Baylor
UCF
BSB Celebrates Seniors vs. UCF
5/7/2026 5:31:00 PM | Baseball
Bears to honor eight seniors ahead of Saturday’s game against Knights
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BAYLOR BEARS (25-23, 11-13 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Mitch Thompson (Fort Hays St., 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (25-23, 11-13) vs UCF (27-18, 15-9) May 8, 2026 • 6:30 p.m. CT May 9, 2026 • 2:00 p.m. CT May 10, 2026 • 1:00 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark 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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UCF KNIGHTS (27-18, 15-9 Big 12) Location: Orlando, Fla. Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Rich Wallace (UCF, 2004) Roster | Stats |
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor Baseball hosts UCF for its final regular-season home series this weekend in Waco.
• Last week, BU went 3-1 on the week that included the team's first home conference doubleheader sweep since 2009, as the Bears beat Texas Tech in both ends of a twin bill on Saturday.
• Baylor swept the Big 12's weekly awards for the first time in program history, as redshirt senior 1B Tyce Armstrong was named the Player and Co-Newcomer of the Week, while redshirt junior RHP Lucas Davenport was tabbed the league's Co-Pitcher of the Week.
• BU is tied with Utah for ninth in the Big 12 standings entering the 13th week of the 2026 season at 11-13 in league play. The top 12 teams in the conference will qualify for the Big 12 Tournament and top eight seeds will get at least one bye in the single elimination bracket. BU is four games ahead of 12th-place (TTU and ARIZ, 7-17).
SERIES HISTORY VS UCF
• Baylor and UCF are tied, 3-3, in the all-time series, having played two series before since UCF joined the Big 12.
• Each of the two previous series, the road team has won two of three (Baylor in 2025; UCF in 2024).
• The last time the Knights came to Waco, the two sides split a doubleheader on Friday and then UCF won the series finale, 10-8, on Saturday.
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
• Fri. May 8 • 6:30 p.m. CT • RHP Lucas Davenport (5-2, 3.96 ERA) vs. RHP Mateo Gray (5-1, 5.25 ERA)
• Sat. May 9 • 2:00 p.m. CT • RHP Zack Wallace (4-4, 4.82 ERA) vs. RHP Camden Wicker (4-2, 3.38 ERA)
• Sun. May 10 • 1:00 p.m. CT • LHP Ethan Calder (3-5, 4.67 ERA) vs. TBD
SWIPING RIGHT (ON THE BASES)
• Through 48 games, the Bears have stolen 87 bases, the most by a BU team at this point in a season since at least 2003.
• 87 stolen bases is also the most in a single season since the Bears stole 96 in 2012.
• Baylor has stolen five or more bases six times in 2026, and have stolen multiple bases in 23 games this year.
• 2026 is the first season since 2013 that BU has had three or more players reach double figures in stolen bases (Sanders, 24; Janusek, 17; Riebock, 11).
• Travis Sanders' 24 bags are the most by a Bear since Brooks Pinckard swiped 36 in 2011.
• Baylor ranks second in the Big 12 with 87 stolen bases, trailing only Cincinnati's 107 on the year. The Bears are tied for the league lead with West Virginia with 43 bags in conference games only.
THE NEW HOME RUN KING OF WACO
• Redshirt senior 1B Tyce Armstrong tied Baylor's single-season home run record with his 21st blast of the year, a record that was previously held by Charley Carter (1998).
• Armstrong has hit seven home runs in his last six games and had homered in five-consecutive games, becoming the first Bear in the program's recorded history to do so.
• Armstrong has five multi-home run games in 2026.
• Armstrong ranks fourth in the Big 12 and seventh nationally with 21 home runs as one of just 12 players in the country with 20 or more homers this year.
• He picked up Big 12 Player and Newcomer of the Week honors after batting .563 (9-for-16) with all nine of his hits going for extra bases (four doubles, five home runs). He also drove in nine runs and scored five of his own.
• Armstrong is the first player in BU history and first Big 12 player since OSU's Nolan Schubart in 2023 to win Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honors three times in a single season.
A DAV DAY TO REMEMBER
• Redshirt junior RHP Lucas Davenport tossed a complete game with 11 strikeouts on Saturday vs. Texas Tech, becoming the first Bear since Kobe Andrade (April 15, 2022, vs. Kansas) to throw a CG.
• The 11 K's were one shy of his career-high 12, set earlier this year vs. BYU (April 2).
• Three pitchers in the Big 12 threw complete games this weekend; Davenport's four hits and zero walks allowed were each the fewest among the trio of outstanding pitching performances, as he did so against the league's top-hitting team in Texas Tech.
• Baylor is 8-2 this year in Davenport's 10 starts.
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 30 career starts, Calder has never walked more than three batters, and has allowed two walks or less 26 times. Calder has made 17 career starts with just one walk allowed or less.
• Calder worked his 14th career start of at least five innings with three or fewer earned runs allowed, and sixth such start of 2026, tying his career high with seven innings pitched against Texas Tech in his last time out.
• Calder has racked up four starts with five or more strikeouts in 2026.
• His 2.04 walks per nine innings ranks seventh in the Big 12.
• Over his last six starts (35 innings), Calder has allowed just five walks.
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
• Through 48 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 35% of the team's total plate appearances.
• That group also accounts for 42% of the team's hits, including 35% 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.
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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