By Foster Nicholas | Sports Writer
Winning three of its last four weekend series, Baylor baseball heads to Provo, Utah, to take on BYU for the third time in program history.
Head coach Mitch Thompson and the Bears (13-18, 5-7) will be at full strength heading into the three-game set, as their midweek match with DBU was canceled due to weather. The cancellation leaves the bullpen extra rested for the adjusted Thursday-through-Saturday series.
Thompson noted that junior right-handed pitcher Mason Marriott will start game one, freshman left-handed pitcher Mason Green will start game two and redshirt freshman Collin McKinney will start the series finale.
In addition to a pitch staff ready to go, Baylor’s bats have found their stride recently, as five everyday starters have improved their batting average to .308 or better. Over the last 10 games, the Bears are hitting .300 as a team and have been led by junior outfielder Wesley Jordan (23) and junior third baseman Hunter Teplanszky (15), who hold the two longest on-base streaks on the team.
“I think the confidence is high from the offense,” Teplanszky said. “People have really stuck to the approaches, [and] swings are starting to even out seeing a lot more pitching. I think guys are confident, and I think it’s really starting to show the past couple weeks.”
The Bears are set to face a BYU (14-15, 6-9) team hot off a series win over Texas in Austin, with both teams looking to claw their way back to .500 for the first time since Opening Day.
“I think they’re aggressive hitters,” Thompson said. “They have quality guys at the back end of their bullpen that they like a lot. They threw a couple of them in all three games last weekend. One’s [a] left-hander, and then their closer as well.
“They have what it takes to win games.”
Although Baylor sports a 12-9 record at home this season, it has only etched out one win on the road, which Thompson understands won’t get it done in the Big 12. However, against a team also near the bottom of the Big 12 standings, each team has the opportunity to close in on securing a spot in the Big 12 Tournament.
“I’m glad we’ve been able to win here at home. The next step for us is to go on the road and to win,” Thompson said. “I think every team in the league is fighting to do that. The road is not easy in this league, and when you do that, it’s a big feather in your cap.”
The series opens at 7 p.m. on Thursday at Miller Park in Provo, with the second two games scheduled for 7 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
