Baylor
TCU
BSB Readies For Rivalry Series Against TCU
5/2/2024 4:45:00 PM | Baseball
Bears and Horned Frogs set for critical Big 12 weekend
 |
BAYLOR BEARS (20-23, 9-12 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Mitch Thompson (Fort Hays St., 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (20-23, 9-12) vs. TCU (26-16, 10-14) May 3, 2024 • 6:30 p.m. CT May 4, 2024 • 2:00 p.m. CT May 5, 2024 • 1:00 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:    |
 |
TCU HORNED FROGS (26-16, 10-14 Big 12) Location: Fort Worth, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Kirk Saarloos (Cal St. Fullerton) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor Baseball welcomes Big 12 rival TCU to Waco for a critical Big 12 series, with both teams fighting for a spot in the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship.
• With just three weeks left to play, Baylor currently sits tied for ninth in the league while the Horned Frogs are a half-game back in 11th place. The top-10 teams in the Big 12 standings will qualify for the Championship.
• Seven of BU's final 11 games will be played at home at Baylor Ballpark in Waco.
• Baylor's nine conference wins are its most since the 2021 season (11-13).
• Fifth-year senior INF Cole Posey recorded his first-career four-hit game on Tuesday night vs. UT Arlington, coming up a double shy of hitting for the cycle.
• Posey has hit three home runs in his last two games, after coming off his first 2-HR game in Sunday's series finale at West Virginia.
• Redshirt junior OF Enzo Apodaca became the first Bear to hit a leadoff home run in two seasons when he did so Friday night at West Virginia.
• 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.
• 60% of Baylor's offense (240 of 403 hits) has been produced by underclassmen or players in their first season at Baylor.
• True or redshirt freshmen have accounted for 40% of innings pitched on the mound this season (150.2 of 376.1).
POSEY-ING A HUGE THREAT
• Fifth-year senior INF Cole Posey had a red-hot April, batting .442 (23-for-52) across 14 games and leading the team with five home runs and 15 runs driven in.
• After a 4-for-4 night on Tuesday, Posey has now reached safely in each of his last eight plate appearances and will seek his eighth-consecutive hit in his first at-bat this weekend, a feat no Bear has achieved since 2016.
• Posey was inserted back into the starting lineup on April 5 at first base, a position he had never played before in his collegiate career, and promptly hit a grand slam against Incarnate Word and has yet to relinquish the starting spot.
• The journeyman from Georgetown, Texas, began the season just 1-for-17 at the plate until the month of April.
• Posey logged his first-career two-HR game on Sunday at West Virginia with blasts in each of his first two AB's, and has now hit three blasts in his last two games.
A NIGHT OF FIRSTS
• Tuesday night's win over UT Arlington marked a night of firsts for multiple Bears.
• Freshman LHP/OF RJ Ruais made his first-career start as the designated hitter and picked up his first two collegiate hits.
• Ruais later recorded an out on the mound, a strikeout, to become the first Bear in five seasons to have a hit and a strikeout in the same game.
• Redshirt freshman RHP Tanner Duke earned his first-career win, and redshirt junior RHP Patrick Hail collected his first-career save on the mound.
• Fifth-year senior INF Cole Posey nearly made history, as he notched his first-career four-hit game and came up a double shy of hitting for the cycle, which would have been the fourth cycle in program history.
BY THE NUMBERS VS. TCU
• Baylor leads the all-time series, 151-133, over TCU, but is searching for its first series win over the Frogs since 2019.
• BU is 11-11 against teams from the state of Texas this season and 20-23 in the Thompson era.
PROBABLE STARTERS
• Fri. May 3 • 6:30 p.m. • RHP Mason Marriott (3-4, 5.44 ERA) vs. LHP Payton Tolle (5-3, 3.16 ERA)
• Sat. May 4 • 2:00 p.m. • RHP Collin McKinney (3-5, 5.98 ERA) vs. TBD
• Sun. May 5 • 1:00 p.m. • TBD vs. TBD
BROADCAST INFORMATION
• All three games this weekend will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ featuring the Voice of the Bears, John Morris, and former Baylor pitcher Pat Combs providing the commentary.
• Fans can also tune in to ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM to hear the home radio broadcast featuring 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.
-BaylorBears.com-
