OSU Notes

WACO, Texas -- Baylor baseball continues its nine-game road run in Big 12 play with a three-game series at Oklahoma State this weekend. Games are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday, with all three airing on FOX College Sports.

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 home games online at BaylorBears.com.

SERIESà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € INFO
Date(s): May 12-14, 2017
Time(s): 6:30 PM | 3 PM | 1 PM CT
Location: Stillwater, Okla.
Stadium: Reynolds Stadium (3,821)
Radio: ESPN/KRZI 1660 AMà ¢Ã¢' ¬Ã‹ € (Waco)
Talent: Derek Smith (pxp), Zach Peters (color)
TV: FCS (all 3 games)
Talent: Dave Hunziker (pxp), Tom Holliday (color)

SERIES HISTORY
Overall: OSU leads 45-37
Streak: OSU has won 7
Waco: BU leads 20-16
Stillwater: OSU leads 20-14
Neutral Site: OSU leads 9-3
Rodriguez vs: 0-3
First Meeting: April 20, 1925
Last Meeting: April 16, 2016

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

BAYLOR BEARS
2017 Record: 29-17
2017 Big 12 Record: 8-10
Head Coach: Steve Rodriguez
Career: 339-344 (14th season)
BU: 53-46 (2nd season)

2017 STAT LEADERS
AVG: Aaron Dodson (.317)
2B: Richard Cunningham (11)
HR: Dodson, Langeliers (7)
RBI: Aaron Dodson (30)
SB: T.J. Raguse (4)

OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
2017 Record: 24-21
2017 Big 12 Record: 6-10
Head Coach: Josh Holliday
Career: 194-100 (5th season)
OSU: 194-100 (5th season)

2017 STAT LEADERS
AVG: Garrett McCain (.385)
2B: Benge, McCain, Littell (9)
HR: Colin Simpson (9)
RBI: Garrett Benge (46)
SB: Garrett McCain (17)

Instead of midnight runs to the local pancake house, freshman third baseman Davis Wendzel's study breaks during final exams was hitting in the cages at Baylor Ballpark.

"I know I was in the cages at some ridiculous hours, getting study breaks at 2 in the morning and hitting," he said. "So, I knew I was ready to be comfortable up there."

The numbers back that up. In Baylor baseball's two-game sweep of Prairie View A&M, Wendzel hit .714 (5-for-7) with a home run and six RBI.

With wins in five of their last six and 10 of 15, the Bears (29-17, 8-10) jump back into Big 12 play with a weekend series at Oklahoma State (24-21, 6-11). The series kicks off with Friday's 6:30 p.m. game at Reynolds Stadium, followed by games at 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

While Baylor and OSU are jockeying for seeding in the Big 12 Championship and trying to boost their chances for an NCAA Tournament bid, second-year Baylor head coach Steve Rodriguez said, "Once you get into Big 12, it seems like every weekend is a postseason environment."

"I just want to make sure our guys play good baseball," he said. "Make sure we're pitching well, make sure we play good defense and execute offensively. When we do that, we're a pretty good team and we'll go up against anybody in the country. When we don't do that, we've got to really fight and scratch to get that `W.' I'm really excited about the position we're in, excited about the resume we've put together this year."

On the other side, Oklahoma State has struggled in Josh Holliday's fifth year as head coach. After a 43-22 finish and a trip to Omaha for the College World Series last season, the Cowboys have struggled to keep their head above water and sit in eighth place in the Big 12 standings and a No. 61 RPI.

They're hitting just .262 for the year and rank eighth in the league with a 4.36 team ERA.

"Just based on their record and their numbers, they're not having as successful a year as they did last year," Rodriguez said. "But, they're still Oklahoma State baseball, so they're going to be a great team. Offensively, they hit a lot of home runs and especially at their ballpark, so we've got to go up there and play well and make sure we don't give them any free bases. It's going to be a tough weekend, so we've got to make sure we come ready."

That's one of the reasons why Rodriguez scheduled the two-game midweek series with Prairie View coming off an eight-day break for final exams.

"I did this even when I was at Pepperdine. I want to make sure after finals our guys have a chance to come out and get a couple games under their belts before we jump right back into conference," Rodriguez said, "because timing is such a big deal. I wanted to make sure our guys had that timing down before we headed up to Oklahoma State."

Again, the numbers speak for themselves. While the Bears will obviously face much better pitching this weekend, the hit .469 (38-for-81) in the Prairie View series with 33 runs scored and 15 extra-base hits.

"With that week off, it was good to dust ourselves off a little bit and get back into the routine of things," said freshman catcher Shea Langeliers, who was 3-for-5 with four RBI in the two games.

"Toward the end of the season, sometimes you can get lackadaisical, so we're really trying to stay focused and just keep it simple and execute as much as we can."

Senior right-hander Nick Lewis (5-4, 4.48 ERA) gets the start for Friday's series opener and will be opposed by OSU righty Tyler Buffett (5-4, 4.74). Montana Parsons (4-2, 2.71), one of the hottest pitchers in the league, and freshman Cody Bradford (5-4, 4.57) are scheduled to take the mound for the Bears in the games on Saturday and Sunday.

Bradford got the win in Tuesday's 15-2 blowout victory, tossing four shutout innings and allowing just three hits and three walks with four strikeouts.

"I don't think there's any reason to change it up right now," Rodriguez said of the weekend rotation. "Cody's done a pretty good job for us on those weekends, keeping us in it and giving us an opportunity to win. . . . We had some things we really needed to work on in regards to his changeup and stuff, so there was actually some intent with what we were doing in regards to him getting out there and getting some feel for his pitches. That way, when he gets back out there on Sunday, at least we've got some game-like work in."

All three games in the series will be broadcast by FOX College Sports.

*Baylor's 29-17 record through 46 games is its best since a 38-8 start in 2012.

*Baylor's 15-2 start through 17 games was tied for its best in program history (started 15-2 in 1990 and 1961).

*Baylor has won 10 of its last 15 games after going through a stretch of losing 8 of 10 games from March 24-April 8.

*Baylor has hit 20 home runs in its last 19 games after hitting 14 homers in its first 26 games of the season.

*Baylor has 34 home runs this season through 46 games, which ties its season output in 2016 in 53 games.

*Baylor is 10-8 away from Baylor Ballpark this season (8-7 on road, 2-1 in neutral sites).

*BU's won 5 of its 10 3-game series in 2017 & 2 of last 3.