Baylor
Arizona State
BSB Travels to No. 21 Arizona State for Road Weekend
4/23/2026 12:00:00 PM | Baseball
Bears making first trip to Tempe, Ariz., since 2014
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BAYLOR BEARS (22-18, 9-9 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Mitch Thompson (Fort Hays St., 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (22-18, 9-9) at ARIZONA STATE (28-14, 11-7) April 24, 2026 • 8:30 p.m. CT April 25, 2026 • 8:30 p.m. CT April 26, 2026 • 3:00 p.m. CT Tempe, Ariz. • Phoenix Municipal Stadium (8,775) LIVE STATS: BaylorBears.com/Stats WATCH: ESPN+ LISTEN: ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM Talent: Derek Smith, Tom Barfield Baylor Social Media:    |
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ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (28-14, 11-7 Big 12) Location: Tempe, Ariz. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Willie Bloomquist (Arizona State, 2001) Roster | Stats |
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor Baseball heads out to Tempe, Ariz., this weekend for a three-game series at No. 21 Arizona State, its first trip to Tempe since 2014.
• The Bears sit in a four-way tie for sixth place in the league standings at 9-9, alongside Kansas State, Utah and BYU.
• Last week, BU posted a 2-2 week that included a thrilling 10-9 victory in 12 innings over UTSA on Tuesday night and an 11-4 win over TCU on Friday night in front of the largest home crowd since 2017.
• The Bears have 10 comeback victories in 2026 and have come from behind in each of their last four wins.
• Baylor is 8-2 in series openers so far in 2026 and has won seven of its last eight series openers.
• Prior to the Cincinnati series, BU had won four-straight series openers in Big 12 play, marking the first such streak for the program since 2021.
• On Wednesday, a pair of Bears picked up midseason honors as shortstop Travis Sanders was named a semifinalist for the Brooks Wallace Award and closer Caleb Bunch was tabbed to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award Midseason Watch List.
• Sanders leads the Bears with 55 hits and a .353 AVG, while Bunch has six saves and four wins in 17 appearances.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE SUN DEVILS
• Baylor is 6-9 all-time against Arizona State and 1-2 against the Sun Devils under fourth-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
• This will be BU's first trip to Tempe, Ariz., since 2014, when ASU took two of three in a weekend series.
• In their last trip to the state of Arizona, the Bears won two of three at U of A in Tucson.
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
• Fri. April 24 • 8:30 p.m. CT • RHP Lucas Davenport (4-1, 3.86 ERA) vs. LHP Cole Carlon (3-2, 3.63 ERA)
• Sat. April 25 • 8:30 p.m. CT • RHP Zack Wallace (3-3, 4.87 ERA) vs. TBD
• Sun. April 26 • 3:00 p.m. CT • LHP Ethan Calder (3-4, 4.14 ERA) vs. RHP Kole Klecker (4-2, 6.34 ERA)
SWIPING RIGHT (ON THE BASES)
• Through 40 games, the Bears have stolen 73 bases, the most by a BU team at this point in a season since at least 2003.
• 73 stolen bases is also the most in a single season since the Bears stole 96 in 2012.
• Baylor has stolen five or more bases five times in 2026, and have stolen multiple bases in 19 games this year.
• 2026 is the first season since 2013 that BU has had three or more players reach double figures in stolen bases (Janusek, 16; Sanders, 15; Riebock, 10).
NO BROOMS AROUND THE BEARS
• With Baylor's win over TCU in the series opener, BU has now collected at least one win in 17 consecutive Big 12 series.
• The last time BU was swept in a conference series was May 10-11, 2024, at Oklahoma.
• Baylor has won five straight series finales when faced with an 0-2 deficit in a Big 12 series.
• Until the Cincinnati series, Baylor had not been down 0-2 in a conference series since May 9-11, 2025, vs. Oklahoma State.
THE TYCE IS RIGHT
• After leading the Big 12 with nine hits and seven runs, redshirt senior 1B Tyce Armstrong was named the league's Co-Newcomer of the Week on Monday. He hit .500 for the week with two home runs and six RBIs.
• Armstrong is tied for seventh in the Big 12 with 14 home runs and ranks 11th in the league with 45 RBIs.
• Armstrong's 14 home runs mark the 11th time since 2012 that a Bear has hit double-digit homers in a single season and are the most since Josh Ludy hit 16 in 2012.
• This is the second time under fourth-year head coach Mitch Thompson that a Bear has hit 10+ home runs (Jordan, 10 in 2025).
• Armstrong sits just seven homers shy of BU's school record for home runs in a season (Charley Carter, 21 in 1998).
• Armstrong sits two blasts shy of cracking the top-10 on BU's single-season leaderboard.
• BU has not had two players hit 10+ home runs in the same season since 2021 (A. Thomas (11), J. McKenzie (10))
DIAPER DANDY
• Freshman OF Brady Janusek is putting up one of the top seasons by any freshman in the Big 12, leading the league with nine home runs and tied for the conference lead with 16 stolen bases among first-year players.
• Janusek sits two home runs shy of breaking Baylor's freshman single-season HR record (Max Muncy, 11, 2010).
• Janusek sits eight stolen bases shy of the program's all-time freshman record, set by Mike Robison in 1988 (24).
DIALING UP THE STRIKES
• Senior LHP Ethan Calder saw his 16-inning streak without allowing a walk snapped in Sunday's finale at Cincinnati.
• Of his 28 career starts, Calder has never walked more than three batters, and has allowed two walks or less 24 times. Calder has made 17 career starts with just one walk allowed or less.
• Calder worked his 13th career start of at least five innings with three or fewer earned runs allowed, and fifth such start of 2026, in the finale against the Bearcats.
• It was also his fourth start of the year with five or more strikeouts.
• Calder threw 4.2 innings without a walk in the series finale against TCU.
• Over his last four starts (23.1 innings), Calder has allowed just one walk.
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
• Through 40 games, 44% of Baylor's total plate appearances have been taken by players with less than 55 career PA's entering the 2026 season. True or redshirt freshmen account for 34% of the team's total plate appearances.
• That group also accounts for 44% of the team's hits, including 36% from true or redshirt freshmen.
• 48% of Baylor's hits have come from players who have previously redshirted in their careers.
• 43% of Baylor's IP this season have been thrown by players who had thrown less than five career innings at the Div. I level.
• Baylor has nine true freshmen on its 2026 roster and an additional four redshirt freshmen.
• This year, 19 Bears have made their Baylor debuts (9 hitters, 10 pitchers), including 10 true or redshirt freshmen.
A LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE METRICS
• Through 40 games, Baylor own's the nations No. 15 Strength of Schedule (WarrenNolan.com)
• BU has faced seven ranked opponents for a total of nine games, and five of the top-23 RPI teams at this point in the year (No. 3 Texas, No. 7 Ole Miss, No. 10 Southern Miss, No. 11 Oregon State, and No. 23 Cincinnati).
• Baylor currently sits at No. 50 in the RPI entering Tuesday's game at Sam Houston.
• Baylor will play a combined 22 games against 11 NCAA Tournament teams in 2026, including three conference champions from a year ago.
• 14 30-game winners headline the 2026 campaign, including six teams that won 40 or more games last season.
• 52% of this year's schedule features opponents that finished 2025 with a top-75 RPI.
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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