BAYLOR BEARS (13-18, 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 (13-18, 5-7) at BYU (14-15, 6-9) April 11, 2024 • 7:00 p.m. CT April 12, 2024 • 7:00 p.m. CT April 13, 2024 • 2:00 p.m. CT Provo, Utah • Miller Park (2,204) LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ LISTEN: ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM Talent: Derek Smith, Tom Barfield Baylor Social Media:
	BYU COUGARS (14-15, 6-9 Big 12) Location: Provo, Utah Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Trent Pratt Roster | Stats

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
WACO, Texas – Mitch Thompson never ranks how important games or series are for his Baylor baseball team.
 
"Every one of them is big," the second-year head coach said. "Every one of these 30 conference games is big. None of them matters more than the others, but this is the next one, so it's the most important one."
 
Only because it's the next one. But in a race for the one of the 10 spots in next month's Big 12 Championship at Globe Life Field, the matchup this weekend between the Bears (13-18, 5-7) and BYU (14-15, 6-9) in Provo, Utah, is a pivotal one.
 
In Baylor's first-ever trip to Miller Field, the games are scheduled for 7 p.m. CT Thursday and Friday and 2 p.m. CT Saturday. While the Bears are currently 10^th, just a half-game ahead of BYU, they are only two games out of a tie for third and three games out of first.
 
"I don't pay too much attention to the standings," said junior third baseman Hunter Teplanszky, who's hitting .316 with three home runs and 23 RBIs, "but I know we're right in the mix. So, winning this series – if we can go in there and win two if not get a sweep – it'll put us right in the running to be up there towards the top of the conference."
 
Baylor's chase to .500 got a setback with Sunday's 14-1 loss to Incarnate Word after scoring 28 runs in the first two games against the Cardinals and winning its fourth-consecutive home series. In a season-long five-game winning streak, the Bears had scored at least eight runs in every game and outscored their opponents, 58-31.
 
"We've got to learn from it and move on," Thompson said. "You can't go back and redo it. If we could, we would, but we can't. You call it out and you talk to the guys about the things that we've got to do to improve in those situations. But you move on. And hopefully the next time we get a chance to do something like that, we can have a better showing."
 
Adjusting the rotation, Thompson will go with usual Friday night starter Mason Marriott (1-3, 4.58) for Thursday's series opener, followed by freshman left-hander Mason Green (1-4, 5.34) and redshirt freshman righty Collin McKinney (3-3, 4.93) on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
 
"I think that's the safest bet for everybody," Thompson said "You just have to take care of the kids. You've got to do what's best for them, what's the best thing for the team, got to weigh it all. And that's kind of how we've settled on this week."
 
One of four league newcomers this year, BYU is last in the league in batting with a .254 batting average, but has a 5.41 team ERA that ranks among Baylor and two other conference teams despite playing in elevation.
 
"I think altitude is going to have an effect," said Thompson, who is making his first trip to Utah. "It may have an effect on some of these kids. I know I don't sleep well the first night, ever, in altitude. But you're going to have to keep the ball down; the ball's going to travel.
 
"We're probably not a team that ought to be getting in a slugfest battle and thinking that we're going to come out on top. But we're going to need our guys who can hit balls out of the yard to hit some balls out of the yard. And then, we'll need to try to get them to put as many on the ground as we can."
 
All three games will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+.



STORYLINES

LEADING OFF

• Baylor Baseball hits the road for what is now a four-game road swing beginning on Thursday, April 11, at BYU after its midweek contest at DBU was cancelled due to expected inclement weather. 

• The road stretch concludes next Tuesday, April 16, at UT Arlington before the Bears host Kansas in Waco.

• After taking two of three from Incarnate Word this past weekend, BU has now won four straight home weekend series for the first time since the 2015 season.

• Baylor's five-game win streak was its longest under second-year head coach Mitch Thompson and marked the first time since April 24-May 11, 2018, that the team had scored eight or more runs in five consecutive games.

• Baylor is hitting .300 as a team over its last 10 games, with seven players each batting above .325. 

• The Bears have played the nation's 44th-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.

• 59% of Baylor's offense (166 of 280 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 (116.0 of 271.1).

• 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.

FOUR STRAIGHT AT THE FRIENDLY CONFINES

• Baylor won its fourth-straight weekend series at Baylor Ballpark after taking two of three from Incarnate Word.

• Senior INF Cole Posey delivered a first-inning grand slam in Friday's series opener to help BU to a 13-7 win.

• Redshirt freshman RHP Collin McKinney was dominant in Saturday's 15-3 victory, striking out 10 batters in five innings to match his season and career best.

• The Bears hit seven home runs in the series, their most in a three-game weekend series since hitting seven at Texas Tech on April 23-25, 2001. 

OFFENSE HEATING UP

• Over its last 10 games, Baylor is hitting .300 as a team with seven players hitting above .325.

• The Bears have hit nine home runs over that span and scored 72 runs.

• BU's five-game win streak from March 29-April 6 was the first time the team had scored eight or more runs in five-straight games since April 24-May 11, 2018.

• Three Bears own active on-base streaks of at least 10 games in junior OF Wesley Jordan (23), junior INF Hunter Teplanszky (15) and redshirt junior OF Enzo Apodaca (10), while four Bears have six-game hitting streaks or better in Apodaca (10), Teplanszky (7), junior OF Ty Johnson (6) and sophomore C Zach Mazoch (6).

STRAIGHT DEALIN'

• On Saturday, Collin McKinney matched his season and career high with 10 strikeouts against Incarnate Word, becoming the first Bear to fan 10+ in back-to-back starts since Kendal Volz did so in his final start of 2007 and first outing of 2008.

• McKinney held UIW to two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks.

• Over his last two starts, McKinney has allowed just one earned run in 11.1 innings with 20 strikeouts.

• McKinney is the first Bear since Cody Bradford in 2018 to record multiple double-digit strikeout performances in the same season.

BY THE NUMBERS VS. BYU

• Baylor is 1-1 against BYU all-time, though the two sides haven't met since 2010.

• This is BU's first trip to Provo in program history.

• The Bears are looking for their first Big 12 road series victory since 2021 (April 23-25 at Texas Tech).

PROBABLE STARTERS

• Thurs. April 11 • 7:00 p.m. • RHP Mason Marriott (1-3, 4.58) vs. RHP Ben Hansen (4-3, 6.37)

• Fri. April 12 • 7:00 p.m. • LHP Mason Green (1-4, 5.34) vs. RHP Bryce Robison (2-3, 4.26)

• Sat. April 13 • 2:00 p.m. • RHP Collin McKinney (3-3, 4.93) vs. TBD