Preview: Baylor Baseball Welcomes No. 23 Indiana for Weekend Series

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (1-3) will welcome the No. 23 Indiana Hoosiers (3-1) for the first weekend series of the season at Baylor Ballpark. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s contest will start at 2 p.m., and the series finale on Sunday is slated for 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

Baylor baseball opened its season with an 0-3 record at the Shriners Children’s College Showdown. The Bears lost to Nebraska, Oregon and No. 9 Tennessee.

Baylor Bears

2024 Record: 1-3

Head Coach: Mitch Thompson

• Career Record: 393-176 (11th season) 
• Record at Baylor: 21-38 (2nd season) 

2024 Projections

• D1Baseball: 12th in the Big 12
• Coaches Poll: 11th in the Big 12

No. 23 Indiana Hoosiers

2024 Record: 3-1

Head Coach: Jeff Mercer

• Career Record: 237-153 (8th season) 
• Record at Indiana: 145-100 (6th season) 

2024 Projections

• D1Baseball: 2nd in the Big 10
• Coaches Poll: 2nd in the Big 10

Probable Starting Fielders:

*2023 Stats: BAVG = Batting Average, OB% = On-Base Percentage, AB = At-Bats, GS = Games Started)*

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

RF Enzo Apodaca (RJr.) currently leads the team in batting average (.438) and is coming off a 4-for-5 performance against Lamar.

• C: Harrison Caley (Sr.) - (.167 BAVG, .167 OB%, HR, RBI, 2 R, 6 AB)
• 1B: Will Pendergrass (Sr.) - (.091 BAVG, .231 OB%, 11 AB)
• 2B: Mason Greer (Missouri State, Sr.) - (.188 BAVG, .278 OB%, HR, 3 RBI, R, 16 AB)
• SS: Tyriq Kemp (Western Oklahoma CC, Jr.) - (.167 BAVG, .231 OB%, R, 12 AB)
• 3B: Hunter Teplanszky (Jr.) - (.250 BAVG, .368 OB%, HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, 16 AB)
• LF: Hunter Simmons (Sr.) - (.353 BAVG, .421 OB%, HR, 6 RBI, 3 R, 17 AB)
• CF: Ty Johnson (McLennan CC, Jr.) - (.278 BAVG, .278 OB%, 3 RBI, 3 R, 18 AB)
• RF: Enzo Apodaca (Gonzaga, RJr.) - (.438 BAVG, .500 OB%, HR, 4 RBI, 5 R, 16 AB)
• DH: Wesley Jordan (Navarro, Jr.) - (.100 BAVG, .308 OB%, R, RBI, 10 AB)

Projected Bench

• C: Cortlan Castle (Jr.) - (.000 BAVG, .286 OB%, 2 R, 5 AB)
• C/1B: Brayden Buchanan (Fr.) - (.333, .600 OB%, 3 AB)
• 2B: Cole Posey (Sr.) - (.000 BAVG, .000 OB%, AB)
• OF/1B: Gavin Brzozowski (RSo.) - (.500 BAVG, .667 OB%, RBI, 2 AB)

Probable Starting Pitchers:

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

RHP Collin McKinney (RFr.) struck out five batters in his first collegiate debut on the mound.

• BU SP 1 – RHP: Mason Marriott (Jr.) - (1.59 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, 5.2 IP, GS)
• IU SP 1 – RHP: Brayden Risedorph (So.) - (1.93 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 4.1 IP, GS)
• BU SP 2 – RHP: Collin McKinney (RFr.) - (6.23 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 4.1 IP, GS)
• IU SP 2 – RHP Connor Foley (So.) - (0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 4.0 IP, GS)
• BU SP 3 – TBD
• IU SP 3 – TBD

Top Quotes

Head coach Mitch Thompson on what beating No. 23 Indiana would mean for the confidence of the team:

“[Winning this series] would be huge. This is a club that believes that we’re better. This is a club that believes we’re ready to take steps. This type of win would definitely be one that you can hang your hat on and say, ‘Hey, this was a big deal.’ Every time out is a big deal for us to go out and compete and win; winning is fun and it would be a big deal for us.”

Senior outfielder Hunter Simmons on facing No. 23 Indiana:

“Obviously, this is going to be a good team we’re going to play – ranked 22nd or 23rd – a good ranked team, but I don’t think it’s any different than what we saw [last weekend] at Globe Life [Field]. We just saw Tennessee, who played in the College World Series. And we saw Oregon, who was just in a Super Regional, and then you got Nebraska. We’ve already seen it. It’s another good team that we’re going to play hard against. Nothing else really changes; just play hard.”

Redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Collin McKinney on facing another solid ballclub in his second career start:

“At the end of the day, it’s all the same game – just go out there and try and throw strikes, compete and win a baseball game.”

What I’m Looking For This Weekend + Other Notes

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

Baylor has the toughest schedule in the country over the first month of the season, according to Baseball Radar.

• No. 23 Indiana is the latest tough opponent Baylor will have to face early this season. Last weekend, the Hoosiers took down No. 18 Coastal Carolina and lost a close contest to No. 12 Duke. Indiana returns a ton of talent from a team that was one win away from reaching the Super Regionals last year.
• The Hoosiers are led by outfielder Devin Taylor (So.), the Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, according to D1 Baseball. Indiana has a talented nucleus of young arms as well and should present a major challenge for Baylor’s lineup.
• During the Shriners Children’s College Showdown, the top of the order and the starting pitching were both excellent. If Baylor wants to win this series, it will need a boost from the young arms out of the bullpen and the bottom of the batting lineup.
• Prediction: This weekend is an opportunity for head coach Mitch Thompson to get his first signature series win as Baylor’s head coach, but I’m not sure the Bears are ready to rise to the occasion just yet. I think the Hoosiers take two of three, but if Baylor can get quality starts from Mason Marriott (Jr.) and Collin McKinney (RFr.) on Friday and Saturday, anything is possible.