Series Preview: Baylor Hits the Road to Face Cincinnati for Important Big 12 Series

CINCINNATI – Baylor baseball (19-13, 7-5) continues conference play against Cincinnati (21-13, 4-8). The Bears will open the series at 5 p.m. CT on Friday, April 10, at UC Baseball Stadium. Saturday’s game is slated for 2 p.m. CT, while the series finale on Sunday is scheduled for 10 a.m. CT. All three games this weekend will be streamed on ESPN+.

Baylor Bears

• Record: 19-13 (7-5)
• RPI: 41st
• SOS: 15th

2026 Season Statistics

• Batting Average: .264 (13th in Big 12)
• Earned Run Average: 5.04 (3rd in Big 12)
• Fielding Percentage: .977 (4th in Big 12)

Head Coach: Mitch Thompson

• Career Record: 466-239 (13th season) 
• Record at Baylor: 94-101 (4th season) 

2026 Projections

• D1Baseball: 10th in Big 12
• Coaches Poll: 11th in Big 12

Notable Results

• Wins: No. 25 Ole Miss, Houston (3), BYU (2)
• Losses: No. 11 Oregon State, No. 20 Southern Miss, No. 3 Texas, UTSA, Kansas State, No. 22 West Virginia (2), Oklahoma State (2)

Cincinnati Bearcats

• Record: 21-13 (4-8)
• RPI: 26th
• SOS: 22nd

2026 Season Statistics

• Batting Average: .299 (6th in Big 12)
• Earned Run Average: 5.28 (5th in Big 12)
• Fielding Percentage: .973 (6th in Big 12)

Head Coach: Jordan Bischel

• Career Record: 400-220 (8th season) 
• Record at Cincinnati: 86-64 (3rd season) 

2026 Projections

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

Notable Results

• Wins: Utah (2), No. 9 Auburn
• Losses: Oklahoma State (3), Kansas (2), BYU (2)

Baylor’s Projected Starting Lineup

• SS: Travis Sanders (RJr.): (.371 BAVG, 1.028 OPS, 121 AB)
• LF: Pearson Riebock (So.): (.191 BAVG, .560 OPS, 94 AB)
• RF: Brady Janusek (Fr.): (.331 BAVG, 1.033 OPS, 127 AB)
• 1B: Tyce Armstrong (RSr.): (.279 BAVG, 1.027 OPS, 122 AB)
• DH: Hunter Snow (RFr.): (.200 BAVG, .751 OPS, 70 AB)
• 2B: Robert De La Garza (Jr.): (.263 BAVG, .733 OPS, 38 AB)
• 3B: Brytton Clements (RFr.): (.300 BAVG, .758 OPS, 80 AB)
• C: JJ Kennett (Jr.): (.276 BAVG, .794 OPS, 58 AB)
• CF: Ty Johnson (5Sr.): (.195 BAVG, .599 OPS, 77 AB)

Projected Bench

• INF: Cade Dodson (So.): (.234 BAVG, .714 OPS, 64 AB)
• C: Brayden Buchanan (RSo.): (.234 BAVG, .677 OPS, 47 AB)
• OF: Bo Caraway (Fr.): (.200 BAVG, .422 OPS, 35 AB)

*2026 Stats: (BAVG = Batting Average, OPS = On-Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage, AB = At-Bats)*

Cincinnati’s Projected Starting Lineup

• 2B: Jackson Smith (So.): (.316 BAVG, 1.071 OPS, 114 AB)
• RF: Derrick Pitts (So.): (.365 BAVG, .920 OPS, 137 AB)
• 1B: Quinton Coats (So.): (.336 BAVG, 1.242 OPS, 146 AB)
• C: Jack Natili (Jr.): (.343 BAVG, 1.059 OPS, 109 AB)
• DH: Enzo Infelise (Fr.): (.357 BAVG, .920 OPS, 129 AB)
• LF: Cal Sefcik (Jr.): (.333 BAVG, .762 OPS, 72 AB)
• 3B: Christian Mitchelle (Sr.): (.258 BAVG, .789 OPS, 93 AB)
• SS: Charlie Niehaus (RSo.): (.203 BAVG, .744 OPS, 79 AB)
• CF: Conlan Daniel (So.): (.240 BAVG, .708 OPS, 96 AB)

*2026 Stats: (BAVG = Batting Average, OPS = On-Base Percentage + Slugging Percentage, AB = At-Bats)*

Probable Starting Pitchers

• BU SP 1 – RHP: Lucas Davenport (Jr.); (2.52 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 25 IP, 6-6 APP-GS, 3-0 W-L)
• UC SP 1 – RHP: Nathan Taylor (RJr.); (4.29 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 44 IP, 8-8 APP-GS, 3-1 W-L)
• BU SP 2 – RHP: Zack Wallace (So.); (4.75 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 26.1 IP, 10-5 APP-GS, 3-2 W-L)
• UC SP 2 – TBD
• BU SP 3 – LHP: Ethan Calder (Sr.); (4.08 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 39.2 IP, 8-8 APP-GS, 3-3 W-L)
• UC SP 3 – TBD

*2026 Stats: (ERA = Earned Run Average, WHIP = Walks & Hits Per Inning Pitched, IP = Innings-Pitched, APP = Appearances)

Top Quotes

Head coach Mitch Thompson on facing Cincinnati on the road:

• “They’ve got a real Friday-night guy. They’ve got an All-American catcher. They’ve got the leader of home runs in the country. They like to run. They like to bunt. They’re a very difficult offense to deal with. They’ve struggled the last couple of weeks, so I imagine they’re going to come out fighting.”

Head coach Mitch Thompson provides a health update on left-handed pitcher Stefan Stahl:

• “There’s no update right now. It’s not good right now.”

Shortstop Travis Sanders on facing Cincinnati on the road:

• “Just like any other weekend, at the end of the day, we have to go out there and play our baseball: compete at the plate, throw strikes, get ahead early, limit free bases and apply pressure on the offensive side. It’s a great opportunity for us to get where we want to be. They’ve struggled the last few weekends in the Big 12, so they’re definitely going to be fighting. Being at home, they’re going to come with a different passion. We’re going to go in there and do us and try not to do too much, and hopefully the outcome comes our way.”