Baylor Baseball Hosts No. 23 Duke for Three-Game Set

Thu Feb 24 15:00:49 CST 2022

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Feb. 24, 2022

Baylor BSB Hosts No. 23 Duke for Three-Game Set
Bears are 2-0 all-time against the Blue Devils, have not met since 2010
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

[BU Logo]
BAYLOR BEARS (1-3, 0-0 Big 12)
Location: Waco, Texas
Conference/Affiliation: Big 12
Head Coach: Steve Rodriguez<https://baylorbears.com/coaches.aspx?rc=1811> (Pepperdine, 2001)

Roster<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster> | Stats<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/stats/2022> | Game Notes (PDF)<https://baylorbears.com/documents/2022/2/24/BU_BSB_Game_Notes_2022_05_07_Duke.pdf>
BAYLOR (1-3, 0-0) vs DUKE (3-1, 0-0)
Feb. 25, 2022 • 3:00 p.m. CT
Feb. 26, 2022 • 3:00 p.m. CT
Feb. 27, 2022 • 1:00 p.m. CT
Waco, Texas • Baylor Ballpark (5,000)

LIVE STATS: Friday<http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=392146> | Saturday<http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=392147> | Sunday<http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=392148>
WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Talent: John Morris<https://baylorbears.com/staff.aspx?staff=52> (pxp), Pat Combs (analyst)
LISTEN: Fox Sports Central Texas / 1330 AM & 93.9 FM (Fri-Sat)
LISTEN: Learfield / 1660 AM & 92.3 FM (Sun)
Talent:  Derek Smith (Fri), Ryan Boyd (Fri-Sun), Matt Czimskey (Sat), Joe Heineman (Sun)

Baylor Social Media: [auto twitter icon] <https://twitter.com/BaylorBaseball>  [instagram png] <https://www.instagram.com/baylorbaseball/?hl=en>  [Facebook PNG] <https://www.facebook.com/BaylorBaseball/>
[Duke]
DUKE BLUE DEVILS (3-1, 0-0 ACC)
Location: Durham, N.C.
Conference/Affiliation: ACC
Head Coach: Chris Pollard (Davidson, 1996)

Roster<https://goduke.com/sports/baseball/roster> | Stats<https://goduke.com/sports/baseball/stats/2022?path=baseball> <https://uapblionsroar.com/sports/mens-basketball/stats> | Game Notes (PDF)<https://goduke.com/documents/2022/2/24/20220225_at_Baylor.pdf>

STORYLINES

HOME SWEET HOME

• Baylor continues its seven-game homestand to begin the 2022 season with a three-game set against No. 23 Duke.

• BU is 73-29 (.716) at home over the last five seasons.

• The Bears will stay close to home in 2022, as 46 of its 52 regular-season contests will be played in the state of Texas.

• Baylor doesn't leave the state of Texas until April 8-10, when it travels to take on West Virginia in Morgantown.

TESTED RIGHT FROM THE START

• Baylor opened its season against a Power 5 opponent for just the third time in the last seven years, and will host another this weekend with No. 23 Duke coming to town.

• BU has not faced back-to-back P5 opponents within the first two series since facing Duke and Georgia in 2010.

• The Bears will play 22 games against 10 teams who competed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, including five teams that reached a Super Regional and two that reached the College World Series.

• Following last weekend's series against Maryland, the Terrapins climbed to No. 22 in the latest D1Baseball rankings.

SERIES HISTORY BY THE NUMBERS

• Baylor is 2-0 all-time against Duke, having won both of the previous matchups in 2010 in a season-opening three-team series that included Georgia.

• BU has not faced Duke under seventh-year head coach Steve Rodriguez.

PROBABLE STARTERS

Friday, Feb. 25 • 3:00 p.m. CT • LHP Tyler Thomas (0-1, 3.00 ERA) vs. RHP Marcus Johnson

Saturday, Feb. 26 • 3:00 p.m. CT • RHP Jake Jackson (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs. LHP Luke Fox

Sunday, Feb. 27 • 1:00 p.m. CT • TBD vs TBD

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• All three games this weekend will be televised on Big 12 Now on ESPN+

• John Morris (PxP) and Pat Combs (Analyst) will provide the call for Friday's series opener, while Saturday and Sunday's broadcast will pull the home radio feed.

• Fans can tune in to Fox Sports Central Texas 1330 on Friday and Sunday, and ESPN Central Texas 1660 on Saturday for the home radio broadcasts. Derek Smith will provide the commentary alongside Ryan Boyd on Friday, while Boyd will team with former Bears Matt Czimskey on Saturday and Joe Heineman on Sunday.

ADD ANOTHER TO THE K-COUNTER

• The Baylor pitching staff racked up double-digit strikeouts in all three games against Maryland, recording 14 K's on Friday, 10 on Saturday and another 12 on Sunday.

• The Bears only reached double figures in 16 of their 51 games in 2021.

• Senior LHP Tyler Thomas led the Bears with a career-high tying nine strikeouts on Friday.

• 12 of the 13 BU pitchers who made an appearance recorded at least one punchout.

NEW BEARS ON THE BLOCK

• Nine Bears made their Baylor debuts against Maryland, including Kobe Andrade, Harrison Caley, Cortlan Castle, Henry Cone, Brett Garcia, Cody Grebeck, Jake Jackson, Mason Marriott and Matt Voelker.

• Caley, a transfer from Abilene Christian, was behind the plate for Friday's opener.

• Voelker, a transfer from Loyola Marymount, made his first appearance out of the bullpen for the Bears on Saturday.

• Jackson, a transfer from Nevada, made his first start for the Bears on Sunday.

• Garcia also made his first two appearances in green and gold on Friday and Sunday.

• Andrade, a transfer from Texas A&M, made his first-career start in left field on Sunday.

• Castle, who earned his first-career start on Saturday, Cone, Grebeck and Marriott each made their collegiate debuts.

• Castle and Grebeck recorded their first-career hits, while Marriott notched his first-career strikeout.

WHAT'S NEW?

• BU returns 27 players from its 2021 team to the 2022 active roster, and adds 12 newcomers.

• Of the newcomers, six are freshmen and six are transfers.

•Baylor returns 78.3% of its offense with seven position starters returning. Former All-American catcher Andy Thomas and longtime right fielder Davion Downey are the only two departures from the 2021 starting nine.

• Only 47.4% of BU's 2021 innings pitched return, as seniors Jacob Ashkinos, Luke Boyd, Logan Freeman, Hayden Kettler, Ryan Leckich and Jimmy Winston all depart.

BACK ON THE BUMP

• RHPs Anderson Needham (March 3, 2020) and Will Rigney (March 23, 2021) each made their first appearances on the mound since suffering season-ending injuries.

• Needham threw two scoreless innings over two appearances, allowing just one hit and striking out one.

• Rigney tallied a career-high four punchouts in his two-inning outing.

DIGGIN' THE LONG BALL

• Baylor has hit 256 home runs in 293 games under seventh-year head coach Steve Rodriguez, including 48 in 2021.
• Before 2020, the Bears were coming off back-to-back-back seasons with at least 50 home runs (51 in 2017, 54 in 2018, 57 in 2019) for the first time since 2008 (52), 2009 (73) and 2010 (57) and first time in the BBCOR era.
• In 2020, BU was on pace to hit over 50 home runs once again prior to the season getting canceled.
• The Bears finished with 15 homers in just 16 games in 2020.

EXTRA, EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT

• Baylor has recorded at least one extra-base hit in each of its last 17 games, and 29 of its last 31, dating back to last season, for a total of 99 extra base hits, including 61 doubles, 10 triples and 29 home runs.

• Baylor has notched at least two extra-base hits in 24 of its last 31 games.

• Through four games in 2022, BU has tallied five doubles, one triple and one home run.

-BaylorBears.com-

__________________________________

Max Calderone | Associate Director of Athletics Communications (BSB, FB, EQ)
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 254-265-1639

[signature_640091968]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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