April 9, 2001
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This Week in Baylor Baseball -- Baylor (27-10, 12-3), ranked eighth in this week's USA Today/Baseball Weekly coaches poll, takes on a pair of top ten teams this week when it hosts No. 5 Rice on Tuesday at 6 p.m., and then travels to No. 9 Nebraska for a three-game Big 12 set on the weekend. Friday 's game in Lincoln will begin at 6:30 p.m., Saturday's game is set for 3 p.m., and Sunday's game will start at 1 p.m.
All games will be broadcast on KRZI 1580/1660 with John Morris, Reagan Ratcliff and Mark Rogers calling the action. The broadcasts can also be heard over the internet by visiting www.GoBaylorBears.com.
Baylor vs... -- Against Rice, Baylor holds a 105-65 series lead. In two meetings earlier this season, the Owls beat the Bears, 1-0 at the Astros College Classic and 8-7 at Reckling Park.
Baylor also leads the series with Nebraska, 15-5. Last season, the Bears swept the Huskers in Waco, 4-2, 3-2, 7-6 before losing to them in the championship game at the Big 12 Tournament,11-3.
The Last Time Out -- Baylor took a break from Big 12 conference play on the weekend, hosting NAIA powerhouse Dallas Baptist in a three-game series.
Steven White might not have had his best performance of the year Friday night, but Baylor's bats were strong enough to overcome a 6-0 deficit and defeat the Patriots 10-7 in the opener. Chris Durbin was key to the Bears' attack, going three-for-four with five RBI. Baylor grabbed its first lead of the night in the fifth when Durbin homered to right-center, giving the Bears a 7-6 advantage. Two batters later, Ron Zboril smashed a two-run home run to right and the Bears never looked back.
In Saturday's doubleheader, Baylor dropped the first game, 9-2, but rebounded to clobber the Patriots 13-2 in the nightcap. The Bears were sluggish in the early game, getting just two runs on nine hits. Freshman David Murphy was the only offensive spark, belting a home run to right in the fifth inning and smacking an RBI single in the seventh to plate Paul Richmond.
In game two, the Bears exploded for 13 runs on 11 hits and got stellar pitching from starter Justin Taylor (5-1).
About Coach Smith -- Steve Smith is in his seventh season as head coach at Baylor and owns a 252-139-1 (.648) career record. He led the Bears to a Big 12 regular season championship in 2000 and their first-ever 50-win season in 1999.
The 2000 Big 12 Coach of the Year, Smith came to Baylor from Mississippi State, where he was an assistant under Ron Polk for five seasons. Prior to that, he served as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M.
A former standout pitcher at Baylor from 1982-83, Smith led the Southwest Conference with a 1.72 ERA in 1982, bettering league foes and future major league pitchers Norm Charlton, Roger Clemens, Doug Drabek and Calvin Schiraldi.
Almost two decades later, Smith is passing his pitching knowledge on to his players. In the past seven years, he has tutored six pitchers who were selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, including Jason Jennings, the 1999 consensus national player of the year and the 16th pick by the Colorado Rockies in 1999.
In Smith's six years as Baylor's head coach, he has produced six All-Americans, five GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and one GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year. Baylor has also had 18 first-team all-Big 12 performers, including the Big 12 Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999.
On the Defensive -- With a .965 team fielding percentage, the Baylor defense ranks third among Big 12 teams. The Bears have also turned a league-high 38 double plays.
In the Pitching Category -- Baylor is tops among conference teams with a 2.67 team ERA. Bears starter Steven White is No. 1 in the Big 12 individual pitching category with an incredible 1.53 ERA in eight appearances. With an 8-0 recond, he also ranks second in the wins category.
Don't Forget the Hitters -- As a team, the Bears rank second in the Big 12 with a .314 team batting average.
Catcher Kelly Shoppach leads the Big 12 in individual batting with a sizzling .485 average. The No. 2 hitter in the conference, OU's Greg Dobbs, is batting .418. Shoppach also ranks first in RBI with 46 and hits with 65.
OF Chris Durbin ranks third in the league with 17 doubles, and 2B Trevor Mote leads the runs scored category with 46.
Leading Off -- So far this season, the Bears have had three successful leadoff hitters in OF Chris Durbin, OF/2B Tim Hartshorn, and 2B Trevor Mote
Control Freaks -- Through 37 games this season, the Baylor pitching staff has put together a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2-to-1. RHP Steven White leads the team with 54 strikeouts, while LHP Josh Scott has 41 and RHP Justin Taylor has 45.
Stingy Staff -- In addition to a stellar team ERA, the Baylor pitching staff has given up just 10 home runs this season.
Amazingly, the Bears went 160 innings without giving up a home run, having given up a bomb against Rice in the first game of the season and one against Houston in the 20th game.
And the Hits Keep Coming -- Matt Williams reached the 200 career hit mark with a hit against Oklahoma (March 16).
Kelly Shoppach got his 100th career hit against Texas A&M (Feb. 25). He accomplished the feat in just 104 games, averaging a hit in nearly every game he's played.
Streaking -- Junior C Kelly Shoppach is currently riding a 28-game hitting streak, dating back to Feb. 18. His is currently the second-longest hitting streak in Baylor history. The longest is 31 games, put together by James Blair over the 1997 and 1998 seasons. That streak is also the Big 12 record.
Shoppach is the second Baylor player this season to hit in at least ten straight games. Senior 2B Trevor Mote began the season with a 10-game hitting streak, which ended on Feb. 18 against Nicholls State.
The longest hitting streak recorded last season was a nine-game run notched by Jaime Bubela from Feb. 20-March 18, 2000.
Watch Lists -- Junior catcher Kelly Shoppach is currently on the watch list for the second annual Johnny Bench Award, given to the nation's top collegiate catcher. The list will be narrowed to 10 semi-finalists on May 15.
Three Baylor players, including Kelly Shoppach, Zane Carlson and Mike Huggins are currently on the watch list for the Rotary Smith Award, one of the top awards in college baseball. Baylor's Jason Jennings won the award in 1999.
Hitmen -- Kelly Shoppach and Chris Durbin are tied for the team lead with 19 multi-hit games apiece this season.
Durbin smacked four hits in a 12-2 win over Missouri (March 4), while Shoppach went 4-for-5 against Houston (March 6).
Set `Em Up -- Sophomore RHP Paul Thorp has quietly emerged as one of the team's best mid-relief pitchers. He ranks fourth on the squad with 31 strikeouts, and leads the team with 16 appearances.
A First Time For Everything -- Back-up catcher Paul Richmond's grand slam against Southwest Texas was the first he's ever hit -- and that includes his time in Little League, high school and junior college baseball.
Freshman OF David Murphy belted his first collegiate home run, a first-pitch, bases loaded shot to right field against Houston (March 6).
Lots of Runs -- Baylor's 22 runs scored against Southwest Texas marks the first time the Bears have scored 20 or more runs in a game since defeating Minnesota 22-6 in the 1999 Waco Regional.
The Bears have scored ten or more runs in nine games this season.
All-Tournament Team -- Catcher Kelly Shoppach was named the Most Outstanding Player by a vote of the media at the inaugural Astros College Classic. The junior hit .316 over three games with three doubles, a home run and six RBI. 2B Trevor Mote and LHP Josh Scott were also named to the team.
Home Sweet Home -- Last year, in the first full season at Baylor Ballpark, the Bears posted an impressive 26-6 record at home. In 2001, the Bears are off to a 18-8 start on their home field.
In 2000, Baylor ranked 13th nationally in attendance, averaging more than 2,700 fans per game.
Setting New Records -- With his sixth save of the season and the 21st of his career against Dallas Baptist (April 6), sophomore closer Zane Carlson continues to set new Baylor records for career saves. Last season, he racked up 15 saves to set the school single season saves record.
The NCAA record for saves in a career is 49, set by Jack Krawczyk of Southern Cal (1995-98).
Baylor on the Radio -- For the first time in school history, all of Baylor's baseball games will be broadcast during the 2001 season. Every game will be broadcast on the flagship station for Baylor Athletics, News/Talk Radio KRZI 1660/1580-AM.
John Morris will be joined by former Baylor pitcher Mark Rogers and Reagan Ratcliff in the broadcast booth.
Young Guns -- This season, Baylor is fielding a young and experienced team. In fact, 18 of the top 25 players on last season's Big 12 Championship team were freshmen and sophomores. Senior LHP Josh Scott is the only senior on a pitching staff dominated by sophomores.
New Faces -- There are 14 new faces on this year's Baylor squad, including 11 freshmen and three transfers. 2B Trevor Mote transferred to Baylor from Arizona, while C Paul Richmond came from Navarro JC and LHP Chris Deleenheer transferred in from Triton JC in Chicago.
Getting Experience -- Four true freshmen, 3B Jared Clements, RHP Cody Hall, OF David Murphy, and SS/2B Trey Webb have seen action this season. Murphy leads the young bunch, appearing in 36 games and starting 30.
Early Honors -- Sophomore relief pitcher Zane Carlson, the 2000 Big 12 Freshman Pitcher of the Year has been named to several preseason all-America lists. In addition, he has also been selected as the relief pitcher of the year in preseason rankings by the Dallas Morning News.
Community Service Honors -- Junior Tim Hartshorn was recently named a Bank of America/Big XII Conference Community Champion for his dedication to academic excellence and community service.
250 Wins -- With a 10-6 victory over Houston (April 4), Bears coach Steve Smith earned his 250th career win. Smith, 40, is one of the nation's winningest coaches under the age of 45. Baylor in the Postseason -- The Bears made their third straight postseason appearance in 2000. Last season also marked the second consecutive year in which Baylor hosted an NCAA regional.
In the Record Books --
Senior 3B Matt Williams is currently tied with Fritz Connally (1977-80) for third place on the career home runs list with 38. He needs one more to move into a second-place tie with Jason Jennings (1997-99). On the career runs scored chart, Williams ranks third with 178.
LHP Josh Scott currently ranks fourth on the Baylor career strikeouts list with 275. The senior needs 13 strikeouts to move past Kip Wells into third place (288, 1996-98). Scott is solely in third place on the career games started list with 43.
Last season, Scott became just the seventh Baylor pitcher to strikeout 200 batters in his career.
In the News -- Catcher Kelly Shoppach is featured in the Top Prospects edition of Baseball America magazine. A story on the junior from Fort Worth can be found in the Colleges West section by Jim Callis. Last season, pitcher Kyle Evans was featured in the same section.
David Murphy has been interviewed for an MSNBC documentary on child prodigies. As a nine-year-old, he was spotted throwing a tennis ball against a wall by pro scouts at a high school game. The scouts were so impressed, they videotaped Murphy. No word on when the special will air.
Big 12 Pitchers/Players of the Week -- Three Baylor players have been honored by the Big 12 conference for their weekly performances.
Senior 3B Matt Williams earned Big 12 Co-Player of the Week (March 26) honors for his incredible performance in the series at Kansas. Williams hit .556 on the week, which included a game against No. 1 Rice. He also smacked four doubles, three home runs and had 11 RBI.
Sophomore righty Steven White was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 12) for his performance in the Bears' 5-0 win over Cal State Fullerton. White tossed seven shutout innings, giving up just two hits, while striking out five batters and issuing just four walks. The League City, Texas native also limited the Titans to a .087 batting average.
Sophomore 1B Mike Huggins was named the Phillips 66/Big 12 Player of the Week (Feb. 19) for his performances against Southwest Texas and Nicholls State. He hit a sizzling .615 with a pair of doubles and five RBI.
Up Next -- Baylor travels to Lincoln, Neb., for a three-game conference series with No. 9 Nebraska.
