Baylor Baseball Welcomes Kansas to Waco for Huge Conference Series

WACO, Texas – Baylor baseball (17-18, 8-7) will return to Waco for a three-game conference set against the Kansas Jayhawks (19-14, 7-8) at Baylor Ballpark. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s contest will start at 2 p.m., and the series finale on Sunday is slated for 1 p.m. All three games will be streamed on ESPN+.

Baylor Bears

Baylor Athletics

Baylor is currently riding a four-game winning streak and has won nine of its last 10 contests.

• 2024 Record: 17-18
• Big 12 Record: 8-7
• RPI: 112
• SOS: 62
• Notable Wins: BYU (3), 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: 409-189 (11th season) 
• Record at Baylor: 37-51 (2nd season) 

2024 Projections

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

Team Stats

• ERA: 5.90 (12th in the Big 12)
• Batting Average: .281 (10th in the Big 12)
• Fielding Percentage: .967 (11th in the Big 12)

Kansas Jayhawks

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

RF Enzo Apodaca (RJr.) earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors after hitting .600 and reaching base in 12 of his 18 plate appearances against BYU.

• 2024 Record: 19-14
• Big 12: 7-8
• RPI: 93
• SOS: 81
• Notable Wins: No. 3 TCU (2), BYU (3), No. 3 TCU (2), No. 20 Nebraska, Texas State
• Notable Losses: No. 24 Kentucky, Cincinnati (2), UCF (2), West Virginia (3)

Head Coach: Dan Fitzgerald

• Career Record: 44-46 (2nd season) 
• Record at Kansas: 44-46 (2nd season) 

2024 Projections

• D1Baseball: 9th in the Big 12
• Coaches Poll: 8th in the Big 12

Team Stats

• ERA: 4.66 (3rd in the Big 12)
• Batting Average: .304 (3rd in the Big 12)
• Fielding Percentage: .968 (10th in the Big 12)

Baylor Probable Starting Fielders:

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

Jack Mackenzie - SicEm365

After a slow start to the year, SS Tyriq Kemp (Jr.) is 13-for-18 at the plate in his last four contests.

• C: Cortlan Castle (Jr.) - (.239 BAVG, .292 OB%, 13 R, 6 RBI, 67 AB)
• 1B: Cole Posey (Sr.) - (.289 BAVG, .360 OB%, 10 R, 4 XBH, 12 RBI, 45 AB)
• 2B: Daniel Altman (Sr.) - (.300 BAVG, .405 OB%, 21 R, 7 XBH, 24 RBI, 100 AB)
• SS: Tyriq Kemp (Jr.) - (.235 BAVG, .369 OB%, 16 R, 5 XBH, 9 RBI, 98 AB)
• 3B: Hunter Teplanszky (Jr.) - (.293 BAVG, .387 OB%, 18 R, 9 XBH, 24 RBI, 133 AB)
• LF: Wesley Jordan (Jr.) - (.326 BAVG, .444 OB%, 23 R, 13 XBH, 19 RBI, 95 AB)
• CF: Ty Johnson (Jr.) - (.323 BAVG, .399 OB%, 7 XBH, 10 RBI, 127 AB)
• RF: Enzo Apodaca (RJr.) - (.368 BAVG, .457 OB%, 31 R, 14 XBH, 31 RBI, 133 AB)
• DH: Zach Mazoch (So.) - (.349 BAVG, .462 OB%, 8 R, 10 RBI, 43 AB)

Projected Bench

• C: Harrison Caley (Sr.) - (.308 BAVG, .400 OB%, 8 R, 4 XBH, 9 RBI, 26 AB)
• 1B: Brayden Buchanan (Fr.) - (.138 BAVG, .324 OB%, 3 R, 29 AB)
• 1B: Mason Greer (Sr.) - (.186 BAVG, .259 OB%, 9 6 R, 6 XBH, 13 RBI, 97 AB)
• OF Kade Fletcher (RJr.) - (.226 BAVG, .375 OB%, 6 R, 3 XBH, 5 RBI, 31 AB)
• OF Caleb Bergman (So.) - (.259 BAVG, .364 OB%, 5 R, XBH, 2 RBI, 27 AB)

Probable Starting Pitchers:

Baylor Athletics

RHP Mason Marriott (Jr.) has allowed two or fewer earned runs in four of his last five outings.

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

• BU SP 1 – RHP Mason Marriott (Jr.) - (2-3, 4.47 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 44.1 IP, 9 GS)
• KU SP 1 – RHP Dutton Reese (Sr.) - (7-1, 2.50 ERA, .220 B/AVG, 54.0 IP, 9 GS)
• BU SP 2 – RHP Collin McKinney (RFr.) - (3-3, 5.50 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 37.2 IP, 9 GS)
• KU SP 2 – RHP Dominic Voegele (Fr.) - (4-2, 2.52 ERA, .212 B/AVG, 50.0 IP, 9 GS)
• BU SP 3 – LHP Mason Green (Fr.) - (1-4, 5.68 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 31.2 IP, 6 GS)
• KU SP 3 – TBD

Kansas Probable Starting Fielders:

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

• C: Jake English (Sr.) - (.345 BAVG, .497 OB%, 36 R, 19 XBH, 34 RBI, 113 AB)
• 1B: Ben Hartl (Jr.) - (.338 BAVG, .485 OB%, 20 R, 12 XBH, 19 RBI, 74 AB)
• 2B: Kodey Shojinaga (So.) - (.351 BAVG, .415 OB%, 27 R, 19 XBH, 33 RBI, 148 AB)
• SS: Collier Cranford (RSr.) - (.316 BAVG, .362 OB%, 25 R, 17 XBH, 29 RBI, 133 AB)
• 3B: Michael Brooks (RJr.) - (.341 BAVG, .436 OB%, 23 R, 20 XBH, 34 RBI, 123 AB)
• LF: Mike Koszewski (RJr.) - (.302 BAVG, .388 OB%, 11 R, 2 XBH, 9 RBI, 349 AB)
• CF: John Nett (Sr.) - (.363 BAVG, .430 OB%, 37 R, 18 XBH, 24 RBI, 135 AB)
• RF: Ty Wisdom (Fr.) - (.355 BAVG, .524 OB%, 11 R, 5 XBH, 7 RBI, 31 AB)
• DH: Lenny Ashby (Sr.) - (.261 BAVG, .381 OB%, 22 R, 12 XBH, 23 RBI, 115 AB)

Top Quotes

Head coach Mitch Thompson on what he sees from Kansas:

• “They pitch the ball really well. Their first two guys are really throwing the ball well for them. They've got some big hitters in the middle of that lineup that can hurt you – Shojinaga and English. They are a veteran ball club, and I think they're playing better here all of a sudden again. Every one of us in this league knows that it is a fight, and you're trying to rally the troops and get them going. I'm glad that we've got five series left; I'm glad that we got three of the five at home. These are important games for us, and they're important games for Kansas, so it should be a heck of a matchup.”

Ellman Photography

The middle of the Big 12 is a mess right now, and less than two games separate six teams.

Head coach Mitch Thompson on Baylor’s recent hot streak:

• “After starting 1-and-7 to be where we're at right now, it says that we played pretty well over the last four or five, six weeks, and we just got to keep it up. There's no time to sit back and pat yourself on the back. I think I mentioned it before, but when you lose, you have to get back up and get on to the next thing. When you win, you have to get back up and get on to the next thing. If you're living in the past, you're gonna be losing, so we’ve got to live in the present.”

Left-handed pitcher RJ Ruais (Fr.) on what’s been clinking for the Bears in recent weeks:

• “We’re rallying around each other and playing good baseball. Things are going well right now, and we have some good competition coming up. If we just keep the personality that we’ve developed, especially in the dugout with our shenanigans, it should be good.”

Right fielder Enzo Apodaca (RJr.) on what the sweep of BYU meant for the clubhouse:

• “It feels great, especially after such an important sweep. I thought we all played well this weekend, and the bats were hot. I thought Cole Posey and Ty Johnson both had a great weekend, and it was even sweeter to cap it off with that sweep on Saturday.”

What I’m Looking For This Weekend + Other Notes

• Every conference series is important, but this weekend’s three-game set against Kansas feels even more significant. The Bears have won nine of their last ten games and are playing their best ball of the season. On paper, the Jayhawks are an evenly-matched opponent, but in order for Baylor to keep its upward momentum, the Bears will need to find a way to win this series.
  

  Baylor Athletics

  Head coach Mitch Thompson “anticipates” DH Wesley Jordan (Jr.) to play in this weekend’s series. Jordan left Saturday’s contest early after fouling a pitch off his foot.
• Baylor’s star slugger, Wesley Jordan (Jr.), had to leave Saturday’s contest early after fouling a pitch off his foot. Thompson said Jordan is “better” and that he “anticipates” the Bears’ home run leader to play this weekend.
• The recent success on the field can be attributed to different things, but it starts with the offensive surge that has taken place, in particular. The Bears have scored eight or more runs in eight of their last 10 games and have outscored opponents 97-to-62 during that span.
• Baylor (17-18, 8-7) currently sits at fifth in the Big 12 and holds a five-game winning streak in conference play. The middle of the Big 12 is a mess, and less than two games separate six teams. With trips to Morgantown and Norman on the horizon, the Bears will need to find a way to take care of business at home against the Jayhawks this weekend.

Other Reading

• Baylor Baseball's Recent Hot Streak, What's Clicking?

• Drew Leach’s Long & Winding Road Back to Baylor

• Walk-Off Weekly: Bears Win Four Straight, Sweep BYU, Defeat UTA