Baylor Baseball: BSB Continues Homestand with Series Against Xavier

[Rhodes, Zach]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 11, 2021

Baseball Continues Homestand with Series Against Xavier
The Bears and Musketeers will open on Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark
Game Notes: http://baylorbea.rs/3r9TtUN
For more information contact: Zach Rhodes, 919-247-7585, Zach_Rhodes at baylor.edu

WACO, Texas – Baylor will continue its homestand with a three-game series against Xavier beginning on Friday, March 12 at 6:30 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark. The second game of the series will start at 3 p.m. on Saturday, with the series finale coming on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Fans with tickets from the canceled series against Jacksonville State earlier this season can use those as valid tickets for the Xavier series. All mobile tickets will automatically update with the correct information.

SERIES INFO
Date: March 12-14 (Fri.-Sun.)
Game Times: 6:30 p.m./3 p.m./1 p.m.
Site: Waco, Texas / Baylor Ballpark (5,000) (25 percent)
TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
                • Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Richard Cunningham (color)
Radio: 1590/99.3 FM
• Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Richard Cunningham (color)
Live Stats: BaylorStats.com
Twitter Updates: @BaylorBaseball
Series History: First Meeting

PITCHING MATCHUP
Fri. March 12 – Baylor RHP Blake Helton (1-1, 4.15 ERA) vs. Xavier Trevor Olson LHP (0-0, 1.29 ERA)
Sat. March 13 – Baylor LHP Tyler Thomas (2-0, 1.59 ERA) vs. Xavier LHP Nick Zwack (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Sun. March 14 – Baylor RHP Hayden Kettler (0-0, 3.86 ERA) vs. Xavier RHP Ethan Bosacker (1-0, 2.08 ERA)

STORY LINES
• After playing five home games and adding the series against Xavier, Baylor will continue its now 13-game homestand this weekend. This is the longest homestand for the Bears since 2011 when they had 14 games in a row at Baylor Ballpark.

• After hitting .421 (8-for-19) over the past five games, Jared McKenzie has improved his season average to a team-leading (3rd in the Big 12) .408 through 11 games. In 2021, McKenzie is first in the Big 12 and fifth nationally with five home runs, after not hitting any in 2020. He also ranks at the top of the conference in hits (20) and ninth nationally, in addition first in runs scored with 18, which ranks third in the country. He leads the Big 12 in total bases (37), while coming in at seventh in all of college baseball.

• The Bears went a perfect 5-0 last week, all at Baylor Ballpark. Baylor is on a five-game winning streak, it’s longest since April 23 – May 4, 2019 when the Bears won six-straight. BU outscored its opponents 46-15 in the five games. The Bears shut out its second opponent of the week with a 4-0 victory over Sam Houston on Tuesday and the 9-0 blanking of Memphis in game one on Saturday. BU has finished its home schedule with a .500 record or better in all 21 seasons (Since 1999) and is 464-206 all-time at the park.

• JUCO transfers Pineda and Antonio Valdez have provided a spark for the Bears in their first 11 contests. Pineda is tied for third in the Big 12 in hits with 16, while also coming in at tied for fifth in the league with a  .372 average. Valdez has a .357 (10-for-28), 10th in the Big 12, average as a designated hitter for the Bears.

• On the mound, Tyler Thomas dominated in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, throwing a career-long tying six score innings, while only allowing two hits and striking out a career-best nine batters. Thomas has already thrown more innings than he did last year as he threw a total of 6.2 innings, all in relief after coming off of surgery to remove a rib in June 2019 due to his Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. In 2021, Thomas is sporting a 2-0 record with an impressive 1.59 ERA. He has struckout a team-high 16 batters in 17 innings pitched.

• Tre Richardson hit an even .500 (9-for-18) last week while scoring seven runs and tallying four RBI, including his first career home run against Sam Houston. Richardson also sported a .609 on-base percentage and .722 slugging percentage on the week. The Kingwood, Texas native had a hit in each of the last five contests, including two hits in each game of the Memphis series. In 2021, the second-year freshman is hitting .364 (T-8th in Big 12) with 16 hits (T-3rd in Big 12) and 13 runs scored (T-4th in Big 12). Last season Richardson was dealing with minor injuries and was not fully healthy as he only hit .179 last year in 10 games after enrolling early to BU in January 2020

• Through the first 11 games, BU is first in the Big 12 in hits (6th nationally) with 130 and batting average .332 (12th nationally). Baylor has hit 218 home runs in 249 games under Rodriguez, including 11 already in 2021.

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_965493213]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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