DON'T MAKE IT TOO BIG
5/1/2025 11:19:00 PM | Baseball
Baseball hosting Arizona State to kick off seven-game home stand
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Mitch Thompson knows just how big each of Baylor baseball's 10 remaining regular-season games are in putting together an NCAA Tournament resume.
Just don't make the moment too big.
"If you sit here and say, 'Oh man, you've got to win, you've got to win, you've got to win,' then it's just pressure and it doesn't show up," said Thompson, whose Bears (28-16, 9-12) play Arizona State (30-16, 14-7) in a three-game series this weekend at Baylor Ballpark.
"We've put ourselves in a position where these games matter. And that's good. So, just enjoy it, go play, have fun. Let's go win this one and move on to the next one. And if you lose that one, pick yourself back up and let's go get the next one. That's really where we're at. We've just got to continue to play well and hopefully win some of these series."
Freshman third baseman Pearson Riebock, who's hitting .326 with a .431 on-base percentage, breaks it down even further to "one pitch at a time."
"At the end of the day, every game matters. We need as many wins as possible," Riebock said. "But we're just going to play one pitch at a time and go from there. . . . (Coach Thompson) has really been on us about not making the moment too big for ourselves. Just playing and trusting ourselves."
Junior right-hander Grayson Murry (3-0, 1.83 ERA, one save), one of Baylor's top arms out of the bullpen, said the Bears are "starting to play our best baseball right now." Baylor has won seven of its last 10 games, including a 6-3, series-salvaging win against 23rd-ranked TCU on Sunday and Tuesday's 15-4 blowout of Sam Houston on the road.
"We all believe in each other and know that we're a great team, that we can do anything that we put our minds to," said Murry, who struck out the side in his one inning of work in Tuesday's game. "It's all in our hands right now. We can go out there and compete against these great teams, and we can win. We trust each other. Whoever's on the mound, whoever's at the plate, we trust each and every single one of them."
In what amounted to a "bullpen game," Murry was one of seven pitchers used in the Bears' win over Sam Houston. Sophomore lefty Caleb Jameson (2-0) threw two hitless innings to pick up the win, followed by Hunter Teplanszky, Stefan Stahl, Cole Stasio, Murry, RJ Ruais and Andrew Petrowski, combining for a season-high 14 strikeouts.
"We know that anybody in our bullpen can come in and step up in those big moments and get the job done," Murry said. "We trusty every guy. Whoever it may be, we trust that they're going to throw strikes, pound the zone and get outs every single time."
Baylor's pitchers will be tested by the Big 12 Conference's best-hitting team. The Sun Devils, riding a five-game winning streak, are hitting a league-best .320 with 68 home runs and averaging 8.7 runs per game.
Hitting a league-high .410, Matt King is one of three ASU players in the league's top 10, followed by Kyle Walker (.368) and Eli Buston (.362).
"Up and down, their numbers are off-the-chart good," Thompson said. "They really run, they're athletic and the best-hitting team in the league, clearly. They've got the leading hitter in the league, they have the leading strikeout guy in the league on the mound (Jack Martinez, 92). I think they lead the league in team defense over all games. So, this is a really sound club."
Sticking with the same rotation they used last weekend, the Bears will start sophomore Mason Green (0-1, 9.53 ERA) in Friday's 6:30 p.m. game, freshman Carson Bailey (3-2, 5.13) in Saturday's 2 p.m. matchup and junior Ethan Calder (3-4, 5.80) in Sundays 1 p.m. series finale.
This is part of a seven-game home stand that will include Tuesday's game versus UTRGV (30-16) and a series next weekend against Oklahoma State (19-21, 7-11) before closing the regular season at UCF (24-20, 6-15).
"We've been on the road a little more than I like, personally," Riebock said. "And I love being here at Baylor Ballpark every day. The midweek travel and the weekend travel, it's been a lot. But we're glad to be back home, for sure."
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Mitch Thompson knows just how big each of Baylor baseball's 10 remaining regular-season games are in putting together an NCAA Tournament resume.
Just don't make the moment too big.
"If you sit here and say, 'Oh man, you've got to win, you've got to win, you've got to win,' then it's just pressure and it doesn't show up," said Thompson, whose Bears (28-16, 9-12) play Arizona State (30-16, 14-7) in a three-game series this weekend at Baylor Ballpark.
"We've put ourselves in a position where these games matter. And that's good. So, just enjoy it, go play, have fun. Let's go win this one and move on to the next one. And if you lose that one, pick yourself back up and let's go get the next one. That's really where we're at. We've just got to continue to play well and hopefully win some of these series."
Freshman third baseman Pearson Riebock, who's hitting .326 with a .431 on-base percentage, breaks it down even further to "one pitch at a time."
"At the end of the day, every game matters. We need as many wins as possible," Riebock said. "But we're just going to play one pitch at a time and go from there. . . . (Coach Thompson) has really been on us about not making the moment too big for ourselves. Just playing and trusting ourselves."
Junior right-hander Grayson Murry (3-0, 1.83 ERA, one save), one of Baylor's top arms out of the bullpen, said the Bears are "starting to play our best baseball right now." Baylor has won seven of its last 10 games, including a 6-3, series-salvaging win against 23rd-ranked TCU on Sunday and Tuesday's 15-4 blowout of Sam Houston on the road.
"We all believe in each other and know that we're a great team, that we can do anything that we put our minds to," said Murry, who struck out the side in his one inning of work in Tuesday's game. "It's all in our hands right now. We can go out there and compete against these great teams, and we can win. We trust each other. Whoever's on the mound, whoever's at the plate, we trust each and every single one of them."
In what amounted to a "bullpen game," Murry was one of seven pitchers used in the Bears' win over Sam Houston. Sophomore lefty Caleb Jameson (2-0) threw two hitless innings to pick up the win, followed by Hunter Teplanszky, Stefan Stahl, Cole Stasio, Murry, RJ Ruais and Andrew Petrowski, combining for a season-high 14 strikeouts.
"We know that anybody in our bullpen can come in and step up in those big moments and get the job done," Murry said. "We trusty every guy. Whoever it may be, we trust that they're going to throw strikes, pound the zone and get outs every single time."
Baylor's pitchers will be tested by the Big 12 Conference's best-hitting team. The Sun Devils, riding a five-game winning streak, are hitting a league-best .320 with 68 home runs and averaging 8.7 runs per game.
Hitting a league-high .410, Matt King is one of three ASU players in the league's top 10, followed by Kyle Walker (.368) and Eli Buston (.362).
"Up and down, their numbers are off-the-chart good," Thompson said. "They really run, they're athletic and the best-hitting team in the league, clearly. They've got the leading hitter in the league, they have the leading strikeout guy in the league on the mound (Jack Martinez, 92). I think they lead the league in team defense over all games. So, this is a really sound club."
Sticking with the same rotation they used last weekend, the Bears will start sophomore Mason Green (0-1, 9.53 ERA) in Friday's 6:30 p.m. game, freshman Carson Bailey (3-2, 5.13) in Saturday's 2 p.m. matchup and junior Ethan Calder (3-4, 5.80) in Sundays 1 p.m. series finale.
This is part of a seven-game home stand that will include Tuesday's game versus UTRGV (30-16) and a series next weekend against Oklahoma State (19-21, 7-11) before closing the regular season at UCF (24-20, 6-15).
"We've been on the road a little more than I like, personally," Riebock said. "And I love being here at Baylor Ballpark every day. The midweek travel and the weekend travel, it's been a lot. But we're glad to be back home, for sure."
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