Gameday Thread: Baylor Baseball Travels to Oklahoma for Three-Game Set

BAYLOR (11-9, 0-0) vs OKLAHOMA (12-7, 0-0)
March 25, 2022 • 6:30 p.m. CT
March 26, 2022 • 2:00 p.m. CT
March 27, 2022 • 2:00 p.m. CT
Norman, Okla. • L. Dale Mitchell Park (3,180)

LIVE STATS: BaylorStats.com
WATCH: Bally Sports Oklahoma Extra (Fri.)
WATCH: Sooner Sports TV (Sat.)
WATCH: Bally Sports Oklahoma (Sun.)
LISTEN: Learfield / ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM & 92.3 FM (Fri.)
Talent:  Derek Smith (PxP), Max Calderone (Analyst)

STORYLINES

- LEADING OFF

• Baylor leaves the state of Texas for the first time this season as the Bears travel to Norman, Okla. for their first road series during Big 12 play.

• BU has won two in a row after salvaging its three-game series against No. 21 TCU on Sunday, then defeating UTSA on Tuesday in walk-off fashion.

• The Bears are 5-4 against ranked opponents in 2022, with wins over No. 23 Duke, No. 23 UCLA, No. 7 LSU and No. 21 TCU.

• BU is 8-8 in Big 12 road series over the past four conference seasons.

• Baylor stays close to home in 2022, as 43 of its 52 regular-season contests will be played in the state of Texas.

- BY THE NUMBERS

• Oklahoma leads the all-time series over Baylor, 53-49.

• The Sooners hold an 11-8 advantage in the series during the Steve Rodriguez era, though the Bears have won four of the last seven meetings.

• Baylor owns a 1-4 series record against Oklahoma under Rodriguez.

• 2018 was the last time the two sides met in Norman, as OU swept the three-game series which included a two-run decision in the Friday night game (4-2) and an extra-innings affair on Saturday (5-4, 10 inn.).

- PROBABLE STARTERS

Friday, March 25 • 6:30 p.m. CT • LHP Tyler Thomas (3-2, 1.30 ERA) vs. LHP Jake Bennett (1-0, 0.90 ERA)

Saturday, March 26 • 2:00 p.m. CT • LHP Kobe Andrade (2-0, 2.57 ERA) vs. RHP David Sandlin (2-2, 6.94 ERA)

Sunday, March 27 • 2:00 p.m. CT • RHP Will Rigney (1-0, 3.10 ERA) vs. LHP Chazz Martinez (2-2, 2.81 ERA)

- BROADCAST INFORMATION

• All three games will be televised by various outlets over the weekend.

• Bally Sports Oklahoma Extra will carry Friday's opener, while Sooner Sports TV will produce the Saturday affair. The main Bally Sports Oklahoma channel will broadcast the Sunday series finale.

• Fans can also tune in to the home radio broadcast, featuring Derek Smith and Max Calderone, on ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM and 92.3 FM all weekend long.

- BEARS BATS HEATING UP

• Over the past five games, Baylor's offense erupted for 51 hits as a team, posting a .277 batting average.

• The Bears have tallied seven multi-hit performances in 2022, with three of them coming in the last five games.

• BU set a season-high with 17 hits as a team last Saturday against No. 21 TCU in the 11-inning loss.

• The Bears followed that up with a 14-hit day last Sunday in the 7-3 victory over the Horned Frogs.

• The top of the order has led the charge, as Tre Richardson is 15 for his last 37 during an eight-game hit streak.

• Jack Pineda has collected multiple hits in five of his last seven games, and Jared McKenzie is hitting .325 in his last 10 games.

- HERE COMES JARED

• Baylor slugger Jared McKenzie is starting to heat up, going 13-for-40 (.325) over his last 10 games.

• The third-year sophomore preseason All-American has raised his batting average to .250 for the year with a pair of three-hit performances over his last three games.

• McKenzie crushed one against TCU for his second HR of the season, but it was his first long ball of 2022 that left the yard, as he previously circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run in Game 2 of Saturday, March 12's doubleheader against Columbia.

• The inside-the-parker was Baylor's first since March 19, 2011, when Chris Slater did so against Texas Tech.

- T-THOM A TRUE FRIDAY NIGHT ACE

• Fifth-year senior LHP Tyler Thomas has turned himself into a bonafide Friday night ace, with five outstanding starts so far in 2022.

• Thomas logged a career day on March 4 against No. 23 UCLA, throwing 8.2 innings and allowing just four hits while notching a career-high 10 strikeouts in the 2-1 win over the Bruins.

• He followed up his career-best outing with another stellar start, going 8.0 scoreless against Columbia with seven strikeouts and just three hits allowed.

• Thomas is now 3-2 in 2022 with a 1.30 ERA, having surrendered just five earned runs across four different frames of his Big 12-leading 34.2 innings pitched.

• He has posted 32 K's and just five walks, ranking second in the conference with a 6.40 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

• T-Thom recorded the second-highest game score in college baseball after his start vs. Columbia, an 83, according to D1Baseball.com. He also scored an 82 in his outing against UCLA, the fourth-best rating amongst March 4 pitchers.

• Thomas has helped lead the BU pitching staff to fourth in the Big 12 with a combined 4.01 team ERA.

- TURNING TWO

• Baylor leads the Big 12 and ranks third nationally with 22 double plays turned in 2022 (1.10 per game).

• Tre Richardson has an assist in 20 of those 22 twin killings so far this season.

• The Bears rolled just 33 double plays in all of 2021 (0.65 per game).

- WALK-OFF WINNERS

• Baylor walked it off against UTSA Tuesday night, coming from behind to score two runs in the bottom of the ninth.

• Jack Pineda collected the game-winning RBI, as he took a bases loaded walk that plated Jacob Schoenvogel.

• Casen Neumann had a big pinch-hit single that scored Nolan Rodriguez to tie it.

• It was the Bears' second walk-off win in 2022, joining Sunday, March 13's 4-3 victory in 10 innings over Columbia.

• Against Columbia, it was Jared McKenzie's RBI single that scored Tre Richardson that won it for BU.

• The Bears are 1-1 in extra-inning games this season.