March 19, 2007

WACO, Texas -- Baylor baseball continues a six-game home stand Tuesday, March 20, hosting Texas Southern for a 6:30 p.m. CDT first pitch at Baylor Ballpark. This is the first of two scheduled meetings between the Bears and the Tigers this season.

Tuesday's game will be broadcast on 104.9 FM in the Waco area.

Baylor (12-10) dropped three straight over the weekend against 10^th-ranked Texas. The Bears have lost four of five and five of eight. However, Baylor is 11-4 at home this season, including a 4-0 mark in midweek games.

Texas Southern (4-13) has lost 13 of its last 14 games after opening the season with a three-game series sweep against Paul Quinn College. The Tigers were swept at home over the weekend against Prairie View A&M.

Baylor holds a 5-0 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to a 10-3 Baylor victory April 28, 2004, in Waco. The teams met twice last season with the Bears posting wins of 10-4 in late March and 11-1 in eight innings in late April.

Redshirt freshman right-hander Wade Mackey (0-0, 0.79 ERA) is scheduled to make his third start of the season on the mound for the Bears. Mackey, who has 11 strikeouts in 11.1 innings over four appearances this season, has held opponents to a .214 batting average. His last outing was a no-decision March 6, when he allowed three runs, one earned, on five hits and a walk with five strikeouts over 4.2 innings against Texas State.

The Bears are 17-4 in midweek non-conference action since the start of the 2006 season, including a 15-3 mark on Tuesday. Baylor has won 10 consecutive Tuesday games and 17 straight Tuesday home games against non-ranked opponents.

Baylor returns to Big 12 action this weekend, hosting Texas Tech for a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark. Tuesday's Texas Southern game and this weekend's three games against Texas Tech are the only four games in a 26-game stretch for the Bears against teams that did not appear in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.