Baylor Baseball Travels to Manhattan for a Crucial Series against Kansas State

MANHATTAN, Kansas – Baylor baseball (23-22, 5-13) takes on conference opponent Kansas State (25-22, 6-12) for a three-game set this weekend at Tointon Family Stadium. Games are slated for 6:00 P.M. Friday, 4:00 P.M. Saturday, and 1:00 P.M. Sunday (ESPN+).

BAYLOR BEARS - (#70 RPI Ranking & #11 Strength of Schedule)

2022 Record: 23-22

2022 Big 12 Record: 5-13

Head Coach: Steve Rodriguez 

• Career Record: 595-441 (19th season) 
• Record at Baylor: 194-141 (7th season) 

2022 STAT LEADERS 

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

AVG: Kyle Nevin (.306)

H: Jack Pineda (57)

2B: Kyle Nevin (15)

HR: Kyle Nevin (8)

RBI: Kyle Nevin (44)

R: Tre Richardson and Jack Pineda (48)

OB%: Jack Pineda (.398)

BB: Tre Richardson (26)

SB: Jack Pineda (9)

Kansas State Wildcats - (#99 RPI Ranking & #82 Strength of Schedule)

2022 Record: 25-22

2022 Big 12 Record: 6-12

Head Coach: Pete Hughes

• Career Record: 746-577 (24th season)
• Record at Kansas State: 94-85 (4th season)

2022 STAT LEADERS 

AVG: Dominic Johnson (.349)

H: Dominic Johsnon (65)

2B: Dominic Johnson & Nick Goodwin (16)

HR: Dylan Phillips (12)

RBI: Nick Goodwin (40)

R: Dominic Johnson (39)

OB%: Dominic Johnson (.428)

BB: Nick Goodwin (24)

SB: Dominic Johnson (11)

Probable Starting Fielders: Baylor

C: So. Harrison Caley (.294, 15 R, 32 H, 3 2B, 12 RBI, 17 BB, .398 OB%)

1B: So. Kyle Nevin (.306, 34 R, 56 H, 15 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 44 RBI, 18 BB, .362 OB%) 

2B: So. Tre Richardson (.289, 48 R, 52 H, 9 2B, 3B, 3 HR, 27 RBI, 26 BB, 5 SB, .387 OB%)

3B: Sr. Esteban Oquendo-Cardoza (.238, 22 R, 35 H, 9 2B, 21 RBI, 13 BB, .339 OB%)

SS: Jr. Jack Pineda (.300, 48 R, 57 H, 14 2B, 5 3B, 4 HR, 31 RBI, 24 BB, 9 SB, .398 OB%)

LF: So. Cam Caley (.364, 3 R, 8 H, 3 2B, 5 RBI, .440 OB%)

CF: So. Jared McKenzie (.289, 27 R, 50 H, 11 2B, 3B, 7 HR, 30 RBI, 21 BB, 3 SB, .387 OB%)

RF: So. Jacob Schoenvogel (.267, 12 R, 8 H, 2 2B, HR, 4 RBI, .476 OB%)

DH: Fr. Casen Neumann (.327, 12 R, 18 H, 3 2B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 11 BB, .449 OB%)

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

Probable Starting Pitchers

BU SP1: RHP Jake Jackson (3-4, 8.93 ERA)

KST SP1: RHP Blake Adams (5-4, 4.41 ERA)

BU SP2: LHP Kobe Andrade (3-3, 5.12 ERA)

KST SP2: RHP German Fajardo (4-1, 2.18 ERA)

BU SP3: RHP Blake Helton (0-1, 5.06 ERA)

KST SP3: TBD

What I Am Looking For This Weekend

• After a week and a half without a game, how is this team going to play? Will they come out of the gate slow and rusty, or will they come out well-rested and on fire?
• I tabbed this as a “crucial” series due to the fact that these games have huge implications for the final standings in the Big 12.  As of right now, Kansas is a game behind Baylor in the conference. Take two of three against K-State and the Bears will almost certainly be the seventh or eighth seed in the Big 12 Tournament. Even if Baylor only picks up one win this weekend, it wouldn’t be a complete failure because Kansas has a tough series to play against TCU. But getting swept would be a disaster for the Bears’ Big 12 Tournament hopes. If they don’t qualify for Arlington, it would be the first time in program history. 

Quick Side Notes

• RPI and SOS rankings were last updated last at 12:00 P.M. 5/12