Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
BAYLOR
at
No. 4 OKLAHOMA
Noon CST * March 29, 2003
Noon CST * March 30, 2003
OU Softball Complex
Norman, Okla.
Radio: KRZI 1660/1580 AM (Saturday)
Live Audio: www.BaylorBears.com (Saturday)
Live Stats: None
Baylor continues its toughest stretch of the 2003 schedule this weekend, traveling to Norman, Okla., for a two-game series against fourth-ranked Oklahoma. The Lady Bears and the Sooners meet for single games Saturday and Sunday, both at noon CST. This is the third consecutive nationally ranked opponent for the Lady Bears with eight straight games against ranked competition. Baylor (24-14, 0-3) dropped a 6-1 decision Wednesday at No. 5 Texas. Oklahoma (28-5, 4-2) split a doubleheader with Missouri at home Wednesday. Saturday's game will be broadcast live on KRZI 1660/1580 AM. Live audio for Saturday's game will be available online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the Official College Sports Network.
QUICK NOTES
* Baylor and Oklahoma meet for the 25th and 26th times this weekend. Oklahoma holds a 22-2 advantage in the all-time series, 8-0 in games played at Norman.
* This weekend's two games at No. 4 Oklahoma are the fourth and fifth games in a stretch of eight consecutive games against nationally ranked opponents for Baylor.
* Kelly Osburn and Kim Wilmoth combine to lead the Big 12 Conference in seven of 12 offensive statistical categories.
* Osburn leads the Big 12 Conference and ranks second nationally with 33 walks. She also leads the conference in batting average, runs, on base percentage and slugging percentage.
* Wilmoth is tied for the conference lead in hits and leads out-right in stolen bases. Five of the top six stolen base leaders in the conference are Lady Bears.
* Osburn, who earlier this season had a school-record 14-game hitting streak, had her school-record streak of 30 consecutive games reached base snapped Wednesday night at Texas. She has reached base in 36 of 38 games this season.
* Baylor is 45-1 over the past two seasons when scoring at least four runs.
* Baylor is 33-3 over the past two seasons when collecting at least eight hits.
* Baylor is 57-6 over the past two seasons when out-hitting its opponent.
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. Earlier this season, Moore claimed his 100th victory as Baylor's head coach with the Lady Bears 3-0 triumph against Texas Tech. He is now 108-54 (.667) in three seasons at Baylor. Moore has a career record of 247-96 (.720); he posted a 22-17 mark in his first year as a collegiate head coach at William Carey in Mississippi. Moore is 225-77 (.745) at the Division I level.
BAYLOR IN TOUGHEST STRETCH OF SEASON
Baylor is in the midst of its toughest stretch of the season, playing eight consecutive games against nationally ranked opponents. The Lady Bears have already played two games against 16th-ranked Oklahoma State and one game against No. 5 Texas. After this weekend's two-game series at No. 4 Oklahoma, Baylor plays hosts 20th-ranked Texas A&M for one game and No. 7 Nebraska for two games. Of Baylor's final 26 regular-season games, 14 are against teams ranked or receiving votes in one of the two national polls.
ROAD WOES
Baylor has struggled away from the friendly confines of Getterman Stadium this season. The Lady Bears are 14-2 at home and 10-12 away from Waco, including a 1-5 mark on opponents' home fields. Baylor hits .344 at home as compared to .288 in neutral games and .159 in away games. The Lady Bears' pitching staff boasts a 1.27 ERA at home and an even better 0.84 mark in neutral games. However, the team ERA balloons to 5.40 on opponents' home fields. While the Lady Bears hit for a higher average at home, 15 of Baylor's 22 home runs have come away from Getterman Stadium.
THE OKLAHOMA SERIES
Baylor and Oklahoma meet for the 25th and 26th times this weekend with the Sooners holding a commanding 22-2 advantage in the all-time series. Oklahoma has won 19 straight against Baylor, dating back to the 1997 season. The Lady Bears' last victory over the Sooners was in 1988, the final year of the orginal Baylor program. Baylor has failed to win at Norman in eight tries. The Sooners won both games of a two-game series last season at Norman, 5-1 in 10 innings and 2-0. In Baylor's last trip to Norman (2001), the Sooners won by scores of 16-0 (five innings) and 7-1.
THE OKLAHOMA SOONERS
Oklahoma (28-5, 4-2) is in its 10th season under the direction of Patty Gasso, who has a 430-131 record while at Norman. Prior to taking over at OU, Gasso spent four seasons as head coach at Long Beach City College. She has a career record of 592-190.
OU Notes: The Sooners are ranked fourth in both the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and the ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 this week. ... Oklahoma is 21-2 in its last 23 games; that run started with an 18-game winning streak. ... OU hits .292 as a team, third in the Big 12, with 31 home runs and 33 stolen bases in 54 attempts. The Sooners have committed 28 errors in 33 games for a .971 team fielding percentage. Oklahoma's pitching staff has a 1.49 ERA with 17 complete games and 13 shutouts; opponents hit .197 against OU pitching. ... Senior IF Leah Gulla (.386, 7, 35) ranks second in the Big 12 in hitting, while senior SS Kelli Braitsch (.314, 8, 28) is tied for second in the conference in home runs. Senior OF Erin Evans (.350, 3, 12) is the Sooners' top stolen base threat with eight swipes in 12 tries. ... Sophomore LHP Kami Keiter (18-2, 0.82) has been a dominant ace this season after stepping into the role this season after the graduation of all-American Jennifer Stewart. Keiter has 14 complete games, eight shutouts and 130 strikeouts in 136.1 innings; she holds opponents to a .176 average. Freshman LHP Dana Askins (6-3, 1.68) is the Sooners' second option; she has made eight starts with one complete game and 58.1 innings of work. ... Freshman OF Lori Shimasaki shares the same hometown (Edmond, Okla.) as Baylor senior RHP Joni Miller. Shimasaki prepped at Deer Creek HS; Miller prepped at Memorial HS. Freshman RHP Nicole Denes is the lone Texan on the Sooners' roster; she is a product of Coppell HS.
LAST MEETING ... OKLAHOMA 2, BAYLOR 0 - APRIL 28, 2002
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. Oklahoma joined Texas as the only Big 12 teams to sweep Baylor in 2002, sending the Lady Bears to a third consecutive loss for the first time on the season. 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.
LAST TIME OUT ... No. 5 TEXAS 6, BAYLOR 1
Fifth-ranked Texas scored six second-inning runs and Catherine Osterman struck out 11 as the Longhorns defeated Baylor Wednesday night. Sarah Wieszczak's one-out RBI triple got things started for Texas in the second as the Longhorns batted around in the frame. After an Amber Hall walk, Marlo Hanks blasted the first of two doubles on the night, scoring Wieszczak and Hall. Two walks later Lindsay Garnder bounced a two-run single through the left side, and Tina Boutelle then swiped home. Baylor made use of two Texas errors in the top of the third to scratch the scoreboard. April Luce reached on an Osterman throwing error to lead off the inning and advanced to second on the overthrow. A Stacey Hundley sacrifice pushed Luce to third. Kim WIlmoth then reached on a fielding error by Texas third baseman Wynter Turner, and Luce scored on the play. Other than the second inning, Texas' bats were, for the most part, kept at bay. The Longhorns got four of their six hits in the second and managed just three base runners in the last four innings. Cristin Vitek started and took the loss for Baylor. The sophomore southpaw lasted just 1.1 innings and allowed four runs on three hits and a walk with one strikeout. Katie Decker pitched the final 4.2 innings and was touched for two runs on three hits and three walks with a season-high tying five strikeouts.
BIG 12 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Despite getting only six hits in its last three games, Baylor ranks second in the Big 12 Conference in batting average, according to the March 27 statistical rankings. The Lady Bears' .293 aveage is just ahead of third-place Oklahoma (.292) and trails only Nebraska (.305). Baylor also leads the conference in runs (169), triples (10), stolen bases (87) and sacrifice hits (43). ... Baylor ranks fourth in the conference in fielding percentage at .968. ... The Lady Bears' pitching staff ranks seventh in ERA (1.94), third in strikeouts (223), tied for fourth in shutouts (9) and fifth in opponents' batting average (.210).
OSBURN, WILMOTH DOMINATE BIG 12 STATS
It is difficult to find an offensive statistical category in the latest Big 12 Conference rankings (March 27) that does not have freshman OF/1B Kelly Osburn or sophomore SS/2B Kim Wilmoth listed in the top three. In fact, the two combine to lead the conference in seven of the 12 offensive statistical categories. ... Osburn is tops in the conference in batting average (.435), runs (30), walks (33), on base percentage (.598) and slugging percentage (.765). She is also seventh in hits (37), tied for fifth in home runs (7), second in stolen bases (14) and fifth in total bases (65). ... Wilmoth is tied with Texas Tech's Kelly Rhyne for the conference lead in hits (42), and Wilmoth leads the Big 12 in stolen bases (16). She is third in batting average (.365) and tied for fourth in triples (2).
OTHERS IN THE BIG 12 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
According to the March 27 Big 12 Conference statistical rankings, freshman OF/SS Harmony Schwethelm (.333) and senior OF/P Sarah Caudle (.327) rank 12th and 15th, respectively, in batting average. Caudle is also tied for ninth in hits (34), tied for ninth in home runs (6), third in RBI (29), tied for sixth in stolen bases (9), eighth in total bases (61) and tied for 10th in slugging percentage (.587). Schwethelm is tied for third in stolen bases (13). ... Junior OF Kelly Levesque is tied for the conference lead in triples (3) and tied for ninth in runs (22). Sophomore IF April Luce is tied for fourth in triples (2), and senior 2B Stacey Hundley is tied for fifth in stolen bases (9). ... Sophomore LHP Cristin Vitek (1.70, 12th), junior RHP Katie Decker (2.02, 16th) and senior RHP Joni Miller (2.38, 20th) all rank in the league's top 20 for ERA. Vitek is tied for eighth in wins (11), third in strikeouts (131), fourth in innings pitched (111.0), tied for third in appearances (23), tied for fourth in games started (16), tied for seventh in shutouts (3) and 10th in complete games (9). ... Vitek, Decker and Caudle are tied for fifth with one save each. Decker is tied for seventh in opponents' batting average (.194).
MILLER OUT INDEFINITELY
Senior RHP Joni Miller is out of action for an undetermined amount of time, head coach Glenn Moore announced last Monday. Miller, a two-time all-Big 12 Conference selection, has been battling nerve damage in her right (throwing) elbow since last August. The injury forced the Edmond, Okla., native to miss the entire fall practice season, and she has struggled to regain pre-injury form. In 13 appearances and 10 starts this season, Miller is 6-3 with a 2.38 ERA, more than double her ERA from 2002. Miller has four complete games and two shutouts with 38 strikeouts in 50.0 innings.
TEXAS JOINS DEPAUL IN KEEPING OSBURN OFF BASE
Texas became just the second team this season to keep freshman OF/1B Kelly Osburn off base Wednesday night. Osburn was 0-for-3 in three plate appearances, snapping her school-record streak of 30 consecutive games reached base. The only other team to keep Osburn off base this season was DePaul (Feb. 7). Ironically, pitchers for both teams (Catherine Osterman, Texas; Lindsey Chouinard, DePaul) were third-team all-Americans last season.
WALK THIS WAY
With at least 20 games remaining in the Lady Bears' schedule, freshman OF/1B Kelly Osburn has already broken Baylor's single-season walks record. The Missouri City, Texas, native leads the Big 12 Conference with 33 walks in just 38 games. Osburn claimed the record in her 34th game of the season. Bri Chambliss previously owned the record; she walked 31 times in 52 games during the 1997 season. Osburn is already eighth in Big 12 history, just nine walks shy of Casey Dickson's (Oklahoma, 1997) record of 41.
NEW SEASON, NEW STORY FOR WILMOTH
No Lady Bear has made more of a turnaround from last season than sophomore SS/2B Kim Wilmoth. After hitting just .216 with 25 errors last spring, Wilmoth is hitting .365 this year with only two errors in 116 chances (.983). She has also hit her first career home run, and she has increased her RBI total five-fold from last season (3 to 15). Wilmoth managed only three extra-base hits last year, all doubles. This season, she has seven extra-base knocks with four doubles, two triple and one home run.
PUT SOMEONE ON BASE, PLEASE
In stark contrast to last season, Baylor is hitting better with runners on base than with the bases empty in 2003. The Lady Bears are hitting .309 with runners on base, 28 points better than with the bases empty (.279). Skeptics would say this is because there are typically substantially more at bats with the bases empty, but this is not the case. Baylor batters have come to the plate 502 times with the bases empty and 440 times with runners on base. ... In 27 at bats with the bases loaded, Baylor is hitting .333 with four home runs. The Lady Bears lead the nation in grand slams; no other team has hit more than two.
IN SCORING POSITION IS EVEN BETTER
Baylor is hitting .315 as a team with runners in scoring position. Six Lady Bears with at least 20 at bats with runners in scoring position are hitting above .300 in such situations. Freshman SS/OF Harmony Schwethelm (.406, 13-for-32) leads the way, followed by freshman OF/1B Kelly Osburn leads the way at .400 (10-for-25), sophomore IF April Luce (.355, 11-for-31), sophomore SS/2B Kim Wilmoth (.333, 9-for-27), senior OF/P Sarah Caudle (.326, 14-43) and junior OF Kelly Levesque (.304, 7-for-23). ... Meanwhile, opposing batters are hitting just .217 with runners in scoring position.
LADY BEARS APPROACHING HOME RUN MARK
With at least 20 games remaining, Baylor stands just two home runs shy of matching the school record for home runs in a season. The Lady Bears smashed 24 home runs in 2001 in 60 games; this year's team has 22 homers in 35 games. Last season's total of 23 home runs ranks second in school history.
EXTRA-BASE POMES
Sophomore 3B/C Stephanie Pomes may be hitting .217 on the season, but she packs a lot of power into her hits. The Slidell, La., native has 13 hits this season and eight of them have been of the extra-base variety. Pomes has four doubles, one triple, and ranks third on the team with three home runs. She is also third on the team with 15 RBI and a .467 slugging percentage.
SENIOR CLASS MAKES MARK
With 135 career victories, the Class of 2003 ranks second in school history. Seniors Sarah Caudle, Stacey Hundley, Joni Miller and Nan Wilkins are in their fourth seasons with the Lady Bears, while Kourtny Westerfeld, who transferred to Baylor after one season at McLennan CC, is in her third year at Baylor. The Class of 2002 (Holly Fields and Kristen Lancaster) graduated as the winningest class with 141 victories.
HOME, SWEET HOME
Baylor is 14-2 at Getterman Stadium this season, a far contrast from the 10-11 mark the Lady Bears have posted in games away from Waco. Last season, Baylor was 25-6 at home and established 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. Since the beginning of the 2002 season, the Lady Bears are 39-8 (.830) at home. In three years under head coach Glenn Moore, Baylor is 54-14 (.794) at Getterman Stadium. The Lady Bears are 68-27 (.716) in the stadium's five-year existence.
WHO'S GOT GETTERMAN FEVER?
After shattering the school record for attendance last season, Baylor appears to be well on course to do the same again this season. Through nine home dates, Getterman Stadium has drawn 3,909 fans for an average of 434 per date. The Feb. 1 session of the 2003 Getterman Classic drew 683 fans, the third-largest attendance in the stadium's history. Baylor finished 13th nationally in total attendance for 2002 and 20th nationally in per-game attendance.
UP NEXT ...
Baylor returns home for a 6:30 p.m. game Wednedsay, April 2 against No. 19 Texas A&M. The Lady Bears and the Aggies split four games last season. Baylor won both regular-season meetings, but A&M defeated the Lady Bears twice at the Big 12 Tournament.
