Baylor Baseball Hosts HCU in First Midweek of 2023

Mon Feb 20 18:18:16 CST 2023

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – Feb. 20, 2023

Baylor Baseball Hosts HCU in First Midweek of 2023
Bears coming off modern era program-record 38 strikeouts in series vs. CMU
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

[BU Logo]
BAYLOR BEARS (1-2, 0-0 Big 12)
Location: Waco, Texas
Conference/Affiliation: Big 12
Head Coach: Mitch Thompson<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/mitch-thompson/1881> (Fort Hays St., 1988)

Roster<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster> | Stats<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/stats/2023> | Game Notes (PDF)<https://baylorbears.com/documents/2023/2/20/BU_BSB_Game_Notes_2023_4_HCU.pdf>
BAYLOR (1-2, 0-0) vs HCU (0-3, 0-0)
Feb. 21, 2023 • 6:30 p.m. CT
Waco, Texas • Baylor Ballpark (5,000)

LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com<https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=bay>
WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Talent:  Pete Sousa (Play-by-Play), Pat Combs (Analyst)
LISTEN: Learfield / ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM & 92.3 FM
Talent:  Derek Smith, Ryan Boyd

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/>
[Houston Baptist]
HCU HUSKIES (0-3, 0-0 Southland)
Location: Houston, Texas
Conference/Affiliation: Southland
Head Coach: Lance Berkman (Rice, 1998)

Roster<https://hcuhuskies.com/sports/baseball/roster?path=baseball> | Stats<https://hcuhuskies.com/sports/baseball/stats/2023?path=baseball>

STORYLINES

LEADING OFF

• Baylor Baseball rounds out its season-opening home stretch with a Tuesday night tilt against the HCU Huskies (formerly Houston Baptist) before hitting the road for a three-game set at Duke on Feb. 24-26.

• Upon returning from the east coast, BU will begin a 14-game homestand that runs through March 21.

• The Bears are celebrating the 25th season at Baylor Ballpark with a special logo and planned promotions throughout the 2023 campaign.

• Eighteen of the Bears' first 21 games this season are home games. The Bears leave the state of Texas just three times this year, all before April 3 (at Duke, at Oklahoma State, at Kansas).

• Baylor returns just 15 players from its 2022 roster and welcomes 23 newcomers, including 10 true freshmen and 13 transfers.

• Nine of the 13 transfers have previous Division I experience in Austin Stracener<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/austin-stracener/12074>, Hunter Teplanszky<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/hunter-teplanszky/12075>, Daniel Altman<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/daniel-altman/12078>, Cole Posey<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/cole-posey/12079>, Will Pendergrass<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/will-pendergrass/12081>, Casey Sunseri<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/casey-sunseri/12082>, Cole Tremain<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/cole-tremain/12084>, John Ceccoli<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/john-ceccoli/12089> and Gabe Craig<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/gabe-craig/12090>.

LAST TIME OUT

• The Bears lost their opening weekend series to Central Michigan, which included a pair of one-run ballgames.

• BU kickstarted the Mitch Thompson<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/mitch-thompson/1881> era with a 10-inning, 6-5 win on Friday night, but then dropped the next two by finals of 20-5 and 4-3.

• Redshirt freshman INF Jack Johnson<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/jack-johnson/11493> delivered the game-winning RBI single in the bottom of the 10th, scoring freshman Kolby Branch<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/kolby-branch/12083> to cap off the Opening Day festivities.

• The Bears couldn't overcome a 15-run sixth inning by the Chippewas on Saturday, but scored five unanswered runs in the last three innings to show some fight.

• BU got the game-tying run into scoring position on Sunday, but ultimately fell 4-3 in the series finale.

• The Bears set a program record with 38 strikeouts in their three-game series against CMU, the most in the modern era (since 2000).

• BU did not walk a batter in the Sunday finale against the Chippewas, a feat it had only accomplished five times in 2022.

• Baylor's last win of 2022 and first win of 2023 both came on walk-off hits.

• A total of 18 Bears made their Baylor debuts over the opening weekend, including eight freshmen.

SERIES HISTORY VS HCU

• Baylor leads the all-time series over HCU, 6-2, and has won both of the last two meetings against the Huskies.

• BU and HCU last met on Feb. 22, 2022, with the Bears taking a 6-2 win in Waco.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Baylor went 10-3 in midweek contests in 2022 and will play 15 midweek games this year.

• Against teams from the state of Texas, BU went 12-10 last season. The Bears will play another 22 such games in 2023.

PROBABLE STARTERS*

• Tuesday, Feb. 21 • 6:30 p.m. • LHP Kobe Andrade<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/kobe-andrade/11476> (3-3, 5.88 ERA)* vs. RHP Jonathan Valdez (0-0, 0.00 ERA)

*Stats from 2022 season

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Tuesday night's game will be streamed on Big 12 Now on ESPN+. Pete Sousa will provide the play-by-play, while legendary Bears' pitcher Pat Combs will serve as the color analyst.

• Fans can also tune in to ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM or 92.3 FM for the Baylor radio broadcast, featuring Derek Smith (play-by-play) and Ryan Boyd (analyst) on the call.

2023 AT A GLANCE

• 36 of Baylor's 55 regular-season games in 2023 will be played at home at Baylor Ballpark, including conference series against Kansas State, Oklahoma, Texas and West Virginia.

• BU will play a combined 21 games against eight NCAA Tournament teams and face off against four conference champions from a year ago.

• 14 30-game winners headline the 2023 slate, including six squads that won 40 or more games last season.

• Notably, 51% of the Bears' 2023 schedule will feature opponents who finished 2022 with a top-75 RPI, including five non-conference foes in Central Michigan, UTSA, Dallas Baptist, Mercer and Grand Canyon.

-BaylorBears.com-

__________________________________

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

[signature_330511531]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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