Softball Heads to Big 12 Tournament
5/7/2001 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 7, 2001
Big 12 Bracket in PDF Format
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The Lady Bears enter the tournament, a double elimination format, with an overall record of 38-20 and are seeded sixth. Their first opponent, Texas Tech, is 32-20 on the season and finished third in the conference race. Baylor's sixth place conference finish is the highest of any Lady Bear softball squad.
All of Baylor's Big 12 Tournament games will be broadcast on KRZI - 1660 AM. Rob Sinclair will be calling the action while Kristen Lancaster, a Lady Bear softball player who is out with an injury, will provide color commentary. The pregame show will begin 15 minutes prior to game time. The first broadcast, Baylor versus Texas Tech, will begin at 10:45 a.m. on Thursday, May 10. Win or lose the Lady Bears will play again on Thursday. With a loss they will play at 3:30 p.m. If they win their first game, they will play at 7:30 p.m.
BAYLOR LADY BEARS
Ryan Stukel (junior, Cochise, Ariz.) and Naomi Fitzgerald (College Grove, Tenn.) keep trading the team-lead in hitting back and forth but Stukel has the edge this week at .363. Stukel, a catcher, leads the team in home runs (8), RBI (35) and slugging percentage (.579) while Fitzgerald, an All-American, leads the team in at bats (181), hits (65), doubles (9), triples (3) and on base percentage (.420). The senior checks in with a .359 batting average. Sophomore Stacey Hundley (Mesa, Ariz.) is hitting .331 and leads the team in sacrifice hits (24) and stolen bases (17). Sophomore outfielder Sarah Caudle (Gilroy, Calif.) hits .315. Baylor pitchers are led by sophomore Joni Miller (Edmond, Okla.). The rightie sports a record of 27-14 and an ERA of 1.40. She also has 11 shutouts and five saves to her credit. In 275.1 innings pitched she has struck out 148 and issued only 42 walks.
FIRST TIME
For the first time since the Big 12 began, Baylor will not be involved in the play-in game. The Lady Bears have always finished league play lower than sixth place, thus they have always had to participate in the play-in game. They are 2-2 in play-in games, their two victories coming against Texas Tech in 1997 (1-0) and over Texas A&M in 1998, 6-2.
IN THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
Baylor is 2-6 in Big 12 Tournament games which includes a 2-2 record in play-in games.
1997 - Beat Texas Tech (1-0), lost to Missouri (10-2) and Nebraska (6-2)
1998 - Defeated Texas A&M (6-2), lost to Oklahoma (3-2) and Kansas (3-1)
1999 - Lost to Texas A&M (9-3)
2000 - Lost to Iowa State (6-3)
NEED ONE MORE
The Lady Bears, currently 38-20, need only one more victory to break the program's single-season victory mark. The 1997 team won 38 games which broke the previous record of 36 victories. The 1981, 1983 and 1984 squads all recorded 36 wins.
ONLY ONCE
In its four year history in the Big 12 Tournament, Baylor has only had one player named to the all-tournament team. Naomi Fitzgerald earned that honor in 1998, her freshman season.
TEXAS TECH
The Texas Tech Red Raiders, 32-20 overall and 10-8 in Big 12 action, finished thrird in the conference race. Sandy Butler leads the squad in hitting at .374 and in stolen bases with 23 in 26 attempts.
Pitcher Amanda Renfro is 29-16 on the season, including 13 shutouts. She has pitched 299.1 innings and struck out 369 batters and maintains an earned run average of 1.10.
The Red Raiders are coached by Bobby Reeves. Reeves is in his first season as head coach at Texas Tech and second season as a head coach. He was an assistant coach at Texas Tech for four years before spending the 2000 campaign as head coach at Southwest Texas State University.
THE SERIES
The Lady Bears lead the series 19-5. The two teams split their doubleheader in Waco earlier this season with Baylor taking the first game (2-0) and Texas Tech winning the second (3-1). Prior to the Red Raider victory, Baylor had won five straight.
