Baylor Baseball: BSB Finishes Big 12 Road Slate at No. 21 Oklahoma State

[Rhodes, Zach]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – May 13, 2021

Baseball Finishes Big 12 Road Slate at No. 21 Oklahoma State
The Bears and Cowboys will begin the crucial series on Friday at 6 p.m. in Stillwater
Game Notes: http://baylorbea.rs/3r9TtUN
For more information contact: Zach Rhodes, 919-247-7585, Zach_Rhodes at baylor.edu

STILLWATER, Okla. – Baylor finishes its Big 12 road slate with a crucial series at No. 21 Oklahoma State on May 14-16 at O’Brate Stadium in Stillwater, Okla. The Bears (29-14, 9-9 Big 12) and the Cowboys (28-15-1, 10-11 Big 12) will begin the series on Friday at 6 p.m., with game two on Saturday at 6 p.m. and the finale on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Oklahoma State leads the all-time series against Baylor, 49-42. In Stillwater, OSU holds the 22-17 advantage, while head coach Steve Rodriguez is 5-7 against the Cowboys. The last time the two teams met was for two games on May 16-17, 2019 in Stillwater with Oklahoma State taking both contests.

SERIES INFO
Date: May 14-16 (Fri.-Sun.)
Game Times: 6 p.m./6 p.m./1 p.m.
Site: Stillwater, Okla. /O’Brate Stadium (3,500)
TV: Big 12 Now (ESPN+)
• Talent: Brian Hanni (pxp), Kevin Wheeler (color)
Radio: ESPN 1660/92.3FM
• Talent: Derek Smith (pxp)
Live Stats: OkState.com
Twitter Updates: @BaylorBaseball
Series History: OKST leads 49-42
                        Streak: Oklahoma State, W3
                        First Meeting: April 20, 1925
                        Last Meeting: May 16-17, 2019 (OKST won both games)
Under Rodriguez: 5-7

PITCHING MATCHUP
Fri. May 14 – LHP Tyler Thomas (5-2, 2.05 ERA) vs. LHP Mitchell Stone (1-0, 2.11 ERA)
Sat. May 15 – RHP Hayden Kettler (4-2, 3.62 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Campbell (5-1, 2.09 ERA)
Sun. May 16 – RHP Blake Helton (4-2, 2.93 ERA) vs. RHP Bryce Osmond (2-4, 6.80 ERA)

STORY LINES
•  The Bears will attempt to win their fifth-straight Big 12 series for the first time since 2012. BU has won its last four series against WVU, Kansas, Texas Tech and Kansas State.

• Baylor is now in the postseason conversation after winning 16 of its last 20 games. Both D1Baseball and Baseball America have the Bears projected as a No. 2 seed or No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Bears have climbed all the way up to the No. 4 spot in the Big 12 after starting conference play 1-5 in March. BU has an RPI of 33.

• Baylor is averaging 11.9 runs per game over the last seven games and is outscoring its opponents 79-12 in its last five wins, in each of their last five wins the Bears have scored double-digit runs.

• Fifth-year senior Andy Thomas was named a Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Player of the Week and the Bobby Bragan Slugger Award Player of the Week after leading the Big 12 in hitting with an impressive .727/.800/1.636. Thomas also led the conference with three home runs, nine RBI and 18 total bases as he had multiple hits in all three games. Thomas tied for the Big 12 lead with eight hits (8-for-11), while coming in tied for second with six runs scored. Additionally, for his work on and off the field, Thomas was named a finalist for the 2021 Senior CLASS Award.

• Baylor is outscoring its opponents 50-19 in the first inning and has a 23-7 record when scoring first (22-5 when scoring in the first frame). The Bears also hold a 34-15 advantage in the eighth inning.

• Baylor has scored double-digit runs in 13 games in 2021. The Bears are first in the Big 12 in batting average (8th nationally) with a .311 clip. BU is second in the Big 12 in earned run average with a 3.58 ERA (22nd nationally) and are 3rd in the conference in fielding percentage (.975).

• Individually, the Bears have a number of players at the top of the conference as McKenzie is 1st in runs scored (7th in the nation), 2nd in hits (5th in the nation), 3rd in batting average, Andy Thomas is 3rd in RBI, Hayden Kettler is 1st in strikeout-to-walk ratio (6.17) and 1st in walks per nine innings (1.09), Tyler Thomas is 2nd in ERA (2.05) and Luke Boyd is 2nd in saves (12th in the nation) with eight.

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_1344652970]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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