Baseball Hosts Hot Vanderbilt
3/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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BAYLOR (4-11)
vs.
VANDERBILT (11-1)
6 p.m. CST * Friday, March 12
3 p.m. CST * Saturday, March 13
1 p.m. CST * Sunday, March 14
Baylor Ballpark
Waco, Texas
Baylor plays its final non-conference series of the season this weekend, hosting Vanderbilt of the Southeastern Conference for a three-game set at Baylor Ballpark. Friday's first game starts at 6 p.m., followed by a 3 p.m. start Saturday and a 1 p.m. series finale Sunday. The Bears (4-11) have dropped six straight and 10 of their last 11, including a 5-1 decision Tuesday night at Texas-Arlington. Vanderbilt (11-1) has won three straight and is off to its best start since 1998. The Commodores are ranked 29th in this week's Collegiate Baseball Top 30. Live streaming video for this weekend's series is available at www.BaylorBears.com. All Baylor baseball games are carried via radio in Central Texas on KRZI 1660/1580 AM. GameTracker also is available for all home games and most road games, including Tuesday's contest, at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the Official College Sports Network.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, March 12
BU RHP Mark McCormick (0-2, 4.50)
VU LHP Jeremy Sowers (3-0, 0.86)
Saturday, March 13
BU LHP Trey Taylor (2-2, 3.75)
VU RHP Jensen Lewis (2-0, 3.00)
Sunday, March 14
BU RHP Sean Walker (0-2, 2.25)
VU LHP Ryan Mullins (2-0, 1.66)
QUICK NOTES
* Baylor and Vanderbilt meet for just the second, third and fourth times this weekend. The Bears won the only previous meeting 10-4 Feb. 19, 1999 at the Houston Invitational.
* Head coach Steve Smith enters the weekend three wins shy of career victory No. 350.
* 3B Michael Griffin has hit safely in 11 of 14 games this season. He has not gone hitless in consecutive games.
* Baylor is 2-7 this season in one-run games, losing seven straight such games.
* Going 1-for-3 Tuesday at Texas-Arlington, LF Mike Heldoorn has reached base safely in eight consecutive games.
* RF Mike Pankratz saw his career-long five-game hitting streak end Tuesday at Texas-Arlington.
* Ironically, the Bears are 1-6 this season when not committing an error.
* Baylor's 1-0 loss to UC Irvine Sunday snapped a streak of 77 games without being shutout, dating back to a 2-0 loss June 2, 2002 at Texas (Regional Championship Game). It also marked the first time Baylor had been shutout at home since Cal State Fullerton blanked the Bears 5-0 Feb. 11, 2001, snapping a 99-game streak.
* RHP Zane Carlson needs one save to move into a tie for sixth on the NCAA all-time career saves list. He needs two saves to move into a fifth-place tie.
* Baylor dropped out of the national rankings this week for the first time since May 27, 2002 rankings, ending a streak of 26 consecutive weeks being ranked. Tuesday was Baylor's first regular-season game as an unranked opponent since Feb. 21, 1999, an 8-2 victory over then-No. 24 Houston.
THE VANDERBILT SERIES
The Baylor-Vanderbilt series is a short one: Baylor won the only previous meeting 10-4 at the 1999 Houston Invitational. In that game, the Bears pounded 18 hits. Mark Cogdill led the way, going 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI. Vanderbilt's starting pitcher in that game was Mark Prior, who transferred to Southern California at season's end and was later the No. 1 overall pick in Major League Baseball's Amateur Draft. Baylor touched Prior, who is now the ace of the Chicago Cubs' pitching staff, for five runs on eight hits in 4.1 innings.
THE VANDERBILT COMMODORES
Vanderbilt (11-1) is in its second season under the direction of head coach Tim Corbin, a former assistant under Jack Leggett at Clemson. In one-plus seasons at Vanderbilt, Corbin has amassed a 38-29 record after going 27-28 in 2003. Prior to his nine-year stint at Clemson, Corbin served as head coach at Presbyterian College for six seasons. Corbin also served as an assistant for Mike Gillespie for Team USA in 2000.
Vandy Notes: The Commodores are off to their best start since 1998 and have won three straight. Vanderbilt is ranked 29th in this week's Collegiate Baseball Top 30. ... Vandy hits .367 as a team with 12 home runs and 33 stolen bases in 39 attempts. The Commodores average 9.3 runs per game, having scored 10 or more runs five times in 12 games. 2B Warner Jones (.511, 4 HR, 27 RBI) has been on fire, leading the Commodores in all three Triple Crown categories, hits (24), doubles (8), slugging percentage (.936) and on base percentage (.547). Jones is one of four Vanderbilt sluggers hitting .400 or better this season. Eight of Vandy's nine regular starters hit .300 or better. ... Pitching has not been much of a problem for the Commodores, either, with a 2.72 staff ERA, three shutouts and 113 strikeouts in 109.0 innings. Opponents hit a paltry .204 off Vanderbilt pitching. LHP Jeremy Sowers (3-0, 0.86 ERA) gets the nod Friday. He has lived up to the preseason hype as the nation's top southpaw and figures to be a first-round pick for the second time (20th overall by Cincinnati out of high school). Sowers has 23 strikeouts against only two walks and 10 hits allowed in 21.0 innings of works; opponents hit .141 against the Louisville, Ky., native. RHP Jensen Lewis (2-0, 3.00) starts Saturday. He has 19 strikeouts against three walks and 15 hits allowed in 18.0 innings; opponents hit .234 against Lewis. Vanderbilt sends another southpaw to the bump Sunday in Ryan Mullins (2-0, 1.66). He has tallied 24 strikeouts against two walks and 15 hits allowed in 21.2 innings with an opponents' batting average of .197. All three pitchers make their fourth starts this weekend. RHP Ryan Rote (1-0, 0.00) serves as the team's closer with two saves. He has 10 strikeouts against two walks and three hits allowed in 6.0 innings, all relief. ... Three Commodores hail from the Lone Star State. Freshman RHP Ty Davis and freshman OF Aaron Garza prepped at Austin-Westlake High School, while freshman RHP/IF Graham Godfrey prepped at Houston-Memorial High School. Davis and Garza were high school teammates with Baylor OF Reid Brees as freshmen.
RANKINGS STREAK ENDS
Baylor dropped out of the national rankings this week for the first time since May 27, 2002 rankings, ending a streak of 26 consecutive weeks being ranked. Tuesday is Baylor's first regular-season game as an unranked opponent since Feb. 21, 1999, an 8-2 victory over then-No. 24 Houston. The Bears had appeared in the national rankings during 102 of the previous 103 weeks and during each of the past 82 regular-season weeks. However, falling out of the rankings could be a good omen. After dropping out in mid-February of 1999, the Bears won 12 straight, quickly climbed back into the rankings, never again lost more than two straight and reached its first Super Regional. Baylor finished 50-15 that year, setting the school record for wins in a season, reached as high as seventh nationally and finished the year ranked eighth.
SMITH NEARS ANOTHER MILESTONE
Baylor head coach Steve Smith is three wins away from victory No. 350 in his collegiate career, all coming at Baylor. Now in his 10th season at the helm of the Baylor program, Smith is 347-214-1.
CARDIAC KIDS
Nine of Baylor's first 15 games have been one-run affairs; the Bears are 2-7 in such contests and have lost seven straight. Last season, Baylor played 16 one run games, posting a 9-7 mark in such contests. Baylor has played 147 one-run games during head coach Steve Smith's tenure, going 80-67 in such contests. The 2002 season saw the most one-run games in that time as the Bears went 11-11. Baylor's best record in one-run games during Smith's time at Baylor was his first season, 1995, when the Bears went 12-4. In 2000, Baylor was 10-5 in one-run games, winning each of their last seven.
BEARS OPPONENTS DOING JUST FINE, THANK YOU
Baylor's 4-11 record is quite deceiving, considering the Bears have played arguably the nation's toughest schedule through the first month-plus-one-week of the 2004 season. The Bears' first seven opponents have a combined record of 65-39-2 this season, three are ranked nationally (No. 9 Long Beach State, No. 18 UC Irvine and No. 19 Arizona), and another (Loyola Marymount) is receiving votes in the writers' poll. Only one of Baylor's 2004 opponents - Houston (5-10) - has a sub-.500 record, and the Cougars have played 14 consecutive ranked opponents. Texas-San Antonio (8-6) pounded 11th-ranked Notre Dame 19-7 Sunday, and Texas-Arlington (9-6) has won five straight and is 3-0 this season against the Big 12.
GRIFFIN MOVES UP CAREER CHARTS
3B Michael Griffin's solo home run last Friday was the 77th extra-base hit of his career. Griffin moved into a ninth-place tie on Baylor's career chart with David Murphy, who had 77 extra-base hits from 2001 to 2003. Griffin also has 12 career triples, one shy of matching Kyle Todd (1984-1985), Mike Robison (1988-1991) and Mike Bohny (1991-1994) for eighth in Baylor history.
CARLSON EYES NCAA SAVES MARK
With two saves in the Loyola Marymount series, senior RHP Zane Carlson needs 14 saves to break the NCAA Division I career record. The nation's active career saves leader starting the year, Carlson has 36 during his four-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. Carlson needs one save to move into a sixth-place tie on the all-time NCAA list and two saves to move into a fifth-place tie.
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).
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 to start the 2004 campaign, according to the 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.
GRIFFIN DONS RED, WHITE & BLUE
Baylor sophomore Michael Griffin made the final cut for the 2003 USA Baseball National Team; he and 19 other top collegiate players represented the United States this summer at the 2003 Pan-American Games. Griffin is the fifth Baylor player to make the USA National Team, joining Pat Combs (1988), Jason Jennings (1997 and 1998), Jon Topolski (1998) and Zane Carlson (2000). Additionally, head coach Steve Smith was an assistant coach for the 1998 team. Bears Bryan Loeb (1998) and Kelly Shoppach (2000) were each invited to the USA trials but did not make the final cut. The USA National Team was selected from a pool of 36 players that completed a four-day trials process Friday at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, Ariz. For a full detailed roster and a schedule of all games, log on to www.usabaseball.com. The 2003 USA Baseball National Team will represent the United States this summer in the Pan Am Games, August 2-12 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
HEAD COACH Steve Smith
Head coach Steve Smith is in his 10th season as head coach at Baylor; in that time, he has compiled a 347-210-1 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 six straight NCAA appearances. His Bears have the best conference record in the Big 12 since the league began and are the only Big 12 team to have appeared in each of the past six NCAA tournaments. Through the 2003 season, Smith ranked 37th nationally among active coaches in winning percentage with a .628 mark, fourth among Big 12 coaches. 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. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 1983 Major League draft by the San Francisco Giants and played four years of pro ball before moving into the coaching ranks. An accomplished pitching coach, Smith has tutored six pitchers in the last 12 years who were selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. He also had at least one pitcher named to the all-conference first team for 11 straight years (1992-2002). In Smith's nine seasons as head coach, the Bears have produced four first-round draft picks, 10 all-Americans, six Academic All-Americans, one National Player of the Year, one GTE/CoSIDA Academic all-American of the Year, 25 first-team all-conference performers, nine freshman all-Americans, and three conference players of the year. Baylor has also placed 35 players on the Academic all-Big 12 first team in the past seven seasons, a number that leads the Big 12.
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.
STREAMING VIDEO AVAILABLE FOR SELECT GAMES
Live streaming video is available for select games during the 2004 season. In all, live streaming video of 26 Baylor games during will be available through an Internet webcast package with New Media Networks. Eighteen of the 26 webcasts will be against Big 12 Conference opponents, including the Bears' series at Oklahoma and at Kansas State, along with home games against Nebraska, Texas and Texas A&M. Fans may purchase the games for $5.95 per game ($154.70 if each of the 26 games were purchased individually), $8.95 for a series ($89.45 for every series and three single games) or $39.95 for the entire season. The video and audio for each game will be provided by the home team. Visit http://BaylorBears.nmnathletics.com for access to streaming video. For a list of selected games, visit www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the Official College Sports Network.
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 are in their second 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 hosts Texas State for a 6 p.m. game Tuesday at Baylor Ballpark. This is the final tune up for the Bears before beginning Big 12 Conference play next weekend against Texas A&M.
