Baylor Fails To Capitalize On Five-Game Homestand as Road Trip to Lubbock Looms

What a difference a week has made for Baylor baseball.

Following a huge road series victory over No. 23 Arizona, head coach Mitch Thompson’s Bears rolled into Waco around 4 a.m. on Monday, March 31. With a midweek game against Houston Christian slated for Tuesday night, Thompson was admittedly nervous about how his team would play after the travel issues and a day off on Monday.

Against the Huskies, Baylor looked sluggish for most of the night but eked out a 3-2 win on a walk-off home run from second baseman Travis Sanders (RSo.) in the bottom of the ninth inning. Despite the whirlwind over those 48 hours, the Bears opened their five-game homestand with a victory.

As midseason bracket projections for the NCAA Tournament came in last Wednesday, the Bears, off to a 20-8 start, made the field according to both D1Baseball and Baseball America.

Since then, Baylor rounded out its homestand, losing three of four games to beatable opponents — Houston and Texas State. The Bears' RPI has dropped to No. 51, which would appear on the wrong side of the bubble for now.

Against Houston, Baylor’s offense was anemic. The Bears totaled 10 runs and 22 hits on the weekend, a season-low across a three-game set by a wide margin. Where Baylor struggled the most was getting “the big hit.” The Bears went 8-for-35 (.229) with runners in scoring position and 11-for-56 (.196) with runners on over the weekend.

With wind gusts of over 20 miles per hour coming into the ballpark from the north throughout much of the Houston series, the Bears were severely impacted. The wind killed somewhere between eight and 15 extra-base hits in the series that would be a double or home run on a typical day.

The wind, however, played no factor in Tuesday’s 6-2 loss to Texas State, where the Bears didn’t get on the scoreboard until the ninth inning. Baylor totaled only six base knocks and went 1-for-15 with runners on and 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position.

“We didn’t swing the bats. We really haven’t swung the bats in the five games that we’ve played here this weekend,” Thompson said post-game. “That’s frustrating and disappointing. The wind played a factor over the weekend, but there was no factor tonight other than us. There’s no one to point the finger at but ourselves.”

Collectively, almost everyone on the offense is in a slump right now, outside of shortstop Tyriq Kemp (Sr.), who boasts an eight-game hitting streak.

The core four seniors — Enzo Apodaca (RSr.), Wesley Jordan (Sr.), Hunter Simmons (RSr.) and Ty Johnson (Sr.) — went a combined 13-for-64 (.203) with 19 strikeouts on the homestand.

In recent weeks, first baseman Jack Little (RSo.) has seen himself go from the leadoff role to the five-hole to the bottom of the order. He went 1-for-15 (.066) with nine punchouts over the last five games.

On paper, Baylor’s lineup has enough talent to be toward the top of the league, but players are clearly pressing right now. The team batting average dropped from .303, fifth in the Big 12, to .293 within the last week.

“We’re going to have to get back to work at practice,” Thompson said. “We have to get in here and start working on their heads. Hitting is contagious. It’s a confidence thing, and it’s obvious there are guys that are questioning things. We’re taking pitches that are strikes. We’re swinging at stuff out of the zone.” 

Thompson continued, “It’s how slumps and these types of times during a season happen. We’re not seeing the ball, so we have to simplify. We have to really re-simplify and focus on doing things the right way and swing the bat the right way and be ready to hit when we’re in the box.”

The pitching hasn't been the issue across the last week and a half. Ten of the 22 runs Baylor has allowed have been unearned. The defense has struggled recently and has totaled 11 errors across the homestand.

The Bears also got a boost on Tuesday night as left-handed pitcher Mason Green (So.) made his season debut and struck out the side in his lone inning on the mound. Hunter Teplanszky (Sr.), usually an infielder, made his first appearance on the mound in a Baylor uniform and punched out two, while hitting 91-93 miles per hour with his fastball.

That duo could give Thompson and pitching coach Sean Snedeker two more capable options moving forward, but obviously, the hitting and defense must improve if Baylor wants to break its slump as a road trip to Lubbock looms this weekend.

While the Bears have a 6-12 record at Rip Griffin Park dating back to 2013, this might be the worst team Texas Tech (9-20, 5-7) has fielded in the last decade — something has to give.

The Bears (21-11, 5-7) have shown throughout the season resiliency to overcome bad stretches, but if an ugly week carries over into this weekend, it might be time to start sounding the alarm bells on Baylor’s postseason hopes.

For now, a big opportunity awaits this weekend in Lubbock, and Thompson’s squad needs to make a stand.