Baylor Baseball Hits the Road to Face No. 15 Oklahoma State

Thu Mar 23 16:01:39 CDT 2023

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 23, 2023

Baylor Baseball Hits the Road to Face No. 15 Oklahoma State
Bears riding season-long three-game win streak into second weekend of Big 12 play
For more information contact: Max Calderone, 254-265-1639, Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu<mailto:Max_Calderone at Baylor.edu>

[BU Logo]
BAYLOR BEARS (9-12, 2-1 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/2023/3/23/BU_BSB_Game_Notes_2023_22-24_OSU.pdf>
BAYLOR (9-12, 2-1) at OKLAHOMA STATE (17-5, 1-2)
March 24, 2023 • 6:00 p.m. CT
March 25, 2023 • 6:00 p.m. CT
March 26, 2023 • 1:00 p.m. CT
Stillwater, Okla. • O'Brate Stadium (8,000)

LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com<https://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=bay>
WATCH: Big 12 Now on ESPN+ (Fri. only)
Talent: Dave Hunziker (play-by-play) & Tom Holliday (analyst)
WATCH: okstate.com (Sat. & Sun.)
Talent: Rex Holt, Matt Davis
LISTEN: ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM & 92.3 FM
Talent: Derek Smith (play-by-play), Max Calderone (analyst)

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/>
[OSU]
OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS (17-5, 1-2 Big 12)
Location: Stillwater, Okla.
Conference/Affiliation: Big 12
Head Coach: Josh Holliday (Oklahoma State, 1999)

Roster<https://okstate.com/sports/baseball/roster> | Stats<https://okstate.com/sports/baseball/stats> | Game Notes (PDF)<https://okstate.com/documents/2023/3/23/Game_Notes_11_-_Baylor.pdf>

STORYLINES

LEADING OFF

• Baylor Baseball hits the road for the first time in a month to visit No. 15 Oklahoma State for a three-game series in Stillwater, Okla.

• The Bears are riding a season-long three-game win streak and have won four of their last five games.

• Currently, BU is tied for first place in the Big 12 standings with Oklahoma and Texas Tech after winning two of three over K-State to start Big 12 play.

• The Bears won a wild Tuesday night game over Sam Houston, 7-6, after an hour and 10-minute rain delay before the start of the eighth inning.

• Freshman OF Caleb Bergman<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/caleb-bergman/12091> delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the eighth as a pinch hitter, then started an 8-6-2-5 double play with no outs in the top of the ninth to prevent SHSU from scoring.

• BU is coming off its best week of the 2023 season, going 3-1 with a two-hit shutout victory over Rice in the midweek contest, then taking two of three from K-State over the weekend.

• Sunday's come-from-behind victory against the Wildcats was the first time BU had overcome a deficit of four or more runs since May 19, 2022, when the Bears erased an eight-run deficit for a 13-11 victory over Oklahoma State.

• The Bears are 9-0 this season when scoring six or more runs, 7-0 when out-hitting their opponents and 7-0 when leading the ballgame after six innings.

• Freshman INF Kolby Branch<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/kolby-branch/12083> has reached base in all 21 of Baylor's games so far this season.

BIG RIG EARNS BIG PRAISE

• Fourth-year junior RHP Will Rigney<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/will-rigney/11505> earned his first-career awards of any kind after being named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week and one of 13 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper National Players of the Week on Monday.

• Rigney was brilliant across two outings last week, throwing five perfect innings and striking out 11 of the 15 batters he faced. He also earned two wins, including the first by a BU starter this season.

• In just his second appearance since coming back from his third season-ending injury of his collegiate career, Rigney made the midweek start against Rice last Tuesday and worked two innings with five strikeouts, earning the win as part of BU's two-hit shutout over the Owls.

• Then, in relief on Sunday against K-State, Rigney out-did himself by going three innings with six punchouts, retiring all nine he faced in order.

• This year, he boasts an unblemished 0.00 ERA across 6.0 IP. 13 of his 18 recorded outs have been K's. Opposing batters are hitting just .100 against him.

ADD IT TO THE K-COUNTER

• The Bears have eclipsed double-digit strikeouts on the mound in 16 of their 21 games so far this season.

• BU has punched out at least 13 opposing hitters in nine games this year.

• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks 9th nationally with 236 strikeouts.

• BU's 11.12 strikeouts per nine innings also leads the conference and ranks 15th nationally.

SERIES HISTORY VS OSU / BY THE NUMBERS

• Baylor trails, 54-44, in the all-time series against Oklahoma State.

• The Pokes took two of three from the Bears last season in Waco, and eliminated BU from the 2022 Big 12 Championship with a run-rule victory on May 26.

• Baylor is looking for its first series win over the Cowboys since 2018, when the Bears took two of three in Waco.

• This is BU's second series at the newly opened O'Brate Stadium (2021), where the Cowboys are 13-1 this year.

PROBABLE STARTERS

• Friday, March 24 • 6:00 p.m. • RHP Blake Helton<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/blake-helton/11490> (0-3, 7.77 ERA) vs. RHP Brian Hendry (1-0, 2.76 ERA)

• Saturday, March 25 • 6:00 p.m. • RHP Mason Marriott<https://baylorbears.com/sports/baseball/roster/mason-marriott/11495> (1-2, 4.94 ERA) vs. RHP Ben Abram (3-0, 4.79 ERA)

• Sunday, March 26 • 1:00 p.m. • TBD vs. RHP Juaron Watts-Brown (2-1, 2.96 ERA)

BROADCAST INFORMATION

• Friday's game will be broadcast on Big 12 Now on ESPN+, while Saturday and Sunday's games will be available for free on okstate.com.

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

To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.

-BaylorBears.com-

__________________________________

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

[signature_4235550375]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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