BAYLOR
AT
No. 3 STANFORD
MARCH 5, 2002
BOYD & JILL SMITH
FAMILY STADIUM
STANFORD, CALIF.
Baylor returns to action Tuesday, facing No. 3 Stanford for a single game at Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium in Stanford, Calif. First pitch is set for 7 p.m. CST. The Lady Bears (24-4) are coming off a 1-0 win Sunday at the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. Baylor was 1-2 at the Frost Classic. Stanford (18-2) is coming off a 4-2 win Sunday against Utah in final-day action at the Red Desert Classic. Live stats for the game will be available at www.GoStanford.com, the official website of Stanford Athletics and a member of the FANSOnly Network.
HEAD COACH GLENN MOORE
Glenn Moore is in his second season as head coach at Baylor, coming to Waco after a stellar three-year tenure at Louisiana State. In his first season at Baylor, Moore led the Lady Bears to a 38-22 overall record and a sixth-place, 7-9 mark in the Big 12 Conference. Along the way, Baylor established school season records for wins, home runs (24), fielding percentage (.963), on base percentage (.329), shutouts (17) and saves (7). The Lady Bears also enjoyed a school-record 11-game winning streak in February. While at LSU, Moore amassed a 117-25 (.820) record in two-plus seasons as the head coach. In that time, he led the Tigers to consecutive Southeastern Conference titles and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Regionals. He was named head coach at LSU just prior to the 1998 Regionals, giving him three NCAA postseason appearances as a head coach. The Tigers went 56-10 in 1999 en route to the SEC regular season title and the conference tournament championship. Last season, the Tigers finished 59-13, one game shy of the College World Series. LSU finished eighth nationally in team batting average (.310) and ninth in team ERA (1.11). Moore has a career record of 201-68 (.747), he posted a 22-17 mark in his first year as a collegiate head coach at William Carey in Mississippi.
MOORE CLAIMS CAREER WIN No. 200
Baylor head coach Glenn Moore claimed his 200th career victory as a collegiate head coach Feb. 24 when the Lady Bears defeated San Diego State 5-1. Moore, who is 201-68 (.747) in his career, holds a 179-51 record (.778) at the Division I level.
THE STANFORD SERIES
This is the first-ever meeting between Baylor and Stanford.
MOORE vs. STANFORD
Baylor head coach Glenn Moore has never faced Stanford in his four seasons as a Division I coach.
THE STANFORD CARDINAL
Stanford (18-2) is in its sixth year under the direction of head coach John Rittman, who holds a 228-106-2 record at Stanford. Prior to taking over the Cardinal program, Rittman spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Washington, two seasons at Minnesota and three seasons at Oregon.
Stanford Notes: The Cardinal are ranked third in the nation according to the Feb. 27 USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25. ... Stanford started the season 11-0 before falling to Massachussetts and Nebraska. Since then, the Cardinal has won seven straight. ... The Cardinal is led by senior 1B Sarah Beeson, who is tops on the team with a .467 batting average and 20 RBI. ... Three Stanford players - senior OF Jessica Mendoza, junior IF Kira Ching and sophomore C/1B Jessica Allister - have accounted for nine of Stanford's 15 home runs with three each. ... Junior RHP Tori Nyberg anchors the Cardinal staff, she is 11-1 with a 0.64 ERA.
LAST TIME OUT ... BAYLOR 1, ILLINOIS 0
A Kourtny Westerfeld squeeze bunt scored Kim Wilmoth with one out in the top of the fifth to give Baylor a 1-0 victory over Illinois Sunday at the Frost Classic, hosted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Wilmoth led off the fifth with a double down the left-field line and moved to third on a Nan Wilkins sacrifice bunt. Westerfeld followed with a bunt down the third-base line, Illinois third baseman Erin Jones fielded it and tossed the ball home, but Wilmoth was under the tag. That was all the offense Baylor needed as Joni Miller and Cristin Vitek silenced the Illini bats. Miller threw the first two innings, holding Illinois to just two hits with a walk and one strikeout. Vitek (9-2) went the remainder of the game, stretching her consecutive scoreless inning streak to 39 innings. She surrendered two hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
LADY BEARS OFF TO BEST 28-GAME START EVER
At 24-4, Baylor is off to the best 28-game start in the program's history. The Lady Bears opened the season at 7-0, matching the 1997 team for the most consecutive victories to start a season in school history. Baylor also has enjoyed a 13-game winning streak this season, the longest in school history. The Lady Bears are 42-6 in the month of February under Glenn Moore.
LONG ROAD CONTINUES FOR LADY BEARS
Baylor is in the middle of an 11-day road trip that began last weekend at the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. Monday morning, the Lady Bears flew from Atlanta, Ga., to Fresno, Calif. Baylor plays Tuesday at No. 3 Stanford before returning to Fresno for the weekend's Hallowell Classic, hosted by No. 13 Fresno State. Baylor is 9-4 away from Waco this season, 8-3 at neutral sites and 1-1 on opponents' home fields.
BAYLOR RECEIVES VOTES IN NFCA TOP 25
On the strength of the best start in school history, Baylor received votes in the Feb. 27 USA Today/NFCA Top 25. The Lady Bears are three spots out of the national rankings with 17 total points. Baylor spent seven weeks in the Top 25 last season, reaching as high as No. 19.
WHO'S HOT ... WHO'S NOT
Sophomore C Danelle Arnold is hitting .429 (9-for-21) over her last nine games with five runs, two doubles, one triple and three RBI. ... Freshman OF Carrie Leerberg boasts a .368 average (7for-19) in her last 10 games with three runs and three RBI. ... Junior RHP Joni Miller is 4-1 with a 0.23 ERA in her last seven appearances, including five starts. In that span, which covers 30 innings, she has 26 strikeouts with only four walks, and she is holding opponents to a .117 batting average. ... Freshman UT April Luce has just two hits in her last 14 at bats, hitting .143 over her last eight games. ... Sophomore OF Kelly Levesque is hitting .148 (4-for-27) over her last 10 games. ... Junior OF Sarah Caudle is hitting .233 (7-for-30) with just two RBI in her last 10 games. ... Baylor has just two home runs in its last 294 at bats (12-plus games) and none in its last 149 at bats (six games).
VITEK WORKING ON SCORELESS INNING STREAK
Freshman left-hander Cristin Vitek has not allowed a run since the sixth inning of Baylor's Feb. 17 game against McNeese State. She has now pitched 36.2 consecutive scoreless innings, a personal best and the longest such streak ever by any active Baylor hurler. During the streak, Vitek has amassed 41 strikeouts with only two walks, holding opponents to a .108 batting average (13-for-120).
FIRST-INNING SUCCESS
Through the first 28 games, Baylor has scored 21 first-inning runs this season. The Lady Bears are 10-0 this season when scoring in the first inning.
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE
While first-inning runs lead to Baylor victories, the Lady Bears have been most potent this season in the middle innings - third, fourth and fifth. Baylor is hitting .336 in the middle innings with 77 runs, 18 doubles, six triples, eight home runs and 69 RBI. The third inning has produced the most runs this season for the Lady Bears (30), while BU has hit nine third-inning doubles. As for a pick-to-click inning, fifth innings have been the most fruitful as the Lady Bears have hit four fifth-frame homers this season.
CAUDLE TIES BOTH TRIPLES MARKS
With four triples on the season, junior OF Sarah Caudle is tied with Lyn Hill (1996-1999) for first all-time at Baylor with seven career triples. Furthermore, Caudle has alread tied the school mark for three-baggers in a season, matching Kristin Barton's 1996 total. Caudle currently ranks in the top 10 on 11 career offensive lists at Baylor.
LEVESQUE, WILMOTH ALREADY IN STEALS TOP 10
Head coach Glenn Moore focused on increasing team speed with his 2001 signing class, and through 28 games that emphasis is apparent. Sophomore OF Kelly Levesque, who transfered to Baylor from Louisiana State, leads the team with 12 stolen bases, that figure already ranks as the seventh-best season total in school history. Meanwhile, freshman SS Kim Wilmoth is second on the team with 10 steals, tied for ninth all-time at Baylor. As a team, the Lady Bears have swiped 57 bases this season, third in school history.
LADY BEARS GO NO-NO CRAZY
Entering the 2002 season, there had been just four no-hitters thrown by Baylor pitchers in the program's history. The Lady Bears have now thrown four in their last 16 games. Katie Decker got things started with a complete-game no-hitter Feb. 15 against Stephen F. Austin. One week later, Joni Miller combined with Cristin Vitek and Decker to no-hit SFA in a five-inning 8-0 victory. The next day, Baylor tossed a pair of no-hitters. Miller pulled the feat in a seven-inning, 3-0 win over Creighton, Vitek and Decker then combined to no-hit SFA again, this time 10-0 in five innings. Baylor pushed its streak of consecutive innings without allowing a hit to 22 innings before Joni Miller surrendered a leadoff home run in the fourth inning of the Feb. 23 Akron game.
LANCASTER MATCHES CAREER HOMER TOTAL
It took just 14 games for senior IF Kristen Lancaster to match her career home run total entering this season. The Pflugerville, Texas, native has smashed a team-best four home runs this season, including an eventual game-winning, two-run shot Feb. 16 against McNeeese State. Lancaster, who did not hit a home run as a freshman, had two long balls as a sophomore and two more last season. With eight homers in her career, she is currently tied for fifth all-time at Baylor.
LADY BEARS CLAIM 500TH ALL-TIME WIN
Baylor's 2-1 victory over Northwestern State in game two of the Feb. 18 doubleheader was the 500th victory in the program's history, including games played from 1974 to 1988. The Lady Bears' program currently has an all-time record of 508-492-3 (.506), meaning Baylor played its 1,000th game Feb. 24 against San Diego State. Since the program's reinstatement in 1996, the Lady Bears are 212-165 (.562). ... Statistically, Baylor is 165 at bats shy of No. 10,000 since 1996.
RECORDS FALL AS BU SLAMS SU
Several records were rewritten last Friday afternoon when Baylor pounded Southern 21-1, however, some of them fell again two days later when the Lady Bears upended the Lady Jaguars 18-1. The 20-run winning margin in the first game is the largest in the program's history. It was also a school record for runs in a season-opener, shattering the previous mark of eight established last season against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Lady Bears tallied a school-record 27 total bases Friday against Southern, that record stood for less than 48 hours as Baylor racked up 38 total bases with a school-record eight extra base hits in the Sunday meeting. The Lady Bears also tied the school record for home runs in a game as SS Stephanie Pomes, C Danelle Arnold and OF Nan Wilkins all went deep.
BIG 12 COACHES TAB BAYLOR SIXTH
Baylor was picked to finished sixth in the Big 12 Conference this season, according to the preseason coaches' poll. The Lady Bears were 38-22 overall last season, finishing sixth in the Big 12 with a 7-9 league mark. Defending champion Nebraska was the overwhelming favorite in the preseason poll, garnering 78 total points and seven of 10 first-place votes. Oklahoma, which claimed the Big 12 Tournament title last year, was picked second with 72 total points and two first-place nods. Texas was third with 65 points and the final first-place selection. Kansas (52 points) was picked fourth, followed by Texas A&M (49), Baylor (42), Oklahoma State (32), Texas Tech (28), Missouri (23) and Iowa State (9).
TRANSFERS FIND HOME AT BAYLOR
Four members of the 2002 Lady Bears' squad transferred to Baylor from other schools, three coming in this season and all three from four-year schools. Last season, Kourtny Westerfeld joined the Baylor program after spending one season at nearby McLennan Community College. This season, the Lady Bears welcome sophomores Danelle Arnold and Katie Decker from fellow Big 12 Conference institution Nebraska, and sophomore Kelly Levesque from Southeastern Conference power Louisiana State.
Player Prev. School Status
Danelle Arnold Nebraska sophomore C
Katie Decker Nebraska sophomore RHP
Kelly Levesque Louisiana State sophomore SS
Kourtny Westerfeld McLennan CC junior 1B
BAYLOR ADDS 3 EARLY SIGNEES
Head coach Glenn Moore signed four players to National Letters of Intent last fall during the early signing period. Joining the Lady Bears' program next year will be 3B/C Amber Daniel, SS Kelly Osburn and SS/OF Harmony Schwethelm. Daniel, a 1999 graduate of Vanguard High School in Waco, Texas, will come to Baylor from Temple (Texas) College. Osburn preps at Elkins High School in Missouri City, Texas, and Schwethelm attends Smithson Valley High School in San Antonio, Texas.
GOBAYLORBEARS.COM
Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.GoBaylorBears.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches and audio broadcasts, is part of the FANSonly Network. FANSonly currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including eight Big 12 schools.
OVER THE AIR
Selected Baylor softball games can be heard live on KRZI-AM (1660/1580) in Waco this season. John Morris, "Voice of the Bears" and a veteran broadcaster of all sports, will handle play-by-play duties, while Baylor assistant director of media relations Larry Little, a veteran broadcaster of baseball, softball, basketball and soccer, will provide color analysis. Baylor's broadcast schedule for the 2002 season is as follows:
Date Day Opponent Time
March 20 Wed. at Texas Tech (DH) 2:00 p.m.
March 27 Wed. TEXAS 6:30 p.m.
April 6 Sat. at Missouri 7:00 p.m.
April 14 Sun. IOWA STATE Noon
April 20 Sat. at Oklahoma State 2:00 p.m.
May 1-3 Wed.-Fri. at Big 12 Tournament TBA
May 16-20 Thurs.-Mon. at NCAA Regionals TBA
BAYLOR GAMES ON THE NET
Live stats for all Baylor home games can be accessed by visiting www.GoBaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor athletics.
INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, airs weekly throughout Central Texas and the region. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Net Southwest and the College Channel (Waco cable channel 18). KCEN carries the show at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, and it airs at 1 p.m. Wednesdays on FSN Southwest.
UP NEXT...
Baylor's 11-day road trip continues as the Lady Bears travel to Fresno, Calif., for the Hallowell Classic, hsoted by No. 13 Fresno State. Friday, the Lady Bears face at 3 p.m. CST and the host Bulldogs at 7. Saturday, Baylor faces Cal Poly SLO and San Diego State, play concludes Sunday as the Lady Bears meet Tennessee Tech and Boston.
