Baylor Baseball Welcomes Cincinnati to Waco for Conference Series

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (8-16, 3-6) is slated for a conference series against the Big 12 newcomer Cincinnati Bearcats (15-11, 3-3). First pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday’s contest will also start at 6:30 p.m., and the series finale on Saturday is slated for 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.

Baylor Bears

Baylor Athletics

After winning an emotional extra-innings game against Texas last Friday, the Bears have dropped three straight.

• 2024 Record: 8-16
• Big 12 Record: 3-6
• RPI: 160
• Notable Wins: No. 24 Texas Tech (2), Texas
• Notable Losses: No. 23 Indiana (3), No. 20 Dallas Baptist, Nebraska, Oregon, No. 5 Tennessee

Head Coach: Mitch Thompson

• Career Record: 400-187 (11th season) 
• Record at Baylor: 28-49 (2nd season) 

2024 Projections

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

Team Stats 

• ERA: 6.11 (12th in the Big 12)
• Batting Average: .250 (13th in the Big 12)
• Fielding Percentage: .970 (7th in the Big 12)

Cincinnati Bearcats

• 2024 Record: 15-11
• Big 12 Record: 3-3
• RPI: 83
• Notable Wins: Kansas State, Kansas (2)
• Notable Losses: No. 25 Coastal Carolina, Louisville

Head Coach: Jordan Bischel

• Career Record: 329-166 (12th season) 
• Record at Cincinnati: 15-10 (1st season) 

2024 Projections

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

Team Stats 

• ERA: 6.29 (13th in the Big 12)
• Batting Average: .290 (6th in the Big 12)
• Fielding Percentage: .966 (11th in the Big 12)

Baylor Probable Starting Fielders:

*BAVG = Batting Average, OB% = On-Base Percentage, AB = At-Bats*

• C: Cortlan Castle (Jr.) - (.279 BAVG, .354 OB%, 11 R, 4 RBI, 43 AB)
• 1B: Mason Greer (Sr.) - (.200 BAVG, .266 OB%, 7 R, 6 XBH, 11 RBI, 85 AB)
• 2B: Daniel Altman (Sr.) - (.304 BAVG, .412 OB%, 7 R, 3 XBH, 11 RBI, 56 AB)
• SS: Tyriq Kemp (Jr.) - (.156 BAVG, .267 OB%, 4 R, RBI, 64 AB)
• 3B: Hunter Teplanszky (Jr.) - (.250 BAVG, .327 OB%, 10 R, 3 XBH, 10 RBI, 92 AB)
• LF: Caleb Bergman (So.) - (.333 BAVG, .438 OB%, 3 R, XBH, RBI, 12 AB)
• CF: Ty Johnson (Jr.) - (.291 BAVG, .364 OB%, 4 XBH, 5 RBI, 79 AB)
• RF: Enzo Apodaca (RJr.) - (.345 BAVG, .421 OB%, 19 R, 11 XBH, 19 RBI, 87 AB)
• DH: Wesley Jordan (Jr.) - (.314 BAVG, .422 OB%, 14 R, 9 XBH, 13 RBI, 70 AB)

Projected Bench

• C: Harrison Caley (Sr.) - (.308 BAVG, .438 OB%, 8 R, 5 XBH, 9 RBI, 26 AB)
• C: Zach Mazoch (So.) - (.222 BAVG, .462 OB%, R, 3 RBI, 9 AB)
• 1B/C: Brayden Buchanan (Fr.) - (.150 BAVG, .346 OB%, 2 R, 20 AB)
• 2B: Chase Womack (Fr.) - (.105 BAVG, .292 OB%, 3 R, 2 RBI, 19 AB)
• OF Kade Fletcher (RJr.) - (.192 BAVG, .371 OB%, 5 R, XBH, 5 RBI, 26 AB)

Probable Starting Pitchers:

• BU SP 1 – LHP Mason Green (Fr.) - (1-2, 5.57 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 21.0 IP, 3 GS)
• UC SP 1 – LHP Brenden Garula (So.) - (2-0, 1.99 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 22.2 IP, 3 GS)
• BU SP 2 – RHP Mason Marriott (Jr.) - (0-3, 4.50 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 30.0 IP, 6 GS)
• UC SP 2 – RHP Tommy Boba (So.) - (2-2, 6.21 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 29.0 IP, 6 GS)
• BU SP 3 – RHP Collin McKinney (RFr.) - (1-3, 6.94 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 23.1 IP, 6 GS)
• UC SP 3 – RHP Nathan Taylor (Fr.) - (5-0, 5.08 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 28.1 IP, 7 GS)

Cincinnati Probable Starting Fielders:

*BAVG = Batting Average, OB% = On-Base Percentage, AB = At-Bats*

• C: Josh Kross (Jr.) - (.308 BAVG, .405 OB%, 22 R, 15 XBH, 40 RBI, 107 AB)
• 1B: Tommy O’Connor (Jr.) - (.313 BAVG, .447 OB%, 27 R, 10 XBH, 22 RBI, 96 AB)
• 2B: Luke Sefcik (RSo.) - (.357 BAVG, .406 OB%, 11 R, 5 XBH, 7 RBI, 56 AB)
• SS: Christian Michelle (So.) - (.309 BAVG, .351 OB%, 15 R, 3 XBH, 10 RBI, 68 AB)
• 3B: Kerrington Cross (RJr.) - (.337 BAVG, .496 OB%, 31 R, 11 XBH, 23 RBI, 95 AB)
• LF: Josh Hagemann (Sr.) - (.371 BAVG, .488 OB%, 19 R, 6 XBH, 10 RBI, 62 AB)
• CF: Dalton Pearson (Sr.) - (.212 BAVG, .343 OB%, 17 R, 5 XBH, 11 RBI, 85 AB)
• RF: Landyn Vidourek (So.) - (.253 BAVG, .415 OB%, 22 R, 9 XBH, 18 RBI, 79 AB)
• DH: Hunter Jesse (Sr.) - (.258 BAVG, .365 OB%, 12 R, 3 XBH, 16 RBI, 62 AB)

Top Quotes

Head coach Mitch Thompson on where his team is at heading into a big series:

• “We’ve been chasing the very start of the season since the beginning where we were 1-7. In the last four weekends, we are 6-6 and playing .500 baseball against Oral Roberts, Houston, Texas Tech and Texas – I think those are all positive things. Some improvements have been made, but then there’s been disappointment here and there that throws us down. But the Friday night win [over Texas] was a big win – it was a signature win against a really good arm, against a really good club at their place, but we weren’t just trying to win one [game].”

Baylor Athletics

Baylor’s stretch over the next three weekends includes winnable series against Cincinnati, Incarnate Word and BYU.

Designated Hitter Wesley Jordan (Jr.) on the series against Cincinnati:

• “I think every series is big. Every game you play, you want to go out there and win. And I think we have a chance to win every game. We want to take what we can get, whoever we are playing, no matter what it is, and play our best game.”

Right-handed pitcher Mason Marriott (Jr.) on having success this year:

• “I think [growing on the mound] comes with maturity. I think freshman year, I would make [the game] bigger than what it was. Now, it’s take a deep breath out there – you know what you’re doing, you’re good enough to do it so stay within yourself and keep attacking.”

What I’m Looking For This Weekend + Other Notes

• This weekend’s three-game set against Cincinnati will be an extremely important series for Baylor. With injuries piling up and coming off three straight tough losses, the Bears have an opportunity to either turn things around or spiral even further. Over the next three weeks, Baylor has a favorable schedule ahead with series against UIW and BYU on the horizon, as well as midweek matchups against HCU and UTA. Getting some much-needed momentum against the Bearcats would be huge for Mitch Thompson’s squad.
  

  Baylor Athletics

  After throwing just one inning against UT on Sunday, LHP Mason Green (Fr.) will start in the series opener on Thursday.
• With this weekend's series against Cincinnati starting on Thursday, Baylor's rotation will be slightly altered. Mason Green (Fr.) will throw on Thursday so Mason Marriott (Jr.) and Collin McKinney (RFr.) can stay in their normal Friday and Saturday routines. Green only threw one inning last weekend against Texas.
• Prediction: Baylor wins the series against an evenly-matched Cincinnati team. The Bearcats can flat-out hit the ball, and the Bears’ young arms will have to come ready to play this weekend, or it could get ugly. Baylor just doesn’t have the lineup to get into high-scoring battles with other opponents, but if Thompson can get at least two quality starts out of Green, Marriott or McKinney, the Bears will have a chance.

For a full recap of this week in Baylor baseball, click here.