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BAYLOR at
NORTHWESTERN STATE
3:00 p.m. CST
Feb. 6, 2003
Natchitoches, La.
BAYLOR at
TIGER CLASSIC
Feb. 7-9, 2003
Baton Rouge, La.
DePaul vs. Baylor, 4 p.m. Friday
Baylor vs. LSU, 6 p.m. Friday
Baylor vs. SFA, noon Saturday
Baylor vs. DePaul, 4 p.m. Saturday
#2 seed vs. #3 seed, 10 a.m. Sunday
#1 seed vs. #4 seed, noon Sunday
Championship game, 2 p.m. Sunday
Baylor returns to action this weekend, making a four-day trek through the Pelican State. The Lady Bears play a 3 p.m. CST game Thursday at Northwestern State. From there, Baylor travels to Baton Rouge, La., for the Tiger Classic, hosted by Louisiana State. The Lady Bears are 6-0 on the 2003 season after sweeping the double round-robin Getterman Classic last weekend in Waco. Northwestern State opens its 2003 campaign Thursday; DePaul and LSU also open this weekend. Stephen F. Austin is 2-2 after dropping both ends of a doubleheader Tuesday at Texas A&M. Live stats for the Tiger Classic. will be available online at www.LSUSports.net, the official website of LSU Athletics.
HEAD COACH GLENN MOORE
Glenn Moore is in his third 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. Last season, he guided the Lady Bears to even greater successes with more than 50 team and individual, single-game and single-season school records. Baylor finished 46-18 overall and 10-8 in the Big 12 Conference, establishing school marks for victories in a season, conference victories in a season and highest conference finish (fourth). Moore 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 16 seasons of the program's existence. Moore has a career record of 229-82 (.736); he posted a 22-17 mark in his first year as a collegiate head coach at William Carey in Mississippi. Moore is 207-63 (.767) at the Division I level.
HOMECOMING TRIP FOR BAYLOR'S MOORE
Third-year Baylor head coach Glenn Moore makes a bit of a homecoming trip this week. The Liberty, Miss., native is a 1993 graduate of Northwestern State, where he played football for two seasons. Moore also served as a softball assistant coach at NSU for three seasons. From 1997 to 2000, Moore coached at Louisiana State. He was an assistant coach for two seasons before being promoted to head coach in May 1998.
LEVESQUE, POMES ALSO RETURN TO PELICAN STATE
Head coach Glenn Moore is not the only person making a return to the Pelican State this weekend. Junior OF/SS Kelly Levesque began her collegiate career at Louisiana State before transferring to Baylor in the fall of 2001. Sophomore C/IF Stephanie Pomes is a product of Northshore HS in Slidell, La., about a 90 miles east of Baton Rouge.
BAYLOR VS. NORTHWESTERN STATE
This is the 12th meeting between Baylor and Northwestern State with the Lady Bears holding a 9-2 advantage in the all-time series. Baylor won all four meetings last year, and the Green and Gold have been victorious in eight of the last nine meetings. This is Baylor's first trip to Natchitoches, La., since March 22, 1996, when the Lady Bears took both ends of a doubleheader. Baylor is 3-0 all-time at Northwestern State.
BAYLOR VS. LOUISIANA STATE
This is Baylor's first meeting with LSU since an 8-4 Tiger victory Feb. 26, 2000; at that time, Baylor head coach Glenn Moore was head coach at LSU. The Lady Bears are 0-2 at Baton Rouge, 2-1 against the Tigers in Waco and 0-1 at neutral sites. The teams first met April 19, 1980 with LSU taking a 4-3 decision at College Station, Texas. ... This is Moore's first game against his former employer.
BAYLOR VS. STEPHEN F. AUSTIN
The Lady Bears have won six straight against the Lady Jacks, including five wins last season. Baylor leads the series 10-9 in Waco and 3-0 at neutral sites. The series is tied 7-7 at Nacadoges. The teams first met April 19, 1980 with the Lady Bears taking a 7-6 decision at College Station, Texas. ... Glenn Moore is 5-0 in his career against SFA, all coming while at Baylor.
BAYLOR IN ROAD OPENERS
Baylor is 7-10 all-time in road openers; however, the Lady Bears have won four consecutive such games. Last year, Baylor topped Louisiana-Monroe 2-1 at the UTA College Classic. This is the first time Baylor's road opener has been on an opponent's home field since 2000 when the Lady Bears defeated Texas-Arlington 2-1 and 5-1 in a doubleheader.
NORTHWESTERN STATE LADY DEMONS
Northwestern State (0-0) begins its first season with Eileen Schmidt at the helm. This is also Schmidt's first season as a collegiate head coach.
NSU Notes: The Lady Demons return 13 letterwinners, six starters and all three pitchers from a 2002 squad that finished 45-25 overall, won the Southland Conferene Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Regionals. ... NSU hit .282 as a team last season with 40 home runs and a .957 team fielding percentage. Gone are Erin Mancuso, who led the Lady Demons with 10 homers a year ago, and Annie Johnston, who led NSU with a .427 batting average. Junior UT Lindsay Leftwich now burdens the offensive load; she hit .327 with nine home runs and 44 RBI last season. ... The Lady Demons posted a staff ERA of 1.41 last season with 24 shutouts while holding opposing batters to a .190 average. Senior RHP Amanda Ortego anchors the staff after going 17-13 with a 1.34 ERA last year. She posted 257 strikeouts in 220.0 innings of work in 2002 with 10 shutouts. Junior RHP Crista Miller was 21-9 with a 1.28 ERA and 143 strikeouts in 174.2 innings of work in 2002. ... NSU has six Texans on its 2003 roster. Included in that group is sophomore UT Nicole Martin, who prepped at Keller HS along with 2002 Baylor signee Chelsi Lake and 2002 Baylor volleyball player Alison Heffner.
DEPAUL BLUE DEMONS
DePaul (0-0) is in its 23rd season under the direction of Eugene Lenti, who has amassed a 729-368-4 record while with the Blue Demons. Lenti ranks 15th on the NCAA's all-time victories list among active coaches.
DePaul Notes: The Blue Demons are ranked 11th nationally in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Top 25. ... De Paul is coming off a 2002 campaign in which they went 50-11 and made their sixth consecutive NCAA Regional appearance. ... The Demons hit .309 last season with 29 home runs and a .959 team fielding percentage. DePaul features one of the nation's best leadoff hitters in senior IF Liz Bouck, who hit .400 last season with 24 stolen bases and 47 runs scored. Sophomore IF Saskia Roberson led DePaul with seven homers in 2002. ... The Blue Demons posted a 1.02 staff ERA last year with 23 shutouts and a .189 opponents' batting average. All-America senior LHP Lindsay Chouinard is back after going 32-6 with a 0.47 ERA in 2002. She tossed 18 shutouts with 257 strikeouts in 270.0 innings of work and was credited with five saves.
LOUISIANA STATE TIGERS
Louisiana State (0-0) is in its third season with Yvette Girouard as head coach. Girouard has amassed an 874-272 record in 22 seasons as a collegiate head coach, 115-22 in two seasons at LSU. She spent 19 seasons as head coach at Louisiana-Lafayette and is one of only two coaches to lead two different schools to College World Series appearances. Girouard ranks seventh among active coaches in total victories and fifth in highest winning percentage.
LSU Notes: The Tigers are ranked seventh nationally in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Top 25 ... LSU returns nine letterwinners, four starters and one pitcher from a 2002 squad that went 56-11 and reached the NCAA Regional Finals for the fifth consecutive year. ... The Tigers hit .279 as a team in 2002 with 28 home runs and a .971 fielding percentage, 11th nationally. Senior 1B Christy Connor leads LSU at the plate after hitting .298 with seven home runs and 42 RBI last year. Sophomore 1B Tessa Lynam led the Bayou Bengals with nie homers last spring and hit .291. ... LSU finished third nationally in team ERA last season at 0.87. The Tigers joined Baylor, UCLA, Southern Illinois and Texas as the only schools with two pitchers ranked 30th or better nationally in ERA. Gone, though, is three-time all-American Britni Sneed, who was 34-7 with a 0.75 ERA and 478 strikeouts in 281.0 innings last season. Junior RHP Kristin Schmidt looks to fill Sneed's void. Schmidt went 17-4 with a 1.02 ERA last year and 200 strikeouts in 158.0 innings. She also tossed eight shutouts and held opponents to a .185 average. ... The LSU roster features three former Texas prepsters - Conner (Katy-Taylor HS), Schmidt (Houston-North Shore HS) and junior 2B/OF Sara Fitzgerald (Kingwood HS). Conner was a high school teammate of Baylor sophomore RHP Cristin Vitek, while Fitzgerald was a high school teammate of former Lady Bear Lena Keine.
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN LADYJACKS
Stephen F. Austin (2-2) is coached by former Baylor assistant coach Jennifer Poulson, who is in her second season at SFA. Poulson spent the 1996 and 1997 seasons on Paula Young's Baylor staff. She is 11-53 while with the Lady Jacks.
SFA Notes: The Ladyjacks opened their 2003 season last weekend with a pair of 8-0 victories over Texas Southern. SFA was swept 1-0 and 4-3 in a doubleheader Tuesday at No. 24 Texas A&M. The Ladyjacks were no-hit in the first game, while game two went nine innings. ... Stephen F. Austin hits .214 as a team in the young 2003 season. Junior OF Jaime Brown leads the team with a .500 average (4-for-8), while Freshman C/OF Lee Lara has the team's only home run and leads the Lady Jacks with five RBI. ... SFA has a staff ERA of 1.11 with two shutouts and 28 strikeouts. Junior RHP Crissy Autry is 1-2 with a 1.02 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 13.2 innings to anchor the staff.
LAST TIME OUT ... BAYLOR 2, TEXAS-ARLINGTON 1 - FEB. 2
Kelly Osburn singled to lead off the top of the seventh and advanced around the bases on three wild pitches as Baylor rallied past Texas-Arlington 2-1 in the final game of the Getterman Classic. Falon Kwasnick led of the bottom of the first for UTA, playing as the home team, with a double to left. After a sacrifice bunt pushed her to third, Kwasnick raced home on a wild pitch. That lead held for the Lady Mavs until the sixth when Sarah Caudle led off with a single up the middle and moved to second on a wild pitch. A Danelle Arnold sacrifice bunt advanced Caudle to third, and Amber Daniel scored her with a sacrifice fly to left-center. Katie Decker started for Baylor and allowed one run on four hits with three walks and a strikeout. Vitek (3-0) entered the game with two outs and runners on second and third in the sixth. She recorded the next four outs in order to close the game.
FOUR LADY BEARS EARN GETTERMAN HONORS
Tournament champion Baylor had four players earn all-tournament honors at last weekend's Getterman Classic. Sophomore LHP Cristin Vitek went 3-0 with a 0.53 ERA, one shutout and 14 strikeouts with no walks in 13.1 innings. Freshman OF/1B Kelly Osburn hit .600 (6-for-10) with five runs, one homer, three RBI, a .900 slugging percentage and a .778 on base percentage. She also swiped four bases in five attempts and drew eight walks. Senior 1B Kourtny Westerfeld led all players with a .667 average (8-for-12). She also scored three runs, collected one double and enjoyed a stretch of six consecutive hits. Sophomore SS/OF Kim Wilmoth hit .316 (6-for-19) with three runs, two doubles, one triple, four RBI, a .526 slugging percentage and a .409 on base percentage.
OTHERS ENJOY STRONG OPENING WEEKEND
Senior OF Nan Wilkins made good use of her two starts, going 4-for-8 with two runs and one RBI. Freshman IF/OF Harmony Schwethelm also hit .500 (7-for-14) with four runs and four stolen bases in five attempts. Sophomore IF April Luce went 4-for-9 with two runs and a two-run double. ... On the pitching side, senior RHP Sarah Caudle was impressive in her return to the circle. Pitching her first game since the 2001 Big 12 Tournament, Caudle scattered three Centenary hits with a walk and four strikeouts to blank Centenary 8-0. Junior RHP Katie Decker started twice; she got a no-decision against UT-Arlington and recorded the victory in the first game against Centenary. Senior RHP Joni Miller handcuffed a strong Florida lineup, allowing one hit and one walk with six strikeouts in a 6-1 complete-game victory.
THINGS TURNED AROUND FOR WILMOTH
Sophomore SS/OF Kim Wilmoth collected just three RBI in 134 at bats last season. She topped that total in the fourth game of the 2003 season. Wilmoth drove in one run in the season-opener against Centenary, two runs Friday against UT-Arlington and another against Centenary the following morning. She has also already matched her extra-base hit total from a year ago with two doubles and the first triple of her career. Conversely, things have not been as rosy for Wilmoth on the base paths. After making good on 21 of 23 attempts last year, including each of her first 16 tries, Wilmoth is just 1-of-4 this season.
BOTTOMS UP THUS FAR FOR LADY BEARS
One factor which led to Baylor's offensive woes in 2002 was lack of production from the bottom of the order. This season, that trend has completely reversed as the Lady Bears are getting much more production from the 6-9 spots than from 1-5. Through the first six games, batters in the 6-9 spots are hitting .426 (29-for-68) with 14 RBI. Meanwhile, batters in the first five spots are hitting .211 (16-for-76) with 10 RBI.
LADY BEARS TABBED FOURTH BY BIG 12 COACHES
Along with receiving one first-place vote Baylor was tabbed, along with Texas A&M, to finish fourth in the Big 12 Conference preseason coaches' poll. The Lady Bears and the Aggies, who did not receive a first-place nod, both received 54 total points. Nebraska was the coaches' preseason favorite; the Huskers received five of nine first-place votes and 77 total points. Texas and Oklahoma received two first-place votes each. The Longhorns were picked to finish second with 70 points, while the Sooners were tabbed third with 67 points. Oklahoma State (44 points), Kansas (32), Iowa State (21), Missouri (19) and Texas Tech (12) rounded out the 10-team poll.
BAYLOR JUST OUT OF NFCA TOP 25
Baylor just missed a preseason ranking as the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Preseason Top 25 was released Wednesday by the sport's governing body. Baylor was the second team among those also receiving votes, just eight points behind No. 25 Massachusetts. UCLA received 18 of 22 first-place votes and was the coaches' pick as the preseason favorite. Fellow Pac-10 powers Arizona and defending national champion California follow in that order with the Wildcats and the Golden Bears earning two first-place nods each. Nebraska and Michigan tied for the fourth spot. Washington, Louisiana State, Oklahoma, Florida State and Cal State Fullerton rounded out the top 10 in that order. Baylor faces five of the top 12 teams this season. Along with Big 12 foes Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas, the Lady Bears face seventh-ranked Louisiana State and 11th-ranked DePaul.
HOME, SWEET HOME
Baylor posted a 25-6 record at home last season, establishing a school record for home wins in a season. The Lady Bears also enjoyed a school-record 24-game home winning streak that dated back to 2001 season. In three years under head coach Glenn Moore, Baylor is 46-12 (.793) at Getterman Stadium. The Lady Bears are 60-25 (.706) in the stadium's five-year existence.
GETTERMAN ATTENDANCE CONTINUES TO GROW
In 23 home dates, Getterman Stadium attracted 9,248 fans last season. That is a Getterman record, shattering the 2001 total of 5,556. The per-game average of 402 also topped the 2001 record of 370. Six of the eight largest crowds and eight of the 10 largest crowds in the stadium's four-year history came last season. Baylor finished 13th nationally in total attendance for 2002 and 20th nationally in per-game attendance.
BAYLOR ADDS 4 EARLY SIGNEES
Head coach Glenn Moore signed four high school athletes and one junior college transfer to National Letters of Intent here Wednesday, the first day of the 2002 fall signing period. Kylie Conroy (Carrollton-Creekview [Texas] HS), Lisa Ferguson (Fort Worth-Pascal [Texas] HS), Chelsi Lake (Keller [Texas] HS), Melissa Maler (Temple College/West [Texas] HS) and Erin Sheek (Deer Park [Texas] HS) will join the Lady Bears next fall.
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. In 2001, Kourtny Westerfeld joined the Baylor program after spending one season at nearby McLennan Community College. Last year, 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. This season, Amber Daniel joins the Baylor program after two all-America seasons at Temple [Texas] College.
BAYLORBEARS.COM
Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.BAYLORBEARS.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches and audio broadcasts, is part of the Official Colles Sports Network. OCSN currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including eight Big 12 schools.
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.
BAYLOR SOFTBALL RADIO NETWORK
The Baylor radio crew will again this season provide live play-by-play broadcast for selected Baylor softball games. John Morris handles play-by-play duties for home games,while Larry Little, Baylor's media relations contact for softball, handles play-by-play duties for road games. Former Baylor softball standout Kristen Lancaster joins the softball radio crew this season and will provide color analysis for all games. All Baylor games can be heard on flagship station KRZI-AM 1660/1580AM in Waco. Every Baylor game is also available worldwide on the internet at www.BaylorBears.com and Yahoo!Broadcast.com.
2003 Radio ScheduleMarch 26 at Texas 6:30 p.m.March 29 at Oklahoma NoonApril 2 Texas A&M 6:30 p.m.April 5 Nebraska 2:00 p.m.April 16 Texas 6:30 p.m.April 24 at Texas A&M 6:30 p.m.May 1-4 Big 12 Tournament TBAMay 14-18 NCAA Regionals TBAMay 21-26 College World Series TBA
UP NEXT...
The Lady Bears have the midweek off before returning to Louisiana for the weekend. Baylor plays at the Mardi Gras Classic, hosted by Louisiana-Monroe, Feb. 14-16. There, the Lady Bears face Mercer Friday, and Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Monroe Saturday. Bracket play begins Sunday.
