Photo by Todd Nickle
Baylor Baseball
Midweek Breakfast: Baylor NCAA D1 Baseball Championship Preview
Last week, the Bears saw an early exit from the Big 12 tournament with losses to two top 20 RPI ranked teams, West Virginia and Texas Tech.
While the early start may have hampered Baylor the most, what held the Bears back in the conference tournament was the pitching in game one and the inability to plate runners in game two.
Against West Virginia, senior RHP Nick Lewis gave up seven runs in the first inning. From then on, the game stayed in favor of the Mountaineers. The Bears were only able to accrue three hits- their own worst enemy. As a fan, I only hope Lewis does not get the nod as the starter Friday. However, if he does, he shouldn't be out there longer than three innings.
Something to note on West Virginia is that it drew a two-seed in the Winston-Salem (Wake Forest) Regional.
It was a similar story against Tech. The Bears weren’t ready for the 9 a.m. start. Giving up three runs in the second, the Bears fell behind early and couldn’t rally. While Montana Parsons gave up three runs in a six-inning performance, he managed to keep a stout Red Raider team in check, allowing seven hits. The deciding factor between the two was the fact that the Bears left 11 players on base.
The Red Raiders drew the #5 national seed in the College World Series and will host Arizona, Sam Houston State, and Delaware in Lubbock.
With such a poor performance, Baylor baseball looks to start new again as the real postseason begins Friday at 2 p.m.
Drawing a two-seed in the Houston Regional, the Bears (34-21) will face off against former Big 12 foe in Texas A&M (36-21). As you may recall, the Bears beat the Aggies on a walk-off grand slam early in the season at Minute Maid during the Shriner Classic.
Within the Houston Regional lies the fourth-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes (38-20) and first-seed Houston (40-19). The Cougars, like the Aggies, are a familiar foe to the 2017 team as the Bears were able to win a series against them at their place in March.
Should the Bears make it out of the Houston Regional, they will find themselves matched up against the winner of the Chapel Hill (North Carolina) Regional. North Carolina, Florida Gulf Coast, Michigan, and Davidson are all possible opponents.
Without a doubt, it is more than possible for the Bears to come out of Houston undefeated; however, it was also expected that they pull off a win in the conference tournament.
What must occur for the Bears to get the win is for veterans and underclassmen alike to step up to the plate. With little experience as of late in postseason play, the Bears need to muster the confidence as they definitely have the skill to compete.
Look for Montana Parsons (2.68 ERA) to likely get the start in place of Lewis this Friday as Lewis has struggled tremendously in his last two starts and been very inconsistent over the course of the season.
Centerfielder Richard Cunningham, left fielder T.J. Raguse, shortstop Josh Bissonette, right fielder Kameron Esthay, and third basemen David Wendzel are all players to look to offensively. Cunningham -- batting .310 on the season -- was the only Bear to drive in runs during the conference tournament.
Senior first basemen Aaron Dodson will have to be a leader for the Bears. Batting .335, his performance will help rally the underclassmen and hopefully lead them to victory.
Freshman catcher Shea Langeliers was very good defensively in the conference tournament, but I think offensively he could have produced more. Langeliers, I believe that similarly to Dodson, he will be crucial in rallying the team. Langeliers is batting .321 and has been able to drive in runs during the season with 38 RBI’s.
Using the conference tournament as a rallying force, I believe the Bears will be able to win the Houston Regional by beating a very young A&M team in game one and fighting off Houston in game two or possibly game three.
Unfortunately, the great season will come to an end when the Bears drop the next round to North Carolina, the national #2 seed, two games to one.
While the early start may have hampered Baylor the most, what held the Bears back in the conference tournament was the pitching in game one and the inability to plate runners in game two.
Against West Virginia, senior RHP Nick Lewis gave up seven runs in the first inning. From then on, the game stayed in favor of the Mountaineers. The Bears were only able to accrue three hits- their own worst enemy. As a fan, I only hope Lewis does not get the nod as the starter Friday. However, if he does, he shouldn't be out there longer than three innings.
Something to note on West Virginia is that it drew a two-seed in the Winston-Salem (Wake Forest) Regional.
It was a similar story against Tech. The Bears weren’t ready for the 9 a.m. start. Giving up three runs in the second, the Bears fell behind early and couldn’t rally. While Montana Parsons gave up three runs in a six-inning performance, he managed to keep a stout Red Raider team in check, allowing seven hits. The deciding factor between the two was the fact that the Bears left 11 players on base.
The Red Raiders drew the #5 national seed in the College World Series and will host Arizona, Sam Houston State, and Delaware in Lubbock.
With such a poor performance, Baylor baseball looks to start new again as the real postseason begins Friday at 2 p.m.
Drawing a two-seed in the Houston Regional, the Bears (34-21) will face off against former Big 12 foe in Texas A&M (36-21). As you may recall, the Bears beat the Aggies on a walk-off grand slam early in the season at Minute Maid during the Shriner Classic.
Within the Houston Regional lies the fourth-seeded Iowa Hawkeyes (38-20) and first-seed Houston (40-19). The Cougars, like the Aggies, are a familiar foe to the 2017 team as the Bears were able to win a series against them at their place in March.
Should the Bears make it out of the Houston Regional, they will find themselves matched up against the winner of the Chapel Hill (North Carolina) Regional. North Carolina, Florida Gulf Coast, Michigan, and Davidson are all possible opponents.
Outlook
Let’s try this again.Without a doubt, it is more than possible for the Bears to come out of Houston undefeated; however, it was also expected that they pull off a win in the conference tournament.
What must occur for the Bears to get the win is for veterans and underclassmen alike to step up to the plate. With little experience as of late in postseason play, the Bears need to muster the confidence as they definitely have the skill to compete.
Look for Montana Parsons (2.68 ERA) to likely get the start in place of Lewis this Friday as Lewis has struggled tremendously in his last two starts and been very inconsistent over the course of the season.
Centerfielder Richard Cunningham, left fielder T.J. Raguse, shortstop Josh Bissonette, right fielder Kameron Esthay, and third basemen David Wendzel are all players to look to offensively. Cunningham -- batting .310 on the season -- was the only Bear to drive in runs during the conference tournament.
Senior first basemen Aaron Dodson will have to be a leader for the Bears. Batting .335, his performance will help rally the underclassmen and hopefully lead them to victory.
Freshman catcher Shea Langeliers was very good defensively in the conference tournament, but I think offensively he could have produced more. Langeliers, I believe that similarly to Dodson, he will be crucial in rallying the team. Langeliers is batting .321 and has been able to drive in runs during the season with 38 RBI’s.
Using the conference tournament as a rallying force, I believe the Bears will be able to win the Houston Regional by beating a very young A&M team in game one and fighting off Houston in game two or possibly game three.
Unfortunately, the great season will come to an end when the Bears drop the next round to North Carolina, the national #2 seed, two games to one.
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