Midweek Breakfast: Previewing Baylor in Big 12 Baseball Tournament

After finishing Big 12 play 12-12 with a sweep of Oklahoma State and dropping two to Kansas State, the Bears sit at fifth place in the Big 12. Qualifying for the Big 12 tournament for the 21st straight season, Baylor will square off against fourth-seeded West Virginia at 9 a.m. Wednesday.

While Baylor has never won the event, this year may present as good of a opportunity as any.

Led by Big 12 Coach of the Year Steve Rodriguez, the Bears have notched program highs in overall wins (34) and conference wins (12) since the 2012 campaign. Furthermore, the Bears have pitched six shutouts for the first time since 2000.

Bracketing

On Baylor’s side of the bracket lies perennial foe in the number one seeded Texas Tech Red Raiders. The Red Raiders will square off against the eighth-seeded Cowboys of Oklahoma State. On the other side of the bracket, second-seeded TCU plays seventh-seeded Kansas and third seed Oklahoma faces off against the sixth-seeded Longhorns.

With the tournament being double-elimination, the bracketing and route to the championship game can be a little confusing.

If the Bears drop Game one against West Virginia, they will play again at 9 a.m. on Thursday against the loser of Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. This game is a must win game to continue in the tournament.

Should the Bears win, they will play the loser of West Virginia and Texas Tech/Oklahoma State at 3:15 p.m. Friday. Again, this would be another must win game. If Baylor does pull out the win, they will play the winner of the West Virginia and Texas Tech/Oklahoma State matchup at nine in the morning on Saturday. The winner of that game would sit in the championship game.

If the Bears win game one against West Virginia, they will play at 4 p.m. Thursday against the winner of Texas Tech and Oklahoma State. Win again and they will play the winner of West Virginia and Texas Tech/Oklahoma State at nine in the morning on Saturday, skipping play on Friday. However, if they lose Thursday, the Bears will play at 3:15 on Friday against the winner of West Virginia and Texas Tech/Oklahoma State.

This game would be a must win to play at nine on Saturday. More than likely the winner of the Saturday game will earn themselves a spot in the championship; however, there lies a possibility to play additional games if the bracket has not been narrowed to two teams.

Essentially, to summarize what is above, the Bears will square off against West Virginia and consistently be matched up against either Texas Tech or Oklahoma State. As Baylor progresses through the tournament, they may find themselves squaring off against West Virginia again should the Mountaineers beat Texas Tech or Oklahoma State.

Players to Watch

Receiving the most Big 12 conference accolades out of any team in the conference, the Bears have a lot of players to look out for. While notching 15 Big 12 honors, Baylor also tied with West Virginia with a high of 13 players named to All-Big 12 teams.

Senior infielder Aaron Dodson will have to be the number one guy for the Bears. Dodson set career-highs with a .341 batting average with 60 hits, 38 RBI’s, 35 runs, and 10 home runs.  

Freshman catcher Shea Langelier -- who won Big 12 Newcomer of the Week the past two weeks -- is another key player on the 2017 squad. Langeliers is batting .321 with 42 runs, 63 hits, 38 RBI’s, and ten home runs. He has hit the most all-time home runs by a catcher in program history and is one shy from the freshman home run record.

Junior RHP Montana Parsons, Co-Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, looks to deliver in the postseason. In 13 starts, Parsons recorded a 2.68 ERA with a 5-2 record- only giving up 27 runs on 75 hits and 34 walks in 77.1 innings, Parsons also had 62 strikeouts.

Outlook

While the series against Kansas State was disappointing, the end of the season for the Bears was one that wasn’t expected. Besides one low-run game between Oklahoma State, a win by the score of 3-2, the Bears racked up the runs in the last nine games of the season. Outscoring opponents 97 to 41, the Bears bats were alive.

Should this trend continue, expect the Mountaineers to fall to Baylor 7-3 in game one of the Big 12 tournament. The following game would more than likely be against Texas Tech. This matchup would be of great concern for Baylor's hopes.

The Red Raiders have demolished opponents all year and haven’t had much of a cold streak. I think there is a 30 to 40 percent chance the Bears pull off the upset.

Either way, the Bears will face West Virginia once again. The Bears are capable of a win once again. Following the win, the Bears will face off against Texas Tech. I think here is where the Bears fall. The Red Raiders' talent across the board is too difficult to overcome and upset, leaving the Bears with a third or fourth place finish- not too far out of line from their play in Big 12 play