Baylor
Cincinnati
BSB Readies For Queen City Debut
4/9/2026 6:00:00 PM | Baseball
Bears make first trip to take on Cincinnati in Ohio
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BAYLOR BEARS (19-13, 7-5 Big 12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Mitch Thompson (Fort Hays St., 1988) Roster | Stats | Game Notes (PDF) |
BAYLOR (19-13, 7-5) at CINCINNATI (22-13, 4-8) April 10, 2026 • 4:00 p.m. CT April 11, 2026 • 2:00 p.m. CT April 12, 2026 • 10:00 a.m. CT Cincinnati, Ohio • UC Baseball Stadium (3,085) LIVE STATS: BaylorBears.com/Stats WATCH: ESPN+ LISTEN: ESPN Central Texas 1660 AM/92.3 FM Talent: Derek Smith, Tom Barfield Baylor Social Media:    |
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CINCINNATI BEARCATS (22-13, 4-8 Big 12) Location: Cincinnati, Ohio Conference/Affiliation: Big 12 Head Coach: Jordan Bischel (St. Norbert, 2003) Roster | Stats |
STORYLINES
LEADING OFF
• Baylor Baseball continues its week-long road swing with its first flight trip of the 2026 season, heading to Cincinnati for a three-game set against the Bearcats.
• BU has won seven of its last nine ballgames, including five of its last six Big 12 contests after a weekend sweep at Houston and taking two of three over BYU last weekend in Waco.
• Baylor is 7-1 in series openers so far in 2026 and has won each of its last six series-opening contests.
• This is the first time since 2021 that BU has won four-straight series openers in Big 12 play.
• The Bears are 6-0 this year in games when redshirt junior RHP Lucas Davenport starts.
• Baylor has turned 28 double plays in 32 games, which ranks third in the Big 12 and 26th 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.
BEARS VS. BEARCATS
• Baylor is 2-1 all-time against Cincinnati, with the only previous meeting coming in Waco during the 2024 season.
• After dropping the series opener (8-3) on a Thursday (shifted due to Easter), the Bears came back to win the final two games to take the series on Friday (8-6) and Saturday (9-2).
• This will be BU's first trip to Cincinnati in program history.
• The Bears are 3-1 against teams from the state of Ohio in program history (2-1 vs. Miami (OH) in 1977, 1-0 vs. Ohio State in 2025).
• Cincinnati was picked to finish eighth in the Big 12's Preseason Poll and currently sits 12th in the conference standings.
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
• Fri. April 10 • 4:00 p.m. CT • RHP Lucas Davenport (3-0, 2.52 ERA) vs. RHP Nathan Taylor (3-1, 4.29 ERA)
• Sat. April 11 • 2:00 p.m. CT • TBD vs. TBD
• Sun. April 12 • 10:00 a.m. CT • TBD vs. TBD
STACKING W'S
• Baylor won its second-straight Big 12 series after taking two of three from BYU last weekend, including the series opener on Thursday and rubber match in Saturday's series finale.
• The Bears have now won back-to-back Big 12 series for the first time since 2024 (vs. Cincinnati, at BYU).
• Saturday's win marked BU's first in a rubber match so far this season and its sixth in a Big 12 series under Thompson.
• BU has won the series opener in four-straight Big 12 series, its longest such streak since 2021.
• Baylor's series sweep at Houston was the first road sweep by any team in Big 12 play so far this season.
SWIPING RIGHT (ON THE BASES)
• Through 32 games, the Bears have stolen 60 bases, the most by a BU team at this point in a season since at least 2003.
• Baylor has stolen five or more bases five times in 2026, and have stolen multiple bases in 15 games this year.
SOLID STARTERS
• Senior LHP Ethan Calder and redshirt junior RHP Lucas Davenport have been sensational lately, as the duo led the Bears' rotation to a combined 17.1 innings of work at Houston, a season high.
• It was the first time since March 3-5, 2023, against Youngstown State that BU had three starters each go 5+ IP.
• Calder followed up his seven-inning performance with a season-high nine strikeouts and six solid frames against BYU, allowing just one run on six hits without allowing a walk.
• Calder surpassed the 200-career innings mark, becoming the first Bear since Tyler Thomas (2018-2022) to do so.
• Davenport fanned a career-high 12 batters in the series-opening win against the Cougars on Thursday night.
STREAKING SANDERS
• Redshirt junior shortstop Travis Sanders carries a 35-game on-base streak into the weekend series at Cincinnati, dating back to the 2025 season.
• Sanders' streak is tied for the 7th-longest on-base streak on Baylor's modern era (since 2003) leaderboard.
• Sanders became the first Bear in three seasons to be walked four times in a single game when he did so on Sunday vs. BYU.
FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
• Through 32 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.
• 50% 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.
A LOOK AT THE SCHEDULE METRICS
• Through 32 games, Baylor own's the nations No. 15 Strength of Schedule (WarrenNolan.com)
• BU has faced seven ranked opponents for a total of nine games, and five of the top-20 RPI teams at this point in the year (No. 3 Texas, No. 9 Oregon State, No. 13 Ole Miss, No. 15 Southern Miss, and No. 20 West Virginia).
• Baylor currently sits at No. 41 in the RPI entering the Tuesday night contest at UT Arlington.
• 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.
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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