Baylor
Tarleton State
BSB Hosts Tarleton State on Tuesday Night
3/30/2026 7:45:00 PM | Baseball
Bears return home to play four games in next five days
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BAYLOR BEARS (16-11, 5-4 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Mitch Thompson (Fort Hays St., 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (16-11, 5-4) vs TARLETON STATE (19-8, 0-0) March 31, 2026 • 6:30 p.m. CT Waco, Texas • Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark (5,000) LIVE STATS: BaylorBears.com/Stats WATCH: ESPN+ Talent: Pete Sousa, Matt Menard LISTEN: ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM Talent: Derek Smith, Tom Barfield Baylor Social Media:    |
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TARLETON STATE TEXANS (19-8, 0-0 WAC) Location: Stephenville, Texas Conference/Affiliation: WAC Head Coach: Fuller Smith (Ole Miss, 2009) Roster | Stats |
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor Baseball returns home for a four-game week at Magnolia Field at Baylor Ballpark, starting with a midweek contest against Tarleton State on Tuesday before BYU comes to town for a Thursday-Friday-Saturday series.
• The Bears are coming off a weekend sweep at Houston and a perfect 4-0 week after defeating UIW last Tuesday.
• The sweep marked BU's first series win against Houston since 2017 and the first series win over the Coogs on the road since 1996.
• Under fourth-year head coach Mitch Thompson, the Bears have now won four Big 12 road series during his tenure.
• Baylor is 6-1 on Friday nights so far in 2026 and has won each of its last five Friday night contests.
• This is the first time since 2021 that BU has won three-straight series openers in Big 12 play.
• Baylor has turned 26 double plays in 27 games, which ranks second in the Big 12 and 15th nationally.
• BU opened the year on a 10-game winning streak at home, its longest home winning streak to start a season since 2021.
• The home winning streak extended to 11 games when counting the 2025 home finale, making it Baylor's longest home winning streak since 2012, when the Bears won 22 in a row in Waco.
TUESDAY NIGHT AGAINST THE TEXANS
• Baylor is 4-2 all-time against Tarleton State, including 3-2 against the Texans under fourth-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
• BU is 7-3 this season against fellow teams from the state of Texas.
• Baylor is 4-2 in midweek ballgames so far this season, and 31-13 in such games during the Thompson Era.
• The Bears have won 20 of their last 23 midweek ballgames, dating back to 2024.
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
• Tues. March 31 • 6:30 p.m. CT • LHP Stefan Stahl (1-0, 0.86 ERA) vs. LHP Ashton Bassett (0-1, 13.50 ERA)
HOW SWEEP IT IS!
• Baylor's series sweep at Houston marked just its second Big 12 sweep under fourth-year head coach Mitch Thompson.
• It was the first series sweep by any road team in Big 12 play so far this season.
• The sweep was BU's third of the 2026 season, marking the first season since 2021 that the Bears have swept three or more series, and the first time since 2019 that BU has swept 3+ series including at least one against a conference foe.
SWIPING RIGHT (ON THE BASES)
• In Sunday's series finale, the Bears stole eight bases, their most in a single game since May 16, 2006, vs. Dallas Baptist. • Eight stolen bases is just one shy of the program's all-time single-game record.
• The Bears have stolen five or more bases four times in 2026, and have stolen multiple bases in 12 games this year.
• BU's 49 stolen bases through 27 games are its most at this point in a season since 2011 (51).
CALDER LEADS GROUP OF SOLID STARTERS
• Baylor's starting pitchers combined to throw 17.1 innings on the weekend, a season high. It was the first time since March 3-5, 2023, against Youngstown State that BU had three starters each go 5+ innings on the mound.
• Senior LHP Ethan Calder matched his career high for the third time with seven innings pitched in the series finale on Sunday. He recorded 12 outs with two or fewer pitches, and 14 outs on three or less offerings.
• Calder also threw 21 first-pitch strikes out of the 29 batters he faced.
• Calder has now thrown 188 career innings. Tyler Thomas (2018-2022) was the most recent BU pitcher to eclipse the 200 career innings plateau.
STREAKING SANDERS
• Redshirt junior shortstop Travis Sanders carries a 30-game on-base streak into Tuesday night's tilt, dating back to the 2025 season. He is the first Bear since Tyriq Kemp (2025) to reach safely in 30 straight.
• Sanders and Kemp are tied for 11th place on Baylor's modern era (since 2003) on-base streak leaderboard.
• Sanders also notched his 100th career hit on Saturday at Houston, blasting a two-run home run to reach the milestone.
BROADCAST INFO
• Tuesday's game will be available to watch on ESPN+ with Pete Sousa (PxP) and Matt Menard (Color) calling the action. Fans can also tune in to the radio call with Derek Smith and Tom Barfield on ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM.
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
• Through 27 games, 45% of Baylor's total plate appearances have been taken by players with less than 55 career PA's entering the 2026 season. True or redshirt freshmen account for 33% of the team's total plate appearances.
• That group also accounts for 45% of the team's hits, including 34% from true or redshirt freshmen.
• 51% of Baylor's hits have come from players who have previously redshirted in their careers.
• 43% of Baylor's IP this season have been thrown by players who have thrown less than five career innings at the Div. I level.
• Baylor has nine true freshmen on its 2026 roster and an additional four redshirt freshmen.
• This year, 19 Bears have made their Baylor debuts (9 hitters, 10 pitchers), including 10 true or redshirt freshmen.
FACING THE BEST OF THE BEST
• Through 27 games, Baylor own's the nations No. 10 Strength of Schedule (WarrenNolan.com)
• BU has faced seven ranked opponents for a total of nine games, and five of the top-15 RPI teams at this point in the year (No. 1 Texas, No. 9 Southern Miss, No. 10 Oregon State, No. 12 West Virginia, No. 15 Ole Miss).
• Baylor currently sits at No. 32 in the RPI entering the midweek contest against Tarleton State.
• Baylor will play a combined 22 games against 11 NCAA Tournament teams in 2026, including three conference champions from a year ago.
• 14 30-game winners headline the 2026 campaign, including six teams that won 40 or more games last season.
• 52% of this year's schedule features opponents that finished 2025 with a top-75 RPI.
THE TYCE IS RIGHT
• Redshirt senior 1B Tyce Armstrong ranks sixth in the Big 12 with 10 home runs so far in 2026 and places 10th in the league with 35 RBIs.
• Armstrong's 10 home runs mark the 11th time since 2012 that a Bear has hit double-digit homers in a single season.
• This is the second time under fourth-year head coach Mitch Thompson that a Bear has hit 10+ home runs, as Wesley Jordan hit 10 in 2025.
• Baylor's school record for home runs in a season is 21, set by Charley Carter in 1998.
• Armstrong sits six blasts shy of cracking the top-10 on BU's single-season leaderboard.
• Baylor has not had two players hit 10+ home runs in the same season since 2021, when Andy Thomas (11) and Jared McKenzie (10) each did so.
STEF SLIDES IN
• After being thrust into the weekend rotation due to an injury, senior LHP Stefan Stahl has been excellent in 8.0 innings as a starter, with 11 strikeouts, 2 walks, and just one run allowed on five hits.
• He boasts a 0.87 ERA so far this season in his three appearances (10.1 innings).
• Stahl has not pitched since Feb. 27 (Start vs. Ole Miss) and has been out with an injury since.
To stay up to date on all things Baylor baseball, follow the team on its official Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts: @BaylorBaseball.
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