Baylor Baseball: BSB Closes Out Regular Season with Home Series vs. OU

[Rhodes, Zach]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – May 19, 2021

Baseball Closes Out Regular Season with Home Series vs. OU
The Bears and Sooners will begin the series Thursday 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 baseball finishes the regular season with a home series against Oklahoma beginning on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. in Baylor Ballpark with 100 percent capacity. The Bears (30-16, 10-11 Big 12) and the Sooners (25-25, 9-12 Big 12) will play game two on Friday at 6:30 p.m. and the finale on Saturday at 3 p.m.

Promotions for this weekend include a trading card giveaway on Thursday, and foam Bear paw and pennant giveaway on Friday. Saturday is Senior Day as Baylor will honor 13 seniors; Jacob Ashkinos, Luke Boyd, Esteban Cardoza-Oquendo, Davion Downey, Logan Freeman, Kyle Harper, Brooks Helmer, Hayden Kettler, Ryan Leckich, Andy Thomas, Tyler Thomas, Chase Wehsener and Jimmy Winston all being recognized approximately 30 minutes before first pitch.

Oklahoma leads the all-time series 51-48, including winning the matchup in the 2021 Round Rock Classic earlier this season, 9-3 on Feb. 28. Baylor leads 30-19 in Waco, while head coach Steve Rodriguez is 7-9 against the Sooners.

SERIES INFO
Date: May 20-22 (Thurs.-Sat.)
Game Times: 6:30 p.m./6:30 p.m./3 p.m.
Site: Waco, Texas /Baylor Ballpark (5,000)
TV: Big 12 Now (ESPN+)
• Talent: Lincoln Rose (pxp) (Thurs. & Fri.), Pete Sousa (pxp) (Sat.), Pat Combs (color)
Radio: ESPN 1660/92.3FM
• Talent: Derek Smith (pxp)
Live Stats: BaylorBears.com
Twitter Updates: @BaylorBaseball
Series History: OU leads 51-48
                        Streak: Oklahoma, W1
                        First Meeting: 1936
                        Last Meeting: Feb. 28, 2021 (OU won 9-3)
Under Rodriguez: 7-9

PITCHING MATCHUP
Thurs. May 20 – LHP Tyler Thomas (5-2, 2.49 ERA) vs. LHP Jason Ruffcorn (4-1, 2.68 ERA)
Fri. May 21 – RHP Hayden Kettler (4-3, 3.27 ERA) vs. TBA
Sat. May 22 – RHP Blake Helton (4-2, 3.20 ERA) vs. TBA

STORY LINES
•  Baylor is in the postseason conversation after winning 17 of its last 23 games. Both D1Baseball and Baseball America have the Bears projected as a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Bears have climbed all the way up to the No. 5 spot in the Big 12 after starting conference play 1-5 in March. BU has an RPI of 31.

• If Baylor stays at the No. 5 spot in the Big 12, the Bears will have a first-round matchup with No. 4 seed Oklahoma State in next week’s Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament. Baylor would need to sweep Oklahoma this weekend to move up to the No. 4 seed. The Bears could move up to the No. 3 spot with a sweep and with a series win from Kansas at Texas Tech.

• Fifth-year senior Andy Thomas has reached safely in 22 straight games and has a career-long 14-game streak. He leads the team and is 4th in the Big 12 in batting average (.373) through 21 conference games.

• 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 seven appearances, Caley has an impressive 0.44 ERA in 20.2 innings of work. He earned his second career win on Sunday after hurling 2.1 innings against No. 21 Oklahoma State.

• On the season, second-year freshman Jared McKenzie is hitting .377 (3rd Big 12), while leading the league and 7th in the nation in runs scored with 56. In addition, McKenzie’s 117 total bases are 6th in the Big 12 and 33rd nationally.

• Baylor is outscoring its opponents 53-19 in the first inning and has a 24-9 record when scoring first (23-5 when scoring in the first frame). The Bears also hold a 37-15 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 (13th nationally) with a .306 clip and second in the conference in earned run average with a 3.49 ERA (13th nationally).

• 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 (10th in the nation), 3rd in batting average, Andy Thomas is 3rd in RBI, Hayden Kettler is 3rd in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.78) and 2nd in walks per nine innings (1.47), Tyler Thomas is T-2nd in opp. batting average (.202) and 5th in ERA (2.49), while Luke Boyd is 3rd in saves (22nd 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_1425743159]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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