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Oklahoma State (19-13, 4-5) vs Baylor (17-16, 4-5) April 15-16, 2016 | Waco, Texas | Baylor Ballpark (5,000) SERIES NOTES
FRI. | 6:35 P.M. Stats | Audio | Video Probable Starters: BU -LHP Daniel Castano 2-4, 4.56 ERA OSU - RHP Thomas Hatch 2-1, 2.29 ERA		SAT. | 1:05 P.M. Stats | Audio | Video Probable Starters: BU - RHP Drew Tolson 4-1, 3.68 ERA OSU - RHP Trey Cobb 3-5, 3.38 ERA		SAT. | 5:05 P.M. Stats | Audio | Video Probable Starters: BU - RHP Kyle Hill 1-1, 3.91 ERA OSU - RHP Jensen Elliott 3-2, 3.40 ERA

WACO, Texas- Baylor baseball welcomes Oklahoma State for a weekend three-game Big 12 series at Baylor Ballpark. Games a slated for 6:35 p.m. CT Friday on FOX Sports Plus, 1:05 p.m. Saturday on FOX Sports Southwest and the finale will also be on Saturday approximately 45 minutes after the first game ends.

All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on Waco's 1660 ESPN Central Texas (1330 AM/100.9 FM in Temple, Belton and Killeen). Derek Smith provides the play-by-play with Steve Johnigan adding color commentary. Live streaming audio, video and GameTracker also are available for all Baylor baseball games online at BaylorBears.com.

SERIESà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € INFO
Date(s): April 15-16, 2016
Time(s): 6:35 PM | 1:05 PM | 5:05 PM CT
Location: Waco, Texas
Stadium: Baylor Ballpark (5,000)
TV: FS+ (G1) | FSSW (G2)
Talent: John Morris (pxp), Pat Combs (color)
Radio: ESPN/KRZI 1660 AMà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (Waco)
Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Steve Johnigan (color)

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: OSU leads 42-37
Streak: OSU has won 1
Waco: BU leads 20-13
Stillwater: OSU leads 20-14
Neutral Site: OSU leads 9-3
Rodriguez vs: 0-0
First Meeting: April 20, 1925
Last Meeting: April 20, 2015

SERIES MULTIMEDIA
Live Stats: BaylorBears.com
Audio: BaylorBears.com
Video: BaylorBears.com
Twitter Updates: @BaylorBaseball

BAYLOR BEARS
2016 Record: 17-16
2016 Big 12 Record: 4-5
Head Coach: Steve Rodriguez
Career: 303-314 (13th season)
BU: 17-16 (1st season)

2016 STAT LEADERS
AVG: Kameron Esthay (.343)
2B: Arrington, Sheppard (8)
HR: Darryn Sheppard (5)
RBI: Darryn Sheppard (32)
SB: Steven McLean (5)

OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
2016 Record: 19-13
2016 Big 12 Record: 4-5
Head Coach: Josh Holliday
Career: 146-70 (4th season)
OSU: 146-70 (4th season)

2016 STAT LEADERS
AVG: Donnie Walton (.336)
2B: Corey Hassel (11)
HR: Dustin Williams (8)
RBI: Dustin Williams (26)
SB: Garrett McCain (9)

TEAM QUICK NOTES
*Baylor's win on April 13 snapped Lamar's 15-game winning streak, which was the nation's longest streak at the time and two shy of tying the longest streak of the season held by Florida (17).

*In 19 all-time series in Big 12 play, Baylor leads Oklahoma State 10-5-4.

*Baylor is 5-3 in midweek games in 2016.

*Baylor is 398-176 all-time at Baylor Ballpark and 13-10 under Steve Rodriguez.

*Baylor is 1-0 on its current five-game home stand.

*Baylor has won nine of its last 13 games.

*Baylor has won three of its seven three-game series in 2016 and 24 of 51 since 2012.

*Baylor is 195-290-1 all-time against opponents ranked by Baseball America, 30-38 since 2011 and 1-2 this season.

*Baylor has scored at least one run in the first inning 12 times in 33 games and has scored 26 first-inning runs in 2016.

*Baylor already has 18 home runs in 33 games in 2016, which are one more than the team had in 55 games in 2015 -- BU has not hit 20 or more homers since blasting 46 in 2012.

*Among Big 12 leaders, Troy Montemayor is first in saves (8), Steven McLean is second in HBPs (11), Darryn Sheppard is second in RBI (32), fourth in slugging percentage (.550), fifth in total bases (71), seventh in home runs (5) and hits (44), Richard Cunningham is fourth in HBP (8), Drew Tolson is fourth in wins (4) and Daniel Castano is sixth in strikeouts (43).

*Among NCAA leaders, Montemayor is 9th in saves and McLean is 15th in HBP.

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

As tough as it was dropping two of three in last weekend's series at Oklahoma with a pair of walk-off losses, Baylor coach Steve Rodriguez said it makes "you realize you can compete on the road against a really good team."

"It's frustrating. Those are emotional games, because you have it until the very end," Rodriguez said. "But at the same time . . . you're proud you didn't collapse. Every time they came back, you continued to keep pressure on them. The other team just found a way to win. That was one of the things I wanted to make sure our guys realized. You have to find ways to win, but I thought we played really well in a tough environment."

The Bears (17-16, 4-5), who host Oklahoma State (19-13, 4-5) in a three-game series this weekend, bounced back with a 6-3, come-from-behind win Wednesday night over a Lamar team that was 38th in the RPI rankings and riding a national-best 15-game winning streak.

"I was just happy with how we played defensively and how we forced contact later in the game," Rodriguez said. "And we got some really good hits when we needed it. Those were the same balls that Oklahoma caught, those diving plays down the line. It was nice to see some of those balls fall, and see our guys have the kind of success they were having last night."

After some early struggles, Baylor has turned it around on the mound, winning nine of the last 13 games and lowering the team ERA to 4.29. Over the last 13 games, the pitchers have had a 2.97 ERA and kept their walk numbers down.

"It's been really good to see the starters do as well as they are," Rodriguez said. "And then, really kind of developing an end-of-the-game process, with regards to who can come in and get certain guys out when we need them to. Whether they succeed or not, that's a different story, but at least we have a better plan with regards to our attacking of the end of the game, just knowing which guys can come in off the bench, which guys are good in certain situations. It's nice to know what we have now."

That includes the Big 12 saves leader in sophomore closer Troy Montemayor, who is 1-0 with a 1.12 ERA and eight saves, four more than anyone else in the league.

Baylor's staff will be hard-pressed to match Oklahoma State's pitching, which ranks first in the league with a 3.03 ERA and second behind TCU with 8.61 strikeouts per nine innings. Friday's 6:35 p.m. series opener pits Baylor junior left-hander Daniel Castano (2-4, 4.56) against OSU sophomore righty Thomas Hatch (2-1, 2.29).

With the expectation of inclement weather on Sunday, the Bears and Cowboys will play a doubleheader starting at 1:05 p.m. Saturday to wrap up the series. Baylor's Drew Tolson (4-1, 3.68) will be matched against Trey Cobb (3-5, 3.38) in Game 2, with freshman righty Kyle Hill (1-1, 3.91) pitching the series finale against Jensen Elliott (3-2, 3.40).

"They can really pitch. We're going to have our hands full, I know that," Rodriguez said. "We're going to have to make sure we're fundamentally sound offensively and defensively. We really try to force contact in regards to their offense and hopefully just continue to play good defense like we have been."

The Bears actually have the edge at the plate, hitting 36 percentage points higher than the Cowboys (.279-.243) and averaging nearly a half a run more per game (5.48-5.13). Baylor's 2-5 spots in the lineup have been particularly strong with Kameron Esthay (.343), Darryn Sheppard (.341, five homers, 32 RBI), Aaron Dodson (.288) and Matt Menard (.338).

OSU, which has lost five of its last six conference games after opening with a series sweep of Kansas State, is led by senior shortstop Donnie Walton (.336). Junior first baseman Dustin Williams has been feast or famine, hitting a Big 12-best eight homers but hitting just .224 with 40 strikeouts in 116 at-bats.

With only four games separating second and eighth in the nine-team league, Baylor and OSU could help their postseason positioning with a series win this weekend.

"Truth is, we've got to go play well. I can only control what we're going to do," Rodriguez said. "How other teams play, that's going to be up to them. I know you can be in second or third place, or you can be in seventh or eighth. We just need to go out and compete and do what we're supposed to do. It's hard to sit and look and say, `If we do this, or if we do that.' We just need to go out and play baseball."