Baseball Opens With Loyola Marymount
2/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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Games 1-3
#11 BAYLOR (0-0)
vs.
LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (1-0)
Feb. 13-15, 2004
Baylor Ballpark * Waco, Texas
Baylor opens its 2004 season this weekend, hosting Loyola Marymount for a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears (45-23 in 2003) are ranked 11th by Collegiate Baseball and in the coaches poll, 13th by Baseball America and 16th by the NCBWA. The Lions (1-0) opened their 2004 campaign Tuesday with a 5-4 victory at home against Cal-Riverside. LMU (26-30 in 2003) is not ranked in any of the four national polls. Baylor and LMU have never met on the diamond. All Baylor baseball games are carried in Central Texas on KRZI 1660/1580 AM. Live stats also are 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.
THE LOYOLA MARYMOUNT SERIES
Baylor and Loyola Marymount meet for the first time ever on the diamond this weekend. In fact, the Bears have never faced any member of the West Coast Conference in baseball.
THE LOYOLA MARYMOUNT LIONS
Loyola Marymount (1-0) is in its eighth season under the direction of head coach Frank Cruz, a 1983 Pepperdine graduate. Cruz has amassed a 198-210-1 career record, all coming at LMU. Prior to taking over the LMU reigns, Cruz was an assistant at Southern California.
LMU Notes: The Lions opened their 2004 season Tuesday with a 5-4 victory at home against Cal-Riverside. LMU was out-hit 10-5 in the game, but an RBI double off the bat of LF Matt White broke a 3-3 tie in the bottom of the eighth. White was a defensive replacement in the seventh. The Lions went on to load the bases, and C Jonathan Higashi drew a walk to plate White and the eventual winning run. ... Higashi was 2-for-4 with a run, two doubles and an RBI against Riverside. ... LMU was 26-30 in 2003, 8-18 in away games. ... The Lions hit .309 as a team in 2003 with 38 home runs and 88 stolen bases. Higashi (.349, 0 HR, 40 RBI in 2003) is the team's leading returning hitter and swiped 13 bases last year. 1B Jon Oller (.307, 13, 42) is the only returning Lion to hit 10-plus homers in 2003. ... LMU boasted a staff ERA of 5.45 last season. RHP Kyle Huddy and RHP Steve Kahn (Friday's scheduled starter) are the leading returners on the staff, each posting five wins in 2003. They were also the primary closers for the Lions in 2003, collecting four saves and six saves, respectively. ... LMU assistant coach Robbie Moen was an assistant at Kansas State from 1997 to 2000.
2004 SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST
Baylor's 2004 schedule ranks as the nation's 10th-toughest, according to the preseason schedule rankings released by BoydsWorld.com. The Bears' 2003 schedule was ranked first in the preseason rankings and was deemed the fifth-toughest by season's end. One component of schedule strength is the strength of one's opponents' schedules. Baylor plays 13 teams ranked the preseason top 30 in the strength of schedule rankings: Arizona (2nd), Cal-Irvine (4th), Texas (5th), Long Beach State (7th), Texas A&M (13th), Houston (14th), Oklahoma (19th), Rice (20th), Texas Tech (22nd), Oklahoma State (23rd), Texas State (25th), Loyola Marymount (26th) and Nebraska (28th).
CARLSON EYES NCAA SAVES MARK
Senior RHP Zane Carlson enters the 2004 with a legitimate chance to break the NCAA Division I career saves record. The nation's active career save leader starting the year, Carlson has 34 during his three-plus seasons at Baylor. Former Southern California closer Jack Krawczyk currently owns the record; he tallied 49 saves from 1995 to 1998. Carlson already owns the Baylor and Big 12 Conference records for career saves. As a freshman in 2000, he established Baylor's single-season saves record with 15, ironically also the school career mark at that time. On top of that, Carlson owns the Cape Cod League career saves record with 24.
BAYLOR AMONG ALL-TIME WINNINGEST PROGRAMS
With 1,780 all-time wins in 102 seasons of collegiate baseball, Baylor ranks 39th nationally in total victories, according to the 2004 NCAA Baseball Records Book. Baylor is sixth in the Big 12, trailing Texas (2nd/2,760); Texas A&M (19th/2,094); Oklahoma State (22nd/2,057); Oklahoma (26th/2,006); and Missouri (36th/1,834). Fordham, which first fielded a team in the 1850s, leads all schools with 3,174 victories in 145 seasons. Baylor also ranks 23rd nationally in total victories through the first four seasons of the 21st century with 163. That ranks third in the Big 12 behind Nebraska (5th/195) and Texas (7th/189).
BEARS BEST IN THE BIG 12
At the start of the 2004 season, Baylor has the best conference record of any team in the Big 12 Conference since the league's start in 1997. At 124-71 (.636), the Bears are ahead of Texas Tech (120-77-1, .609). Included in the first seven seasons for Baylor are one Big 12 championship (2000) and a pair of runner-up finishes (1998, 1999). On top of that, Baylor is the only Big 12 Conference school to have ranked in the top 10 nationally during each of the past six seasons (1998-2003). Including the 2003 totals, Baylor leads all conference schools in Big 12 history in both first-team all-Big 12 selections (21) and in first-team Academic all-Big 12 selections (35).
BAYLOR 11th IN ATTENDANCE
The Baylor baseball program finished the 2003 season 11th nationally in average home attendance, according to numbers released by the NCAA. In 28 home dates, 85,620 fans came through the turnstiles at Baylor Ballpark, an average of 3,057 fans per game. The 2003 average set a school record for the fifth straight season; the Bears' average attendance has improved each season since the team moved into Baylor Ballpark in 1999. The Bears' average ranked 11th in the country and was fourth-best in the Big 12 Conference, behind Texas (third), Texas A&M (fifth) and Nebraska (sixth). The Bears' total home attendance was the 20th highest total in the nation for 2003, despite the fact that the team's 28 home dates tied Wichita State and Arkansas for the fewest home games among teams ranked in the top 30 in total attendance. Baylor has ranked among the top 25 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 BALLPARK NO. 3 STADIUM IN AMERICA
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 Ballpark also was featured as the January Stadium of the Month in Baseball America's 2004 Great Parks Calendar. The Bears' home was the only collegiate park featured in the calendar.
FAMILY CONNECTIONS
Several members of the Baylor baseball team, as well as members of the coaching and support staffs, have family members who have played a role in the sports world:
* 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.
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 four Big 12 schools.
BAYLOR BASEBALL RADIO NETWORK
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 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 returns to action Tuesday, hosting Texas-San Antonio for a 6 p.m. game at Baylor Ballpark.
