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NO. 23 BAYLOR
AT
BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
MAY 2-5, 2002
DON A. PORTER ASA HALL OF FAME STADIUM
OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA.
No. 23 Baylor heads to Oklahoma City, Okla., this weekend for the seventh annual Big 12 Conference Tournament at Don A. Porter ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. The Lady Bears enter the tournament as the fourth seed; the play fifth-seeded and 24th-ranked Texas A&M in the first round at 11 a.m. CDT Friday. Baylor (45-16, 10-8) is coming off a 2-0 loss Sunday at home against then-No. 12 Oklahoma. Texas A&M (36-14, 9-7) closed out its regular season Sunday with a 6-1 victory over Missouri at home. Live stats will be available online at www.Big12Sports.com, the official website of the Big 12 Conference. Games will also be broadcast live on KRZI 1660/1580 AM in the Waco, Texas, area with a live feed at www.GoBaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the Official College Sports 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. This season, he has guided the Lady Bears to even greater successes with 36 team and individual, single-game and single-season school records. At 45-16 overall and 10-8 in the Big 12 Conference, the 2002 Lady Bears have established school marks for victories in a season, conference victories in a season and highest conference finish (fourth). He has also led Baylor to a national ranking for the second straight season and two wins over top 10 teams, as many top-10 victories as the Lady Bears had amassed in the previous 20 years of the program's existence. Moore has a career record of 222-80 (.735); he posted a 22-17 mark in his first year as a collegiate head coach at William Carey in Mississippi. Moore is 200-61 (.766) at the Division I level.
BAYLOR AT THE BIG 12 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Baylor is 2-8 all-time at the Big 12 Conference Tournament; the Lady Bears are currently on a six-game losing streak that dates back to the 1998 event. After defeating Texas Tech 1-0 in the 1997 play-in game, Baylor lost to Missouri 10-2 and Nebraska 6-2. That path was repeated the following season when the Lady Bears topped Texas A&M 6-2 in the play-in game before losing to Oklahoma 3-2 and Kansas 3-1. Baylor failed to make it into the double-elimination bracket the following two seasons. Last year, the Lady Bears finished in the top six for the first time ever but were bounced with losses to Texas Tech (8-0) and Kansas (10-4).
BIG 12 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, MAY 2
Game 1: No. 9 Missouri vs. No. 8 Iowa State, 5 p.m.
Game 2: No. 7 Kansas vs. No. 10 Texas Tech, 5 p.m. (Field 2)
Game 3: No. 1 Texas vs. Game 1 Winner, 7:30 p.m.
Game 4: No. 2 Oklahoma vs. Game 2 Winner, 7:30 p.m. (Field 2)
FRIDAY, MAY 3
Game 5: No. 4 Baylor vs. No. 5 Texas A&M, 11 a.m.
Game 6: No. 6 Oklahoma State vs. No. 3 Nebraska, 11 a.m. (Field 2)
Game 7: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser, 1:30 p.m.
Game 8: Game 5 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser, 3:30 p.m. (Field 2)
Game 9: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 5 p.m.
Game 10: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, MAY 4
Game 11: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 10 Loser, 11 a.m.
Game 12: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Loser, 1:30 p.m.
Game 13: Game 10 Winner vs. Game 12 Winner, 5 p.m.
Game 14: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner, 7:30 p.m.
SUNDAY, MAY 5
Game 15: Game 10 Winner vs. Game 12 Winner, 8:30 a.m./10:45 a.m. (if necessary)
Game 16: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner, 10 a.m./10:45 a.m. (if necessary)
Game 17: Championship Game, 2:30 p.m. (FOX Sports Net telecast)
THE TEXAS A&M SERIES
This is the 46th meeting between Baylor and Texas A&M with the Aggies holding a commanding 34-10-1 advantage in the all-time series. However, the Lady Bears have won five of the last six meetings; Baylor is 8-4-1 against A&M in the last 13 meetings. The Lady Bears swept the season series this year, winning 4-0 in Waco and 3-0 two weeks ago at College Station. Baylor and Texas A&M have met once in Big 12 Tournament play; the Lady Bears defeated the Aggies 6-2 in the play-in round at the 1998 tournament. That is Baylor's only win over A&M at a neutral site in nine tries.
MOORE vs. TEXAS A&M
Baylor head coach Glenn Moore is 3-1 in his career against Texas A&M with all four meetings coming while at Baylor.
THE TEXAS A&M AGGIES
Texas A&M (36-14, 9-7) is in its sixth year under the direction of head coach Jo Evans, who holds a 210-132-2 record at College Station. Prior to taking over the Aggie program, Evans had stints at Utah (1990-1996) and at Colorado State (1986-1989). In 17 years as a collegiate head coach, Evans has amassed a career record of 523-336-2.
A&M Notes: The Aggies are ranked 24th in this week's USA Today/NFCA Top 25. ... Texas A&M ranks eighth in the Big 12 statistical rankings with a .258 team batting average, just one percentage point behind Baylor. The Aggies are fourth in the league with 34 home runs as a team. ... Junior C Selena Collins leads the Aggies' offensive attack; she is 11th in the conference with a .333 batting average, tied for first with 14 home runs and tied for fifth with 36 RBI. ... Senior 1B Kelly Ferguson is the only other Aggie with more than four home runs; she has six on the season. ... Texas A&M ranks fifth in the Big 12 with a staff ERA of 1.38. The Aggies are tied with Baylor for the fewest runs allowed in the league (82), and they join the Lady Bears and Nebraska in a three-way tie for second in the conference with 22 shutouts, one less than Texas. ... Sophomore RHPs Jessica Slataper and Lindsey Wilhelmson anchor the A&M staff. Slataper is 17-8 with a 1.53 ERA; she is third in the conference with 194 strikeouts. Wilhelmson is 11-5 and ranks sixth in the Big 12 with a 1.04 ERA.
LAST MEETING ... BAYLOR 3, TEXAS A&M 0 - APRIL 2001
Baylor scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning en route to a 3-0 victory over Texas A&M here. The Lady Bears completed the season series sweep of Texas A&M with the victory after posting a 4-0 win against the Aggies earlier this season in Waco. Lindsey Wilhelmson held Baylor hitless through the first five innings. However, Carrie Leerberg led off the sixth with a slap infield single and advanced to second when Lisa Klam's throw went awry at first. Kelly Levesque then beat out a chopper back to Wilhelmson and alertly took second base while the Aggie pitcher held Leerberg at third. After hitting Stacey Hundley to load the bases, Wilhelmson got Sarah Caudle to ground into a fielder's choice that forced Leerberg out at home. However, the Aggie right-hander uncorked a wild pitch on a 1-2 count to Kristen Lancaster, allowing Levesque to score from third. A&M catcher Selena Collins tried to throw Levesque out at home, but her throw was high and Hundley raced home. None of that mattered, though, as Lancaster then ripped a double into right-center, plating Caudle and putting the Lady Bears up 3-0. Joni Miller and Cristin Vitek combined to shutout the Aggies. Miller went five innings in relief after Vitek tossed the first two frames. Vitek allowed a walk and one hit, but struggled with control. Miller surrendered one hit and two walks with four strikeouts, retiring 12 of the last 13 batters she faced.
LAST TIME OUT ... No. 12 OKLAHOMA 2, No. 22 BAYLOR 0
A pair of early runs provided No. 12 Oklahoma all the offense it needed as the Sooners defeated No. 22 Baylor 2-0 behind Angela Foster's no-hitter Sunday. Oklahoma joined Texas as the only Big 12 teams to sweep Baylor this season, sending the Lady Bears to a third consecutive loss for the first time this year. Oklahoma jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Leah Gulla led off with her conference-leading 14th home run of the season. The Sooners tacked on another run in the third; after a one-out walk to Kelli Braitsch, Christina Enea banged a double off the left-field wall to score Braitsch. Foster allowed only a leadoff walk to Kelly Levesque, striking out two and facing one over the minimum. Cristin Vitek was touched for both runs and was saddled with the loss. She surrendered six hits and three walks, striking out three. Joni Miller pitched the final two innings perfectly with one strikeout.
BAYLOR FOURTH IN MIDWEST REGIONAL RANKINGS
According to the April 25 NCAA Regional Rankings, Baylor is ranked fourth in Midwest Region. The top four spots in the Midwest Regional rankings reflect the top five spots in the Big 12 standings. Texas is ranked first, followed by Oklahoma, Nebraska, Baylor and Texas A&M. Louisiana-Lafayette follows at No. 6, then Oklahoma State, Florida International, Illinois State and Kansas.
LADY BEARS REACH 40 WINS FOR FIRST TIME EVER
Baylor's 5-4 victory three weeks ago at Missouri gave the Lady Bears 39 wins on the season, breaking the previous school record for wins in a season (38) established last season and in 1997. The following day, Baylor reached the 40-win plateau for the first time in the program's history with a 4-1 victory over Mizzou. Furthermore, the Lady Bears are on track to have the highest winning percentage At .738, the 2002 squad is well ahead of .633 clip turned in by the 1997 and 2001 teams.
BAYLOR ECLIPSES SCHOOL BIG 12 WIN MARK
With a 10-8 record in Big 12 play, the 2002 Lady Bears have won more conference games in a season than any team in school history. Baylor posted seven Big 12 wins during the 1999 and 2001 seasons. This season's squad matched the 1999 squad with a 3-0 start; but just like that team, this year's squad lost its fourth game. However, the 1999 Lady Bears dropped five straight after starting 3-0. Baylor's fourth-place finish in the league standings this season is also a program-best.
OTHER RECORD RECORDS
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.
BAYLOR DROPS ONE SPOT IN TOP 25
For the second consecutive week, Baylor and Iowa switched places in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25. Baylor dropped one spot in this week's poll, landing at No. 23, while Iowa moved up to No. 22. The Lady Bears join four other Big 12 school's in this week's rankings; Nebraska is No. 7, Oklahoma is No. 12, Texas is No. 13 and Texas A&M is No. 24. Three other 2002 Baylor opponent's are ranked this week: No. 8 Stanford, No. 14 Fresno State and No. 19 Ohio State. Baylor is 4-6 against Top 25 teams this season, including two wins against Top 10 teams.
VITEK CLAIMS STRIKEOUT RECORD
Freshman LHP Cristin Vitek captured the Baylor single-season strikeout record last Sunday during the Lady Bears game against Oklahoma. The Katy, Texas, native now has 184 whiffs on the season, passing the 183 tallied by Stacey Allison in her freshman campaign of 1996. Vitek already ranks fourth all-time at Baylor in career strikeouts.
WHO'S HOT ... WHO'S NOT
HOT: Junior OF Nan Wilkins is hitting .333 (15-for-45) over the last 16 games with two home runs, nine RBI, seven runs, four doubles and one triple. ... Junior OF Sarah Caudle is hitting .308 (16-for-52) over the last 16 games with 10 runs, five doubles, five RBI and seven stolen bases. ... Sophomore OF Kelly Levesque is hitting .362 (17-for-47) with 11 runs, four doubles, two triples, a home run and four RBI over the last 16 games. Levesque has also reached base safely in seven straight and in 15 of the last 16 games. ... Junior RHP Katie Decker is 4-1 with a 0.68 ERA, two completed games and one save over the last 16 games, spanning nine appearances and four starts. ... Freshman OF Carrie Leerberg has been successful on eight consecutive stolen base attempts.
NOT: Baylor is hitting .171 as a team over the last 10 games, including just one hit in the last 22 innings. ... sophomore C Danelle Arnold, junior 2B Stacey Hundley, freshman OF Carrie Leerberg, freshman IF April Luce and junior 1B Kourtny Westerfeld are a combined 8-for-100 (.080) over the last 10 games. Leerberg leads that group during that time with a .100 average.
LADY BEARS BREAK SCHOOL RECORD FOR STEALS
Junior OF Sarah Caudle provided Baylor with its 95th stolen base of the season in the first game of the April 18 doubleheader against Sam Houston State. With that swipe, Baylor established a school record for steals in a season, eclipsing the total of 94 established by the 1996 squad. Baylor is second in the Big 12 with 102 stolen bases in 130 attempts this season.
MORE THIEVERY
Freshman SS Kim Wilmoth leads the team with 20 stolen bases on the season; that ranks as third-best season total in school history. Sophomore OF Kelly Levesque is second on the squad with 18 stolen bases, fourth-all-time at Baylor. Meanwhile, freshman OF Carrie Leerberg is sixth all-time at BU with 16, junior OF Sarah Caudle is tied for seventh all-time with 15 and junior 2B Stacey Hundley is 10th all-time with 12. This marks the first time in school history that six Lady Bears have reached double figures in steals.
BAYLOR PITCHING STAFF FOURTH NATIONALLY
According to the April 30 NCAA statistical rankings, Baylor's team ERA is fifth nationally at 0.93. UCLA leads the nation at 0.71, followed by Louisiana State (0.87), Florida Atlantic (0.88) and Fresno State (0.92). Individually, freshman LHP Cristin Vitek is 14th (0.87), sophomore RHP Katie Decker is 16th (0.88) and junior RHP Joni Miller is 37th (1.06).
ELSEWHERE IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKS
Baylor's .738 winning percentage (45-16) is tied with California for 27th nationally, according to the April 30 NCAA statistical rankings. ... Junior RHP Joni Miller is tied for ninth nationally with five saves, while freshman LHP Cristin Vitek is tied for 18th nationally with four.
HOME, SWEET HOME
Baylor posted a 25-6 record at home this season, establishing a school record for home wins in a season. Earlier this season, the Lady Bears enjoyed a school-record 24-game home winning streak that dated back to last season. In two seasons under head coach Glenn Moore, Baylor is 40-12 (.769) at Getterman Stadium. The Lady Bears are 54-25 (.684) in the stadium's four-year existence.
GETTERMAN ATTENDANCE CONTINUES TO GROW
In 23 home dates, Getterman Stadium has attracted 9,248 fans this season. That is a Getterman record, shattering last year's total of 5,556. The per-game average of 402 also topped last year's record of 370. Six of the eight largest crowds and eight of the 10 largest crowds in the stadium's four-year history came this season.
FIRST INNING SUCCESS
Through 61 games, Baylor has scored 34 first-inning runs this season. The Lady Bears are 16-1 this year when crossing the plate in the first frame. The April 4 loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi marked the only time this season Baylor has scored in the first inning and lost.
SUDDENLY, IT'S THE SIXTH
After scoring just 12 sixth-inning runs in the first 53 games of the season, Baylor has erupted 18 sixth-inning runs in the last eight games. The Lady Bears used a five-run sixth to rally and defeat Iowa State 6-4 Sunday. Then, Baylor plated all three runs in its 3-0 victory Wednesday at No. 24 Texas A&M in the sixth frame. The run continued in both games of Thursday's doubleheader against Sam Houston State. The Lady Bears scored four runs in the sixth inning of the first game and one run in the sixth of the nightcap. Finally, Baylor exploded for six runs in the sixth inning of last Saturday's game at Oklahoma State en route to a 7-0 victory.
OTHER INNING FACTS AND FIGURES
Baylor has scored more runs in the third inning (48) this season than in any other inning. ... The Lady Bears have outscored their opponents 42-4 during the fifth inning. ... Baylor has outscored its opponents 118-35 in the first three innings. ... Opponents have scored 15 first-inning runs against Baylor this season, tied with the sixth inning for the most of any frame.
BAYLOR PITCHING STAFF TOPS IN BIG 12
The three-arm pitching staff of junior RHP Joni Miller, sophomore RHP Katie Decker and freshman LHP Cristin Vitek is making a strong case for the best staff in the Big 12 Conference. According to the April 29 rankings, Baylor leads the conference with a 0.93 team ERA and ranks second in conference games at 0.96. The Lady Bears are tied for the league lead with seven shutouts in Big 12 play; prior to this season, Baylor had never thrown more than two conference shutouts in the same year.
VITEK MAKING HER MARK ON BIG 12
According to the April 29 Big 12 statistical rankings, freshman LHP Cristin Vitek is ranked in the top 10 of nine categories, including ERA (3rd, 0.87), wins (t5th, 17), innings pitched (4th, 176.1), strikeouts (4th, 184), saves (t3rd, 4), games started (t8th, 23), shutouts (t10th, 4) and opponents' batting average (7th, .166). She also leads the Big 12 in appearances (43). In conference action, Vitek is ninth in ERA (1.24), tied for seventh in wins (4), fifth in innings pitched (62.0), fifth in strikeouts (60), tied for second in appearances (16), tied for fifth in saves (1), tied for fifth in games started (9) and eighth in opponents' batting average (.198).
MILLER NOT TOO SHABBY EITHER
Not to be out-done, junior RHP Joni Miller is in the top 10 of seven categories, according to the April 29 Big 12 rankings. The Edmond, Okla., native is seventh in ERA (1.06), tied for fifth in wins (17), tied for 10th in innings pitched (151.2), tied for 10th in strikeouts (125), fifth in appearances (38), tied for first in saves (5) and tied for sixth in games started (24). In conference action, Miller is third in ERA (0.74), tied for seventh in wins (4), tied for ninth in strikeouts (34), tied for fourth in appearances (15), tied for first in saves (3) and ninth in opponents' batting average (.200).
LEVESQUE, CAUDLE PEPPER BIG 12 OFFENSIVE STATS
Sophomore OF Kelly Levesque appears in the top 10 of seven offensive categories, according to the April 29 Big 12 rankings. Along with being tied for the conference lead in walks (29), Levesque is ninth in batting average (.339), sixth in hits (58), tied for fourth in runs (35), tied for 10th in doubles (10), tied for eighth in triples (3), eighth in stolen bases (18), and fourth in on base percentage (.462). Meanwhile, junior OF Sarah Caudle is 16th in batting average (.322), tied for seventh in hits (57), tied for fifth in doubles (11) and tied for third in triples (4).
OTHERS IN BIG 12 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Senior 3B Kristen Lancaster is tied for eighth with nine home runs. ... Sophomore C Danelle Arnold is tied for eighth with three triples. ... Freshman SS Kim Wilmoth is tied for fourth in steals (20), while freshman OF Carrie Leerberg is tied for 10th with 16 swipes. ... Sophomore RHP Katie Decker is fourth in ERA (0.88), tied for seventh with two saves and eighth in opponents' batting average (.175). Decker also leads in ERA in conference games at 0.63.
BAYLOR BREAKING RECORDS LEFT AND RIGHT
The 2002 Lady Bears are on a torrid pace when it comes to eclipsing school records. Here is a look at all the marks Baylor has established this season (* denotes tied record):
SEASON - MISCELLANEOUS
* Wins (45)
* Big 12 Wins (10)
* Consecutive Wins (13)
* Home Wins (25)
* Total Home Attendance (9,248)
* Average Home Attendance (402)
SEASON - BATTING, TEAM
* Runs Batted In (203)
* Triples (15)
* Bases on Balls (147)
* Stolen Bases (102)
* Extra Base Hits (105)
* Hit by Pitch (32)
* Sacrifice Flies (13)
SEASON - PITCHING, TEAM
* Shutouts (22)
* Strikeouts (389)
GAME - BATTING, TEAM
* RBI (21 vs. Southern) *
* Doubles (5 vs. Southern) *
* Triples (2 vs. Southern and Louisiana-Monroe) *
* Home Runs (3 vs. Southern) *
* Stolen Bases (6 vs. Stephen F. Austin) *
* Total Bases (38 vs. Southern)
* Extra Base Hits (10 vs. Southern)
* Sacrifice Flies (2 vs. Southern) *
GAME - PITCHING, TEAM
* Strikeouts (17 at Oklahoma State)
SEASON - BATTING, INDIVIDUAL
* Triples (4, Sarah Caudle) *
* Hit by Pitch (11, Kelly Levesque)
* Sacrifice Flies (3)
GAME - BATTING, INDIVIDUAL
* Runs (4, April Luce vs. Southern) *
* Hits (4, Carrie Leerberg vs. Southern and April Luce vs. Southern) *
* Doubles (3, Nan Wilkins vs. Oklahoma City)
* Triples (1, 14 times) *
* Extra Base Hits (3, Nan Wilkins vs. Oklahoma City) *
* Hit by Pitch (2, Kelly Levesque vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) *
* Sacrifice Hits (3, Stacey Hundley vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi) *
* Sacrifice Flies (1, 13 times) *
GAME - PITCHING, INDIVIDUAL
* Strikeouts (15, Joni Miller vs. Stephen F. Austin)
UP NEXT...
Baylor will await word on an NCAA Tournament selection. Bids for the 48-team, eight-regional field are handed out May 12.