Baylor Baseball: BSB Begins Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship with No. 5 Texas Tech

Tue May 25 12:32:49 CDT 2021

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – May 25, 2021

Baseball Begins Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship with No. 5 Texas Tech
The Bears and the Red Raiders will play tomorrow at 9 a.m. CT on ESPNU
Game Notes: http://baylorbea.rs/3r9TtUN
For more information contact: Zach Rhodes, 919-247-7585, Zach_Rhodes at baylor.edu

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – No. 6 seed Baylor baseball starts the 2021 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship with a matchup against No. 3 seed Texas Tech on Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. CT on ESPNU in Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Bears (31-18, 11-13 Big 12) will look for its third win of the season against the No. 5-ranked Red Raiders (35-13, 14-10 Big 12).

The Red Raiders lead the all-time series against the Bears 90-85, with the last meeting coming on April 23-25, 2021 in Lubbock where the Bears took the series. With the series win, it was the first series win for BU in Lubbock since May 15-16, 2010 and Baylor became the first team to win a series at Rip Griffin Park since 2018 as Tech was 20-2 at home in 2021 entering that weekend.

Wednesday will be the eighth time the two teams have met at the conference tournament, with the Bears winning four of the seven matchups. The last meeting came in 2017, with TTU eliminating the Bears, 4-1.

SERIES INFO
Date: May 25 (Wed.)
Game Times: 9 a.m. CT
Site: Oklahoma City, Okla. /Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark (9,000)
TV: ESPNU
• Talent: Keith Moreland (pxp), Greg Swindell (color)
Radio: ESPN 1660/92.3FM
• Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Pat Combs (color)
Live Stats: Big12Sports.com
Twitter Updates: @BaylorBaseball
Series History: TTU leads 90-85
                        Streak: BU, W1
                        First Meeting: 1928
                        Last Meeting: April 23-25, 2021 (BU won the series)
Under Rodriguez: 7-9

PITCHING MATCHUP
Wed. May 26 – LHP Cam Caley (2-1, 4.15 ERA) vs. LHP Mason Montgomery (3-3, 4.36 ERA)

STORY LINES
•  Baylor is on the bubble entering this week, BU has an RPI of 40. D1Baseball.com has Baylor as the last team in the tournament, while Baseball America has BU as a No. 3 seed. The Bears need a strong showing in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship to make its fourth-straight trip to a regional (excluding 2020) under Coach Rodriguez.

• Two innings stand out for the Bears, with BU outscoring opponents 59-19 in the opening frame and then 44-18 in the eighth inning. Baylor has scored in the first inning in seven-straight games.

• The Bears are 37-39 all-time in the Big 12 Championship, including a 33-31 record while playing in Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. In 2019, Baylor went 1-2 at the tournament after winning its first game against OU and dropping the final two to Oklahoma State and TCU. In 2018 Baylor won its first Big 12 Championship title in program history with a dramatic walk-off win over TCU in the title game. Under coach Rodriguez, BU is 5-6 in the tournament.

• After a slow start to his Baylor career, true freshman Cam Caley has become a reliable piece on the mound for the Bears. Over his last eight appearances, Caley has an impressive 1.40 ERA in 25.2 innings of work. Most recently, Caley took the role of series-opening starter after getting the nod on Thursday night against OU (5/20) and hurling five innings while allowing three runs.

• The Bears completed a number of feats with its dominant series victory in Lubbock April 23-25. With the series win, it was the first win for BU in Lubbock since May 15-16, 2010 and the first series win over a top-10 team since defeating No. 8 Texas Tech March 16-18, 2018 in Waco. In addition, it was the first series win on the road over a top-10 team since 2005 and Baylor became the first team to win a series at Rip Griffin Park since 2018 as Tech was 20-2 at home in 2021 entering the weekend. In the three games vs. TTU, Baylor outscored the Red Raiders 26-8, as the only time the Bears trailed in the series was after the eighth inning in Saturday’s loss.

• Baylor is one of three Power 5 teams (Vanderbilt & Nebraska) to rank top-two in its conference in both batting average and ERA. The Bears are first in the Big 12 in batting average (14th nationally) with a .305 clip and second in the conference in earned run average with a 3.69 ERA (21st nationally).

• Individually, the Bears have a number of players at the top of the conference as McKenzie is 1st in runs scored (5th in the nation), 2nd in hits (7th in the nation) and 2nd in batting average, Andy Thomas is 3rd in RBI. Tyler Thomas is T-2nd in opp. batting average (.202) and 4th in ERA (2.49), while Luke Boyd is 3rd in saves.

To stay up to date throughout the season on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on Facebook (Baylor Baseball), Twitter (@BaylorBaseball) and Instagram (@BaylorBaseball).

-BaylorBears.com-

Zach Rhodes | Associate Director of Athletics Communications
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 919-247-7585 | O: 254-710-3784

[signature_2138146717]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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