BAYLOR BEARS (20-8, 4-5 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas  Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Mitch Thompson (Fort Hays St., 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF)	BAYLOR (20-8, 4-5) vs. HOUSTON (16-12, 3-6) April 4, 2025 • 6:30 p.m. CT April 5, 2025 • 2:00 p.m. CT April 6, 2025 • 1:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Baylor Ballpark (5,000) LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com WATCH: ESPN+ Talent: John Morris, Pat Combs LISTEN: ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM Talent: Derek Smith, Tom Barfield Baylor Social Media:
	HOUSTON COUGARS (16-12, 3-6 Big 12) Location: Houston, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Todd Whitting (Houston, 1995) Roster | Stats

STORYLINES

LEADING OFF

• Baylor Baseball continues its five-game homestand this weekend with a three-game set against Houston.

• A midweek contest next Tuesday, April 8, against Texas State rounds out the home stretch.

• BU is coming off an exciting 3-2 victory Tuesday night over HCU, capped by a walk-off solo home run by Travis Sanders.

• The Bears remained undefeated (7-0) in midweek ballgames this season and have won 12-straight midweeks dating back to 2024.

• Tuesday's win marked the fastest BU has reached 20 wins since 2019, when the Bears started the year 20-6 and collected win No. 20 on March 30 at Kansas.

• Last weekend, Baylor took two of three at No. 12 Arizona, earning their fifth and sixth wins against a ranked team under third-year head coach Mitch Thompson.

• The series win marked BU's first road series victory over a ranked opponent since April 23-25, 2021, at No. 5 Texas Tech.

• Baylor is 13-2 this season when allowing two walks or less.

• BU is 14-1 when striking out nine or more batters and 11-3 when racking up 10+ hits offensively.

• Baylor returns 22 players from its 2024 roster, including six position player starters, and welcomes 18 newcomers.

• BU has 16 seniors on its 2025 roster, including six fifth-year players and three sixth-year players.

• Baylor plays a combined 13 games against five NCAA Tournament teams in 2025 and will face 10 30-game winners, including two squads that won 40 or more games last season.

• 46% of the schedule features opponents that finished 2024 with a top-75 RPI.

STRONG FIRST HALF

• Baylor completed its first Opening Weekend sweep since 2019, outscoring Youngstown State 38-11.

• The Bears posted back-to-back shutouts against UTSA and Gonzaga, the team's first consecutive shutouts since April 1-2, 2021.

• BU's sweep over LMU signaled the fourth time since 2017 that the Bears have swept two opponents at home within the first four weekends of the year.

• Tuesday, March 11's game attendance (2,283) against Sam Houston was the largest crowd against a non-conference opponent, and the seventh-largest overall, of the Thompson era.

• Baylor erased a five-run deficit to win 9-7 on Sunday at Kansas, the largest comeback of the Thompson Era.

• Baylor's 3.33 walks per nine innings ranks 19th in the country and its 1.30 WHIP ranks 24th.

• BU's bullpen has allowed 50 earned runs across 138.0 innings of relief, good for a 3.26 ERA.

• For the seventh week in a row, Baylor is currently receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 25 poll. Baylor has not been ranked in a major poll since 2019.

SERIES HISTORY AGAINST HOUSTON

• Baylor leads the all-time series over Houston, 90-72, despite being swept by the Cougars in H-Town last season.

• This is the first meeting between BU and UH in Waco since 2017, when the Bears won two of three.

• The Bears are 7-0 this season against fellow teams from the state of Texas; this is BU's first weekend series against an in-state rival.

PROBABLE STARTERS

• Fri. April 4 • 6:30 p.m. • LHP Ethan Calder (3-3, 5.80 ERA) vs. RHP Paul Schmitz (3-2, 4.81 ERA)

• Sat. April 5 • 2:00 p.m. • LHP Carson Bailey (2-1, 6.66 ERA) vs. RHP Richie Roman (0-4, 5.25 ERA)

• Sun. April 6 • 1:00 p.m. • TBD vs. TBD

SOUTHPAW STARTERS

• Baylor has started a left-handed pitcher in each of its last 17 games, dating back to March 2 (Cole Stasio vs. Auburn).

• 2025 is the only season in the Statcrew Era (since 2003) that BU has started five different left-handed pitchers at any point in the year, and the third time in the same span with four different LHP starters.

• 2025 is the only time in the Statcrew Era that the Bears have started four different southpaws consecutively.

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• All three games this weekend will be streamed on ESPN+, with the Voice of the Bears John Morris and Baylor Athletics Hall of Famer Pat Combs calling the action.

• Fans can also tune in to ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM for the Baylor 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.
 

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