ONE AT A TIME
5/20/2025 6:47:00 PM | Baseball
Baseball hoping to make four-game run at Big 12 tournament
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
ARLINGTON, Texas – Mitch Thompson knows.
At 68th in the latest RPI rankings, Baylor baseball (33-21, 13-17) isn't even on the bubble for an NCAA regional bid. Seeded 10th for the Big 12 Championship, the Bears will face seventh-seeded Oklahoma State (27-22, 15-12) at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Globe Life Field, likely needing to win the 12-team, four-day tournament to extend their season.
"It's just going to be one game at a time," said Thompson, whose team won three of its last four games to move up to 10th in the final regular-season standings and earn a spot in the Big 12 tournament for the first time in three years.
"I think our guys have done a great job of focusing on one game at a time all year long. It's the way you have to play this game. You can't look past anything. You say, 'Can we win four in a row?' Yeah. And everybody that we've played, we've beaten. It's about going out and playing our best and then advancing to the next game and surviving. That's what we're going to try to do."
Oklahoma State, the preseason Big 12 favorite and a consensus top-20 team at the start of the season, was dead in the water at one point. When the Cowboys dropped the first two games of a series last month at Cincinnati, they were sitting at 18-21 overall and 6-11 in the Big 12.
But since then, they have won nine of their last 10, the one loss coming in the series finale two weeks ago at Baylor. Overcoming a 4-1 deficit, the Bears tied it up with two runs in the eighth and then walked it off in the 10th, getting 4 1/3 innings of near-perfect relief from Gabe Craig.
"I think it was good to be able to get that experience and being in a close game for more innings than I had been so far this season," said Craig, a first-team All-Big 12 pick who is 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA and 10 saves. "It gives me confidence to go out there and know that I've done it, and I can go out there and do the same thing."
The Cowboys come in as arguably the hottest team in the league, sweeping conference series at home against UCF and Arizona State and taking two of three from Baylor on the road. In its latest projections, D1 Baseball has OSU getting an at-large bid and being the No. 3 seed in a regional in Corvallis, Ore.
"They're a good club, they're playing really well," Thompson said. "And they're playing for something, too, because they're trying to get to the point where they can get an at-large (bid). They've played really well, winning (nine of their last 10). Talented team, big arms, have some great, big, physical left-handed hitters in the middle of their lineup. They'll be a big challenge."
Hitting in the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 spots in the order, Brayden Smith (.313), Nolan Schubart (.288) and Colin Brueggemann (.312) have combined for 42 home runs.
"It was a good series with them, they're a good team, but I like where we're at," Craig said. "Coach Thompson talks about it all the time, it's not who we play, it's how we play. That's really how you have to view and treat every game. Regardless of the opponent, just focus on what you can control, one pitch at a time, whether you're on the mound or you're in the dugout or you're at the plate. And then, kind of let the rest of the pieces fall where they may."
Baylor had one of its most effective and productive weekends of the year in the series against UCF, hitting .286 as a team with seven home runs and 17 runs scored. The Bears also had phenomenal middle relief outings from Lucas Davenport and Caleb Bunch and came from behind in each of the first two games, scoring three in the ninth in the series opener.
Even in Saturday's 11-7 loss in the series finale, Baylor had a season-high five home runs, including two by senior shortstop Tyriq Kemp.
"I think everyone is feeling good at this moment," said Kemp, a first-team All-Big 12 pick who had a .642 on-base percentage in the series and finished third in the Big 12 in conference-only batting average at .389. "I think 1 through 9 (in the batting order) is now feeling pretty good in this lineup right now. It's good to have everyone back and have everyone at the peak to compete at this level."
After hitting .238 last year in his first season at Baylor, Kemp bounced back to hit .364 overall with seven homers, 14 doubles and nine stolen bases.
"I don't think about last year," Kemp said. "That's one thing, for sure. I think this is also just a mental thing. It's the first time I had ever struggled really batting average-wise. It was new. I got through it, and now I'm back again."
Thompson said he stuck with Kemp at shortstop last season because of his depth and "with all the injuries, we didn't have any other option."
"I think that that opportunity and that development, getting him through that, was huge," Thompson said. "Towards the end of last year, he started making progress offensively. And then, he carried it over to the spring, and here we go. When you start in the 9-hole and end up in the 3-hole, it's a pretty impressive year. And the numbers have been outstanding. He's been a big part of our success.''
For the 44th-consecutive game, Baylor will go with a left-handed starter, going with junior lefty Ethan Calder (3-6, 5.43 ERA) in Wednesday's 4 p.m. first-round matchup against OSU and junior righthander Sean Youngerman (3-1, 2.08 ERA). Youngerman got the start in the series finale against the Bears and gave up just two runs on six hits in 6.0 innings.
But Thompson said he will "use what he has to use" to get through each game.
"When you get through that game, then you sit down as a staff and go, 'What's our best options against the opponent we're going to play,''' he said. "And you figure it out from there. I would assume that we'll go Calder game one and (Mason) Green game two, but we'll just see how it goes. We're going to do what we need to do to try and advance. I'm not going to leave any bullets in the bank. We're going to take our shot with the guys we have and see how far we can go."
The Baylor-OSU winner advances to face second-seeded Kansas (42-14, 20-10) at 4 p.m. Thursday in the single-elimination tournament, with the semifinals at 4 and 7:30 p.m. Friday and the championship game set for 6 p.m. Saturday in a game televised by ESPNU.
Baylor Bear Insider
ARLINGTON, Texas – Mitch Thompson knows.
At 68th in the latest RPI rankings, Baylor baseball (33-21, 13-17) isn't even on the bubble for an NCAA regional bid. Seeded 10th for the Big 12 Championship, the Bears will face seventh-seeded Oklahoma State (27-22, 15-12) at 4 p.m. Wednesday at Globe Life Field, likely needing to win the 12-team, four-day tournament to extend their season.
"It's just going to be one game at a time," said Thompson, whose team won three of its last four games to move up to 10th in the final regular-season standings and earn a spot in the Big 12 tournament for the first time in three years.
"I think our guys have done a great job of focusing on one game at a time all year long. It's the way you have to play this game. You can't look past anything. You say, 'Can we win four in a row?' Yeah. And everybody that we've played, we've beaten. It's about going out and playing our best and then advancing to the next game and surviving. That's what we're going to try to do."
Oklahoma State, the preseason Big 12 favorite and a consensus top-20 team at the start of the season, was dead in the water at one point. When the Cowboys dropped the first two games of a series last month at Cincinnati, they were sitting at 18-21 overall and 6-11 in the Big 12.
But since then, they have won nine of their last 10, the one loss coming in the series finale two weeks ago at Baylor. Overcoming a 4-1 deficit, the Bears tied it up with two runs in the eighth and then walked it off in the 10th, getting 4 1/3 innings of near-perfect relief from Gabe Craig.
"I think it was good to be able to get that experience and being in a close game for more innings than I had been so far this season," said Craig, a first-team All-Big 12 pick who is 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA and 10 saves. "It gives me confidence to go out there and know that I've done it, and I can go out there and do the same thing."
The Cowboys come in as arguably the hottest team in the league, sweeping conference series at home against UCF and Arizona State and taking two of three from Baylor on the road. In its latest projections, D1 Baseball has OSU getting an at-large bid and being the No. 3 seed in a regional in Corvallis, Ore.
"They're a good club, they're playing really well," Thompson said. "And they're playing for something, too, because they're trying to get to the point where they can get an at-large (bid). They've played really well, winning (nine of their last 10). Talented team, big arms, have some great, big, physical left-handed hitters in the middle of their lineup. They'll be a big challenge."
Hitting in the Nos. 2, 3 and 4 spots in the order, Brayden Smith (.313), Nolan Schubart (.288) and Colin Brueggemann (.312) have combined for 42 home runs.
"It was a good series with them, they're a good team, but I like where we're at," Craig said. "Coach Thompson talks about it all the time, it's not who we play, it's how we play. That's really how you have to view and treat every game. Regardless of the opponent, just focus on what you can control, one pitch at a time, whether you're on the mound or you're in the dugout or you're at the plate. And then, kind of let the rest of the pieces fall where they may."
Baylor had one of its most effective and productive weekends of the year in the series against UCF, hitting .286 as a team with seven home runs and 17 runs scored. The Bears also had phenomenal middle relief outings from Lucas Davenport and Caleb Bunch and came from behind in each of the first two games, scoring three in the ninth in the series opener.
Even in Saturday's 11-7 loss in the series finale, Baylor had a season-high five home runs, including two by senior shortstop Tyriq Kemp.
"I think everyone is feeling good at this moment," said Kemp, a first-team All-Big 12 pick who had a .642 on-base percentage in the series and finished third in the Big 12 in conference-only batting average at .389. "I think 1 through 9 (in the batting order) is now feeling pretty good in this lineup right now. It's good to have everyone back and have everyone at the peak to compete at this level."
After hitting .238 last year in his first season at Baylor, Kemp bounced back to hit .364 overall with seven homers, 14 doubles and nine stolen bases.
"I don't think about last year," Kemp said. "That's one thing, for sure. I think this is also just a mental thing. It's the first time I had ever struggled really batting average-wise. It was new. I got through it, and now I'm back again."
Thompson said he stuck with Kemp at shortstop last season because of his depth and "with all the injuries, we didn't have any other option."
"I think that that opportunity and that development, getting him through that, was huge," Thompson said. "Towards the end of last year, he started making progress offensively. And then, he carried it over to the spring, and here we go. When you start in the 9-hole and end up in the 3-hole, it's a pretty impressive year. And the numbers have been outstanding. He's been a big part of our success.''
For the 44th-consecutive game, Baylor will go with a left-handed starter, going with junior lefty Ethan Calder (3-6, 5.43 ERA) in Wednesday's 4 p.m. first-round matchup against OSU and junior righthander Sean Youngerman (3-1, 2.08 ERA). Youngerman got the start in the series finale against the Bears and gave up just two runs on six hits in 6.0 innings.
But Thompson said he will "use what he has to use" to get through each game.
"When you get through that game, then you sit down as a staff and go, 'What's our best options against the opponent we're going to play,''' he said. "And you figure it out from there. I would assume that we'll go Calder game one and (Mason) Green game two, but we'll just see how it goes. We're going to do what we need to do to try and advance. I'm not going to leave any bullets in the bank. We're going to take our shot with the guys we have and see how far we can go."
The Baylor-OSU winner advances to face second-seeded Kansas (42-14, 20-10) at 4 p.m. Thursday in the single-elimination tournament, with the semifinals at 4 and 7:30 p.m. Friday and the championship game set for 6 p.m. Saturday in a game televised by ESPNU.
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