Baylor Baseball Travels to Provo for Three-Game Set against BYU

PROVO, Utah – Baylor baseball (13-18) will open its four-game road trip with a series against the BYU Cougars (14-15). First pitch on Thursday is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday’s contest will also start at 7 p.m., and the series finale on Saturday is slated for 2 p.m. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.

Baylor Bears

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

Baylor baseball has won five of its last six contests and is coming off a 14-1 loss to Incarnate Word on Sunday.

• 2024 Record: 13-18
• Big 12 Record: 5-7
• RPI: 140
• Notable Wins: No. 24 Texas Tech (2), Cincinnati (2), Texas
• Notable Losses: No. 23 Indiana (3), No. 20 Dallas Baptist, Nebraska, Oregon, No. 5 Tennessee

Head Coach: Mitch Thompson

• Career Record: 405-189 (11th season) 
• Record at Baylor: 33-51 (2nd season) 

2024 Projections

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

Team Stats 

• ERA: 5.90 (13th in the Big 12)
• Batting Average: .272 (10th in the Big 12)
• Fielding Percentage: .967 (10th in the Big 12)

BYU Cougars

Nate Edwards

In its first year in the Big 12, BYU is currently 6-9 in conference play and is coming off a series win against Texas in Austin.

• 2024 Record: 14-15
• Big 12: 6-9
• RPI: 94
• Notable Wins: Texas (2), Houston (2), Utah
• Notable Losses: Kansas (3), Texas Tech (2), West Virginia (2)

Head Coach: Trent Pratt

• Career Record: 56-49 (3rd season) 
• Record at BYU: 56-49 (3rd season) 

2024 Projections

• D1Baseball: 13th in the Big 12
• Coaches Poll: Tied for 12th in the Big 12

Team Stats 

• ERA: 5.41 (9th in the Big 12)
• Batting Average: .254 (13th in the Big 12)
• Fielding Percentage: .973 (6th in the Big 12)

Baylor Probable Starting Fielders:

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

• C: Cortlan Castle (Jr.) - (.239 BAVG, .292 OB%, 13 R, 6 RBI, 67 AB)
  

  Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

  Baylor now has five full-time starters hitting over .300 (Altman, Teplanszky, Jordan, Johnson, Apodaca).
• 1B: Cole Posey (Sr.) - (.154 BAVG, .267 OB%, 3 R, XBH, 6 RBI, 26 AB)
• 2B: Daniel Altman (Sr.) - (.333 BAVG, .446 OB%, 18 R, 6 XBH, 20 RBI, 81 AB)
• SS: Tyriq Kemp (Jr.) - (.167 BAVG, .311 OB%, 11 R, XBH, 2 RBI, 84 AB)
• 3B: Hunter Teplanszky (Jr.) - (.316 BAVG, .400 OB%, 17 R, 8 XBH, 23 RBI, 117 AB)
• LF: Wesley Jordan (Jr.) - (.326 BAVG, .444 OB%, 23 R, 13 XBH, 19 RBI, 95 AB)
• CF: Ty Johnson (Jr.) - (.308 BAVG, .388 OB%, 5 XBH, 8 RBI, 107 AB)
• RF: Enzo Apodaca (RJr.) - (.345 BAVG, .440 OB%, 25 R, 13 XBH, 26 RBI, 113 AB)
• DH: Zach Mazoch (So.) - (.367 BAVG, .486 OB%, 4 R, 9 RBI, 30 AB)

Projected Bench

• C: Harrison Caley (Sr.) - (.308 BAVG, .400 OB%, 8 R, 4 XBH, 9 RBI, 26 AB)
• 1B: Brayden Buchanan (Fr.) - (.154 BAVG, .333 OB%, 2 R, 26 AB)
• 1B: Mason Greer (Sr.) - (.188 BAVG, .262 OB%, 9 6 R, 6 XBH, 13 RBI, 96 AB)
• 2B: Chase Womack (Fr.) - (.100 BAVG, .280 OB%, 3 R, 2 RBI, 20 AB)
• OF Kade Fletcher (RJr.) - (.214 BAVG, .378 OB%, 5 R, 2 XBH, 5 RBI, 28 AB)
• OF Caleb Bergman (So.) - (.350 BAVG, .440 OB%, 5 R, XBH, 2 RBI, 20 AB)

Probable Starting Pitchers:

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

RHP Mason Marriott (Jr.) will open the series on the mound on Thursday instead of making his routine start on Friday.

*ERA = Earned Run Average, WHIP = Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched, GS = Games Started*

• BU SP 1 – RHP Mason Marriott (Jr.) - (1-3, 4.58 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 39.1 IP, 7 GS)
• BYU SP 1 – RHP Ben Hansen (So.) - (4-3, 6.37 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 41.0 IP, 8 GS)
• BU SP 2 – LHP Mason Green (Fr.) - (1-4, 5.34 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 28.2 IP, 5 GS)
• BYU SP 2 – RHP Bryce Robison (Sr.) - (2-3, 4.26 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 38.0 IP, 7 GS)
• BU SP 3 – RHP Collin McKinney (RFr.) - (3-3, 4.93 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 34.2 IP, 8 GS)
• BYU SP 3 – TBD

BYU Probable Starting Fielders:

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

• C: Collin Reuter (RSo.) - (.333 BAVG, .437 OB%, 18 R, 11 XBH, 19 RBI, 87 AB)
• 1B: Cooper Vest (RJr.) - (.240 BAVG, .355 OB%, 17 R, 10 XBH, 11 RBI, 104 AB)
• 2B: Crew Robinson (Sr.) - (.186 BAVG, .306 OB%, 12 R, 11 XBH, 12 RBI, 102 AB)
• SS: Chipper Beck (So.) - (.177 BAVG, .268 OB%, 11 R, 3 XBH, 11 RBI, 62 AB)
• 3B: Easton Jones (So.) - (.302 BAVG, .377 OB%, 16 R, 12 XBH, 18 RBI, 106 AB)
• LF: Luke Anderson (So.) - (.303 BAVG, .400 OB%, 18 R, 11 XBH, 16 RBI, 109 AB)
• CF: Keoni Painter (RFr.) - (.234 BAVG, .315 OB%, 9 R, 4 XBH, 9 RBI, 64 AB)
• RF: Bryker Hurdsman (So.) - (.284 BAVG, .370 OB%, 16 R, 10 XBH, 12 RBI, 88 AB)
• DH: Kuhio Aloy (Fr.) - (.279 BAVG, .325 OB%, 15 R, 13 XBH, 22 RBI, 104 AB)

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

RHP Collin McKinney (RFr.) has been dominant in his last two starts, striking out a combined 20 batters in 11.1 frames.

Players to Watch

3B Hunter Teplanszky (Jr.)

• In his last seven contests, Teplanszky is 14-for-31 at the plate with 13 RBIs. After a slump in mid-March, Teplanszky is seeing the ball extremely well right now and has raised his batting average to .316 on the season.

RHP Collin McKinney (RFr.)

• In his last two starts, McKinney has combined to strike out 20 batters in 11.1 innings of work while allowing just one earned run. He became the first BU pitcher to eclipse double-digit strikeouts in consecutive starts since Kendal Volz (13 versus Oklahoma on May 26, 2007, and 10 versus Purdue on February 22, 2008).

Top Quotes

Head coach Mitch Thompson on what he sees from BYU:

• “Good club. We'll see three right-handed arms. They just beat Texas, two out of three, in Austin and were very competitive in the third game. Their catcher went off for four or five home runs last weekend, so we don’t need him to do that. They've got several guys at the top of their lineup that are aggressive hitters. They've got quality guys at the back end of their bullpen. … They've got what it takes to win games. They obviously did well last weekend in Austin; we need to go and just try and play our game and try and limit them.”

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

BYU’s Miller Park is around 4,630 feet above sea level. Thompson anticipates the elevation to make an impact this weekend.

Thompson on the importance of this weekend’s series:

• “I keep up with the standings. But I mean, at the end of the day, it doesn't matter until the end. I do know that every one of them counts, right? I'm glad we've been able to win here at home. The next step for us is to go on the road and win. I think every team in the league is fighting and fighting to do that – the road is not easy in this league. And when you do [win on the road], it's a big feather in your cap.”

Thompson on how the elevation will make an impact this weekend:

• “I think altitude is going to have an effect. When you get there, some guys don't handle it well. I know I don't sleep well on the first night in altitude. You're going to have to keep the ball down, and the ball is going to travel. We're probably not a team that ought to be getting in a big slugfest battle and thinking that we're going to come out on top. But we'll need our guys who can hit balls out of the yard to hit some, and then we'll need to try and get [BYU] to put as many on the ground as we can.”

Third baseman Hunter Teplanszky (Jr.) on putting Sunday’s 14-1 loss to Incarnate Word behind them:

• “Obviously, it’s an unfortunate game for us. We didn’t plan on that game going that way, especially after coming out and producing a lot on both sides of the ball in the first two games. But we were 3-1 on the week, and we have to carry that confidence [moving forward]. The offense was rolling and the pitching looked good, so we just have to carry that confidence into this weekend as well.”

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

In his last seven contests, 3B Hunter Teplanszky (Jr.) is 14-for-31 at the plate with 13 RBIs.

Teplanszky on his recent hot streak at the plate:

• “It was really just staying true to who I was – stop trying to swing out of the slump. I just needed to stick to my approach, stick to the swing that got me here and the swing that’s worked for me in the past. I was just trying to be myself again [at the plate] and not trying to do too much.”

Left-handed pitcher Kobe Andrade (Sr.) on pitching full-time this spring:

• “I love it. It gives me more opportunity to focus on one thing and try to perfect my craft instead of trying to scramble and do a lot [of different things]. I’d rather be really good at one thing than mediocre at two things. But for me, it’s trusting who I am and trusting Coach Thompson and Coach Lev[erton] and what they’ve been teaching me, [as well as] getting my full confidence back on the mound.”

What I’m Looking For This Weekend + Other Notes

• This is one of those weekend series where I legitimately have no idea what to expect from either side. BYU was projected to finish at the bottom of the conference for a reason, yet they marched into Austin last weekend and took a series from Texas (19-13, 7-5) – who, yes, is having a down year but still a formidable opponent. Baylor was playing its best baseball of the season before its five-game winning streak came to a halting end on Sunday with an inexplicable 14-1 run-rule loss to Incarnate Word in the series finale.
  

  Baylor Athletics

  Baylor is 1-6 on the road this season and 0-3 away from Waco in conference play.
• I’m curious to see how much the altitude plays a factor this weekend. As most know, when teams play the Rockies in Denver, the ball travels further, and the movement on pitches isn’t quite the same. This will be the first time most of the guys on Baylor’s roster have played in an environment like this. The Cougars don’t have eye-popping home run numbers as a team (36) in comparison to Baylor (23), but it will be something to monitor. Miller Park’s elevation is around 4,630 feet above sea level. In comparison, Coors Field in Denver is 5,200 feet above sea level, and Baylor Ballpark is around 400 feet above sea level.
• Prediction: The game against No. 15 DBU being cancelled on Tuesday night actually worked in Baylor’s favor because it allowed the team to keep its arms fresh on a short week. The Bears should win two of three this weekend, but life is hard on the road, and it’ll depend on which Baylor team comes to play. If it’s the team that showed up in Houston – they’ll be lucky to leave Provo with a win. If it’s the team that beat a decent Cincinnati squad two weekends ago – they should sweep the Cougars.