Baseball Preview: Baylor vs. Houston

March 10, 2003

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#8 Baylor Baseball (14-5, 0-0 Big 12)
vs. Houston (7-9, 0-0 Conference USA)
Tuesday, March 11 (6 p.m.) * Baylor Ballpark * Waco, Texas

This Week in Baylor Baseball
Eighth-ranked Baylor will look to start a new winning streak Tuesday as the Bears host long-time foe Houston at 6 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.

After riding an 11-game winning streak for three weeks, Baylor enters Tuesday's game having lost back-to-back games for the first time since the first two games of the season. Houston, meanwhile, has yet to straighten out their season. The Cougars began the year ranked as high as seventh in the nation (NCBWA), but have since fallen out of the polls after a 7-9 start.

Earlier this season, Baylor pounded Houston's all-American ace Brad Sullivan in a Saturday match-up at the Minute Maid Park College Classic in Houston. The Bears scored five runs off Sullivan in just 1.2 innings, Sullivan's shortest collegiate start. Baylor added six more runs in the third inning to run away with a 14-4 victory.

All Baylor baseball games are carried in Central Texas on KRZI 1660/1580 AM. Live stats are also available for all home games and most road games at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the Official College Sports Network.

Baylor in the Rankings
After a 2-2 week that saw the end of their 11-game winning streak, the Bears dropped slightly in the polls.

Baylor fell back two spots to No. 8 in Baseball America's poll, fell two places to No. 9 in Collegiate Baseball's poll and slid three spots to No. 9 in the USA Today Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches' Poll. (The National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association (NCBWA) poll was not available at press time.)

With a preseason ranking of No. 10 (Baseball America), the Bears tied their highest preseason ranking in program history. (Baseball America also ranked Baylor 10th prior to the 2000 season.)

Baylor's best-ever final ranking is No. 6 (Collegiate Baseball, 1978), while the team's highest ranking at any time was No. 3 (Baseball America, May 8, 2000).

Bears' RPI Sky-High
Baylor ranks fourth in the nation in the Iterative Strength Rankings from BoydsWorld.com, through games of March 2. The ISRs are an alternate ranking formula similar to the RPI system. The Bears trail only Cal State Fullerton, Rice and Arizona State in the ISRs, and are ahead of Big 12 foes Texas A&M (6th), Texas (9th) and Kansas (25th). Other Baylor opponents among the top 25 include Long Beach State (11th), Arizona (12th) and TCU (23rd).

BoydsWorld.com also offers a Pseudo-RPI, which attempts to duplicate the official RPI formula used by the NCAA in its tournament seeding. Baylor ranks 24th in the first listing of the year, two spots behind defending national champ Texas. Indiana leads the early RPI listing; Baylor opponents in the top 25 include Rice (8th) and Long Beach State (17th).

Last Time(s) Out
* FRIDAY: at #6 Baylor 6, #8 Long Beach State 5
David Murphy's two-out single scored Paul Witt in the bottom of the eighth as Baylor came from behind to beat Long Beach State 6-5 Friday night at Baylor Ballpark. Baylor won its 11th straight game in thrilling fashion as redshirt freshman Abe Woody struck out the side in the ninth to pick up his third win. Long Beach State saw two leads vanish as the Bears came from behind on starter Abe Alvarez and then reliever Bo Ashabraner, who took over for Alvarez midway through the seventh and suffered the loss.

* SATURDAY: #8 Long Beach State 7, #6 Baylor 3
Long Beach State snapped Baylor's 11-game winning streak Saturday night, beating the Bears 7-3. The Dirtbags scored five times in the fifth, all off starter Trey Taylor, to overcome the Bears' early lead. LBSU took advantage of three infield hits, a single up the middle, an error and a wild pitch to score the first four runs in the frame before centerfield Adam Heether launched his fifth home run of the year, a solo shot to left that made the score 5-2. A solo home run by Chris Durbin in the fifth provided Baylor's final run, as no Bear had more than one hit.

* SUNDAY: #8 Long Beach State 7, #6 Baylor 1
Long Beach State scored four unearned runs in the first inning and coasted to a 7-1 win over Baylor Sunday to claim the series, two games to one. Freshman Ryan LaMotta suffered the loss in his first collegiate start. LaMotta allowed all seven LBSU runs, but only three of those were earned. Back-to-back errors by Ross Bennett and Trey Webb to start the game led to a four-run first for LBSU, and Baylor's offense could not come back against Dirtbag starter Cesar Ramos and two relievers. David Murphy drove in the Bears' only run with a double in the first inning and extended his hitting streak to 10 games, tying his career high.

Bennett's Bat Burning Up Opposition
Senior Ross Bennett continued his torrid batting streak over the weekend, hitting .400 (4-for-10) but actually bringing his season average down to .509. That number still easily leads the team and ranks among the Big 12's best.

Bennett has raised his career average 17 points this season, vaulting into third place in the Baylor recordbooks at .350 (144-for-411). He begins the week on an eight-game hitting streak, over which time he has hit .593 (16-for-27).

The senior from Cape Girardeau, Mo., w as named Big 12 Player of the Week for games played Feb. 24-March 2 for his feats against UT-San Antonio and UC-Irvine. For the week, Bennett hit .786 (11-for-14) with five RBI and five runs scored.

Bennett's selection gave the Bears back-to-back Players of the Week, after Chris Durbin was so honored the week before. The honor was the first of Bennett's career.

Closer Carlson Nears Another Saves Record
With four saves this season, junior closer Zane Carlson now has 27 for his career. That total stands just one shy of the Big 12 Conference career saves record of 28, set by Oklahoma's Jeff Bajenaru (1999-2000).

Carlson already holds the Baylor career and single-season saves records; he laid claim to both records after saving 15 games as a freshman in 2000. Carlson also holds the Cape Cod League career saves record with 24. The NCAA record is 49, set by Southern California's Jack Krawczyk (1995-98).

Bears Among Big 12 Stat Leaders
A number of Bears rank among the Big 12 individual statistical leaders, through games of March 5.

Noteable among the hitters: Ross Bennett's .533 average ranks second in the league... Chris Durbin is among the top 10 in the league in eight categories and leads the Big 12 in runs... Michael Griffin leads the conference in hits and total bases.

On the mound, Steven White leads the Big 12 in strikeouts and innings pitched, Ryan LaMotta tops the conference in wins and Zane Carlson is tied for the league lead in saves.

The complete list:
Ross Bennett: 2nd in batting (.533), 3rd in on-base percentage (.577), t-9th in RBI (16), t-10th in hits (24)
Zane Carlson: t-1st in saves (4), t-4th in appearances (8), t-10th in strikeouts (19)
Chris Durbin: 1st in runs (28), t-2nd in home runs (4), t-4th in total bases (47), 7th in hits (27), t-7th in doubles (6), 7th in slugging percentage (.691), 7th in on-base percentage (.487), 16th in batting (.397)
Josh Ford: t-3rd in doubles (7), t-5th in RBI (20), t-6th in home runs (3)
Michael Griffin: t-1st in hits (32), 1st in total bases (51), 2nd in doubles (8), t-5th in RBI (20), t-6th in home runs (3), 7th in batting (.421)
Ryan LaMotta: 1st in wins (5), t-7th in appearances (7)
David Murphy: t-5th in runs (21), t-5th in hits (28), t-6th in home runs (3), t-8th in total bases (40), 18th in batting (.389)
Trey Taylor: t-6th in games started (4)
Sean Walker: t-7th in appearances (7)
Trey Webb: t-3rd in doubles (7), t-4th in steals (6)
Steven White: 1st in strikeouts (34), 1st in innings pitched (34.2), t-1st in starts (5), 12th in ERA (2.60)
Paul Witt: t-10th in runs (16)
Abe Woody: t-1st in opposing batting average (.159), t-4th in appearances (8), 8th in ERA (2.29)

Durbin Starting Off On Right Foot
As the Bears' lead-off hitter, Chris Durbin is starting off games right -- by getting on base.

When leading off the first inning, the senior centerfielder has reached base 11 times in 18 games (six hits, five walks) for an on-base percentage of .611. Eight of those times that he has reached base, he has come around to score.

The Bears are 8-3 in games when Durbin gets on base to start the first inning, and 6-2 in games in which he comes around to score.

Smith Nears Another Milestone
Friday's game against Texas Tech will mark head coach Steve Smith's 500th game at the helm of the Bears. Earlier this season, Smith earned his 300th career win (Feb. 9 at Arizona, an 11-9, 11-inning victory). Now in his ninth season at the helm of the Bears, Smith holds a career-record of 312-185-1, all at Baylor.

Smith leads all Baylor coaches in career winning percentage (.628), and he trails only Baylor legend Mickey Sullivan among Bears' head coaches in total wins. Sullivan, whom Smith replaced in 1995, compiled a 649-428 record while helming the Bears from 1974-1994.

Bears Best in the Big 12
Over the past five years, the Bears have the best conference record of any team in the Big 12 Conference at 91-47 (.659). Included in those five seasons are one Big 12 championship (2000) and a pair of runner-up finishes (1998, 1999).

Since the start of the Big 12 Conference prior to the 1997 season, Baylor leads all conference schools in both first team All-Big 12 selections (18) and in first team Academic All-Big 12 selections (30).

White Moving Up the Charts
Senior starter Steven White has put his name into the Baylor recordbooks, ranking among the top 10 in multiple career records. White is within reach of setting a new school record for career starts; he is currently in third place with 46 career starts, four shy of Josh Scott's record of 50.

White is also fifth in career strikeouts with 230, tied for sixth with 21 career wins and ninth in career innings pitched (275.1).

Durbin's Bat Rewriting Baylor Recordbook
Senior Chris Durbin continues to make his mark on the Baylor recordbook. Durbin's career average of .348 ranks fourth all-time in program history. The centerfielder is also within two doubles of the school's career doubles record (64, Eric Nelson, 1996-99).

Durbin already holds the school single-season doubles record, having pounded out 25 two-base hits in both 2001 and 2002. On the Baylor career charts, Durbin ranks among the top 10 in average (4th), runs (4th), extra-base hits (4th), hits (6th), slugging percentage (6th), total bases (6th), home runs (8th) and RBI (10th).

Bears' Schedule Toughest in Nation
Baylor's 2003 schedule is the toughest in the nation, according to a statistical measure produced at the start of the season at BoydsWorld.com and based on teams' 2002 records.

Nine of the Bears' 2002 opponents qualified for the NCAA Tournament a year ago: Houston, Long Beach State, Louisiana-Lafayette, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Rice, Southern California, Texas and Texas Tech. Of those, Nebraska, Rice and Texas each advanced to the College World Series last year, with the Longhorns coming away as national champions.

Durbin Named Player of the Week
Centerfielder Chris Durbin was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week (Feb. 17-23).

Durbin, a senior from Wylie, Texas, hit .588, slugged 1.176 and reached base at a .650 clip as the Bears went 4-0 on the week, including a weekend sweep of No. 7 Southern California. Durbin scored eight times in four games and drove in five runs, including knocking home the winning run in three of the four games.

The award marks the first time Durbin has been named Big 12 Player of the Week. The senior centerfielder was also named CollegeBaseballInsider.com's West Region Player of the Week.

Baylor-Missouri Game Picked For TV
The Baylor-Missouri game on April 19 has been picked as one of five games to air on Fox Sports Net as part of the Big 12 Conference television package.

The other four games to be aired are Nebraska at Oklahoma (March 29), Kansas State at Texas (April 26), Texas A&M at Texas (May 17) and the Phillips 66 Big 12 Tournament Championship Game (May 25). All four games will be aired regionally by Fox Sports Net's Southwest, Rocky Mountain and Midwest affiliates.

The April 19 game vs. Missouri, set for 3 p.m., will be the Bears' 20th televised game since 1988; Baylor is 9-10 on TV during that time. Baylor will also likely have at least one more televised game as part of the Lone Star Series; any additional televised dates will be announced at a later date.

Six Bears Named All-Tournament in Houston
Six Bears were named to the 2003 Minute Maid Park College Classic All-Tournament Team, led by Most Outstanding Player Michael Griffin. The sophomore left fielder hit .517 in three games with a double, a triple, a home run, four runs scored and 4 RBI. Griffin became the third Bear in three years to be named tournament MVP at the Astros' classic, following Kelly Shoppach (2001) and Tim Hartshorn (2002).

Joining Griffin on the all-tournament team were Josh Ford (C), Paul Witt (2B), Trey Webb (SS), Chris Durbin (OF) and David Murphy (OF).

Webb Snares Top Honor
Baseball America named junior shortstop Trey Webb the top defender among this year's draft-eligible collegiate players.

The publication noted that "While he's relatively small at 5-foot-11 and 160 pounds, SS Trey Webb is the hands-down choice as the top college defender at a premium position. He has soft hands, good range and enough arm strength to be a legitimate shortstop in pro ball."

Griffin's Six Hits Set Record
Sophomore Michael Griffin went 6-for-6 Feb. 9 at Arizona, setting a new school record for hits in a game. Griffin broke the previous record of five hits, which had been accomplished 18 times, including once last season by teammate Trey Webb.

Griffin knocked out five singles and a home run in the Bears' 11-9, 11-inning win over the Wildcats and tied his career-high with six RBI.

Baylor Home Attendance Ranked
The Baylor baseball program finished the 2002 season 15th in the nation in average home attendance, according to numbers released by the NCAA.

In 31 home dates, 89,343 fans came through the turnstiles at Baylor Ballpark, an average of 2,882 fans per game. The 2002 average was the best in program history, while the total attendance was third-best in Baylor's nearly 100 years of baseball. The Bears' total home attendance was the 18th highest total in the nation for 2002.

Baylor has ranked among the top 20 programs in the nation in average and total attendance each year since moving into Baylor Ballpark, with program-best rankings of ninth in average attendance and 13th in total attendance set in 2001.

Baylor and USA Baseball
Last fall, USA Baseball named Baylor the 26th-best program in the nation at providing players for the USA National Team.

Five Bears have played a total of six seasons wearing the Red, White and Blue: Pat Combs (1988), Jason Jennings (1997-98), Bryan Loeb (1998), Jon Topolski (1998) and Zane Carlson (2000).

Stanford, Miami, Cal State Fullerton, Southern California and Florida State were recognized as the top five programs based on their contributions to USA Baseball from 1984-2002.

Preseason Projections
Juniors David Murphy and Trey Webb were each dubbed preseason all-conference selections. Baseball America named both Bears to their preseason all-Big 12 team, while the Dallas Morning News named Webb a first-team shortstop and Murphy a second-team outfielder.

Freshman pitcher Mark McCormick was also recognized by each publication. The rookie earned preseason Big 12 Freshman of the Year recognition from Baseball America and was named to the Dallas Morning News' list of 10 Big 12 Newcomers to Watch.

The Dallas Morning News, Baseball America, Collegiate Baseball, Sports Weekly/ESPN and even a survey of Big 12 coaches each named Baylor the No. 2 team in the Big 12 for 2003, behind only defending national champion Texas.

Draft Dodgers
Seven members of the 2003 Baylor squad have turned down opportunities to enter the world of pro ball in order to join up with the Bears:

Team            Year    Round   TeamTrey Taylor        2001    2nd     Colorado RockiesMark McCormick      2002    11th    Baltimore OriolesSteven White      2002    18th    Milwaukee BrewersRoss Bennett      1998    42nd    Montreal ExposJared Theodorakos    2002    49th    Colorado RockiesDavid Murphy      2000    50th    Anaheim AngelsKyle Reynolds        2002    50th    Arizona Diamondbacks

Baylor Developing Pro Prospects
Baseball America/Perfect Game recently recognized Baylor as one of the top programs in the nation at producing top professional prospects.

In BA/PG's list of the Top 100 Professional Prospects for in College Baseball for the 2003 and 2004 drafts, Baylor was one of only six schools in the nation to have three or more prospects listed among the Top 100 in both 2003 and 2004. (The others: Arizona State, Rice, Stanford, Texas and Southern California).

Baseball America Preseason Honors
In its annual preseason publication, Baseball America awarded a number of honors to Baylor players. Included among those:

* Chris Durbin: Best Outfield Arm in the Big 12
* Mark McCormick: Big 12 Freshman of the Year, Big 12 Top Newcomer, No. 2 fastball in the Big 12
* David Murphy: Preseason All-Big 12, No. 3 Pure Hitter in the Big 12
* Trey Webb: Preseason All-Big 12, Best Defensive Shortstop in the Big 12, Best Infield Arm in the Big 12

It's In Their Blood
As might be expected, a number of this year's Bears have sports -- baseball or otherwise -- in their blood. Notable examples:

Freshman infielder Kyle Reynolds' father Craig played fifteen seasons in the major leagues (1975-1989), including 11 with the Houston Astros. Craig was selected for the 1978 and 1979 All-Star Games.

Redshirt sophomore Reid Brees' brother Drew became a household name among college football fans when he finished third in the 2000 Heisman voting while at Purdue. Drew is now the starting quarterback for the San Diego Chargers.

Freshman Russell Reichenbach's uncle, Mickey Reichenbach, was named the 1975 College World Series MVP while a sophomore at Texas. A four-year lettermen for the Longhorns, Mickey hit .455 with three doubles and a home run to earn MVP honors.

Baylor Ballpark No. 3 Stadium in the Nation
Baylor Ballpark was named the No. 3 collegiate baseball park in the country in a nationwide survey of college coaches released by Baseball America in January.

In voting by the nation's coaches, Baylor Ballpark placed third, just behind Auburn's Plainsman Park and Arkansas' Baum Stadium. Nebraska's Haymarket Park and LSU's Alex Box Stadium rounded out the top five.

College media relations contacts were also asked to vote on their favorite stadiums. Baylor Ballpark finished fourth in that survey, behind Auburn, Mississippi State's Dudy Noble Field and Arkansas.

The survey asked coaches and media relations contacts to rank their top 10 parks based on aesthetics, facilities (dugout, locker rooms, extra cages/bullpens, etc.), fan amenities, playing conditions and tradition.

Baylor Alums in the Pros
19 former Bears will begin the 2003 season at some level of professional ball. Leading the way are former first-round picks Jason Jennings and Kip Wells, who are leading members of the rotations for the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Pirates, respectively.

In 2002, Jennings won National League Rookie of the Year honors after going 16-8 with a 4.52 ERA (see above note). Wells, meanwhile, was honored as the Houston-Area Major League Pitcher of the Year.

For a complete list of Baylor alums in the pros, see the sidebar on page seven of these notes.

Baylor's Jennings 2002 NL Rookie of the Year
Baylor alum and current Colorado pitcher Jason Jennings was named the 2002 National League Rookie of the Year, as voted on by a panel of the Baseball Writers' Association of America

The 24-year-old Jennings went 16-8 with a 4.52 ERA and became the first Colorado player to win the award. He got 27 first place votes and five seconds for 150 points in voting by the BBWAA.

The award came as no surprise to Baylor fans, who saw Jennings named consensus National Collegiate Player of the Year after compiling a 13-2 record, 2.58 ERA and 172 strikeouts in 146.2 innings as a junior in 1999. Jennings also served as the Bears' DH, hitting .386 with 17 home runs and 68 RBI that season. Following his outstanding year, Jennings was drafted in the first round (16th overall pick) by the Rockies.

A three-year starter, Jennings holds Baylor records for wins in a season (13), innings pitched in a season (146.2) and strikeouts in a season (172) and in a career (377). He is second in career wins (27) and career saves (13), third in career home runs (39) and fourth in career batting average (.344).

Head Coach Steve Smith
Head coach Steve Smith is in his ninth season as head coach at Baylor in 2003; in that time, he has compiled a 312-185-1 record. Smith led the Bears to their first-ever 50 win season in 1999 and a Big 12 Championship in 2000, and has piloted the team to five straight NCAA appearances. Through the 2002 season, Smith ranked 39th among active coaches in winning percentage with a .623 mark.

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 in 1982-1983, Smith led the Southwest Conference with a 1.72 ERA as a junior, bettering league foes and future major leaguers Norm Charlton, Roger Clemens, Doug Drabek and Calvin Schiraldi.

An accomplished pitching coach, Smith has tutored six pitchers in the last 11 years who were selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. He has also had at least one pitcher named to the all-conference first team in each of the last 11 years.

In Smith's eight full seasons as head coach, the Bears have produced three first-round draft picks, nine all-Americans, five Academic All-Americans, one National Player of the Year, one GTE/CoSIDA Academic all-American of the Year, 22 first-team all-conference performers, seven freshman all-Americans, and three conference players of the year. Baylor has also placed 30 players on the Academic All-Big 12 first team in the past six seasons, a number that leads the Big 12.

O Captain, My Captain
Senior Jared Theodorakos and junior David Murphy have been selected by their teammates as team captains for the 2003 season.

Baylor on the Air
Catch every inning of Baylor baseball in 2003 on the flagship station for Baylor athletics, News/Talk Radio KRZI 1660/1580-AM.

Tom Barfield and Lark Smith begin their first season together as the primary play-by-play and color men for Baylor baseball. Barfield, the operations manager for KRZI/KRZX and KLRK-FM in Waco, is best known as co-host of the afternoon "You Make the Call" call-in show. Barfield saw his first action calling Baylor baseball last season, when he and Smith called the Bears' sweep of Southern California at Dodger Stadium.

Smith, whose attachment to Baylor baseball dates back to the days of coach Dutch Schroeder, was Sports Director for the Baylor campus radio station in the late 1970s and served as play-by-play voice for the Bears' 1977 and 1978 College World Series teams. After nearly two decades in broadcasting, Smith now works for the Heart O'Texas Federal Credit Union in Waco.

All Baylor Baseball games in 2003 will be available on the internet at www.BaylorBears.com. BU baseball is also a staple of the daily "Baylor SportsBeat" hosted by Morris and airing weekdays at 7:25am and 5:25pm on KRZI 1660/1580-AM.

Inside Baylor Sports
"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.

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 College Sports Network. OCSN currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including eight Big 12 schools.

Live scoring updates are available on BaylorBears.com for all Baylor baseball home games and most road games.

Baseball Preview: Baylor vs. Houston

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