecutive home Big 12 series last weekend after taking two of three over Cincinnati.
• The Bears opened up an 8-2 lead on Friday behind Hunter Teplanszky's three-run home run, and held on despite a grand slam for UC in the top of the eighth inning.
• Kobe Andrade collected his first-career save in the Friday night victory after retiring all five batters he faced.
• On Saturday, BU received a dominant 10-strikeout start from redshirt freshman Collin McKinney, who worked a career-high 6.1 innings and allowed just one hit and one unearned run, in leading BU to a 9-2 victory.
• The Bears pounded out a 13 hits, their most in a Big 12 game so far, and struck out 14 to tie their season high in the win.
STRAIGHT DEALIN'
• On Saturday, Collin McKinney's 10 strikeouts matched a season high (Mason Marriott vs. Nebraska, Feb. 16) and marked the first time since 2018 that Baylor has had multiple 10+ strikeout performances in the same season.
• After a leadoff walk in the top of the second, McKinney retired 14 in a row, including five consecutive strikeouts in the third and fourth innings.
• The redshirt freshman out of Nassau Bay, Texas, became the first Bear since Logan Verrett on March 16, 2009 vs. Texas A&M to strike out five in a row.
HEATING UP
• Junior outfielder Wesley Jordan is on an absolute tear, reaching in 19 straight games and hitting .417 (15-for-36) over his last 10 games.
• The powerful right-handed hitter has logged five doubles and a home run while driving in eight runs over the last 10 games.
• Junior infielder Hunter Teplanszky and senior infielder Daniel Altman have also been stout in the middle of the Bears' order, combining to drive in 19 runs over the last 10 games and hitting a combined .353 (24-for-68) in that stretch.
• In the last 10 games, senior LHP Kobe Andrade has not allowed a run over 7.2 IP and has fanned five with just one walk.
BULLPEN TAKING SHAPE
• Five Baylor relievers hold sub-3.52 ERA's in sophomore lefty Ethan Calder (2.49), freshman southpaw RJ Ruais (2.87), redshirt junior righty Drew Leach (3.30) redshirt junior right-hander Patrick Hail (3.38) and senior lefty Kobe Andrade (3.52).
• The quintet has struck out a combined 91 batters and walked just 33.
• The group has also inherited 44 runners and allowed just 12 to score on the season.
BY THE NUMBERS VS. HCU
• Baylor leads the all-time series, 7-2, over HCU and has won each of the last three meetings.
• Each of BU's five midweek wins over the Huskies have come by at least four runs (11-4, 2023; 6-2, 2022; 9-3, 2014; 15-4, 2009; 12-4, 2008).
• The Bears are 2-4 in midweek games so far in 2024 and 11-10 under second-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
• Baylor is 5-10 against teams from the state of Texas in 2024 and 15-22 in the Thompson era.
PROBABLE STARTERS
• Tues. April 2 • 6:30 p.m. • LHP RJ Ruais (1-0, 2.87) vs. TBD
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• Tuesday's game will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with Voice of the Bears John Morris (play-by-play) and former Baylor pitcher Pat Combs (color analyst) on the call.
• Fans can also tune in to the Baylor radio broadcast on ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM with Derek Smith and Tom Barfield 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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