Theo's Back: Baylor Hosts Texas State

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BAYLOR (5-13)
vs.
TEXAS STATE (10-9)

6:00 p.m. CST
March 16, 2004
Baylor Ballpark
Waco, Texas

Baylor hosts Texas State for a 6 p.m. contest Tuesday at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears (5-13) dropped two of three to Vanderbilt at home over the weekend. The Bobcats (10-9) snapped a six-game losing streak with wins against Penn State (5-2) and Illinois (2-1) over the weekend at the Dell Diamond College Classic in Round Rock, Texas. Neither team is ranked in any of the four major polls. This is the first of three games this season between Baylor and Texas State. 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 at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the Official College Sports Network.

PROJECTED STARTERS

BU    LHP    Jared Theodorakos (FIRST APPEARANCE)TSU          TBA

QUICK NOTES
* Baylor leads the all-time series with Texas State 32-12. The Bears have won 17 of the last 24 meetings.
* Head coach Steve Smith is two wins shy of career victory No. 350.
* Baylor is eight games below .500 this season; however, ironically, the Bears and their opponents have scored 68 runs each.
* The Bears are tied for the Big 12 Conference lead in fielding percentage at .975. Baylor has made fewer errors (17) than any other league team.
* Opposing batters are 3-for-30 with eight strikeouts and four double plays in first at bats against Baylor relievers, who have stranded 20 of 28 inherited runners this season.
* After hitting just two home runs in their first 15 games, the Bears have knocked three homers in their last three games.
* Sunday's game against Vanderbilt saw four home runs fly out of Baylor Ballpark. That is the same amount of home runs hit in the first 12 at Baylor Ballpark this season.
* Baylor entered the Vanderbilt season without a three-plus-RBI performance this season. The Bears got a trio of three-RBI outings on the weekend: 2B Drew Sutton (Friday), RF Mike Pankratz (Sunday) and C Tyler Bullock (Sunday).
* After just one double-digit hits game in its first 11 contests, Baylor has posted 10 or more hits four times in the last seven games.
* 2B Drew Sutton has produced 19 percent of Baylor's multiple-hit games this season with six. Sutton also has four of Baylor's eight games with three-plus hits and joins SS Kyle Reynolds as the only Bears with four-hit games this season.
* The Bears have committed just two errors in their last seven games with five errorless contests in that stretch. Baylor has not committed more than two errors in a game since committing seven errors in the season's first two games (three in the opener; four in the second game).
* 3B Michael Griffin has hit safely in 14 of 18 games this season. He has not gone hitless in consecutive games, and currently he rides a season-long five-game hitting streak.
* SS Kyle Reynolds also has a five-game hitting streak. Reynolds and Griffin have matched five-game streaks earlier this season by 2B Drew Sutton and RF Mike Pankratz for the longest hitting streaks this season by Baylor batters.
* Saturday marked Baylor's 10th errorless game in 18 contests this season. Last year, Baylor played 18 errorless games all season. Ironically, the 2004 Bears are 2-8 this season when not committing an error.

THE TEXAS STATE SERIES
Baylor and Texas State meet for the 45th time on the diamond Tuesday. The Bears hold a 32-12 advantage in the all-time series and have won 17 of 24 meetings during head coach Steve Smith's tenure. The teams first met March 26, 1919. Baylor is 26-10 against the Bobcats in Waco.

THE TEXAS STATE BOBCATS
Texas State (10-9) is in its sixth season under the direction of head coach Ty Harrington. A 1989 Texas graduate, Harrington has amassed a 146-112 career record, all coming at Texas State.

TSU Notes: The Bobcats snapped a six-game losing streak over the weekend, defeating Penn State (5-2) and Illinois (2-1) at the Round Rock College Classic. Texas State's Sunday game against Texas Tech was cancelled due to inclement weather. The aforementioned six-game losing skid consisted of three losses at Louisiana State and three losses at Rice. ... Texas State hits .253 as a team with nine home runs and 11 stolen bases in 17 attempts. The Bobcats score 4.4 runs per game. ... LF Matt Miller (.352, 3 HR, 17 RBI) leads regular starters in all three Triple Crown categories, slugging percentage (.521) and on base percentage (.434). CF Evan Tierce (.349, 0, 15) is a stout leadoff man with 13 runs scored, four doubles, four triples and three stolen bases. RF Richard Martinez (.315, 1, 12) leads the team with eight doubles and also has three stolen bases. ... Texas State boasts a 4.31 team ERA with one shutout (Feb. 22 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette), 112 strikeouts in 169.0 innings and an opponents' batting average of .281. ... Tuesday's starter will be a gameday decision ... SS/RHP Dominic Ramos (2-0, 0.63) shoulders closer responsibilities for the Bobcats. He has three saves this season in eight appearances with 13 strikeouts in 14.1 innings; opponents hit .091 against Ramos. ... Texas State fields at a .963 clip with 28 errors and 23 double plays in 19 games. Ramos has committed nine errors in 80 chances this season (.900).

THEO SET FOR COMEBACK
LHP Jared Theodorakos takes the hill Tuesday for the first time since shoulder surgery last April. The St. Louis, Mo., native was 1-0 with a 5.00 ERA in two starts last year before the shoulder injury forced him to miss the remainder of the season. Theodorakos is 12-9 with a 4.75 ERA, 173 strikeouts and two complete games in his career.

SMITH NEARS ANOTHER MILESTONE
Baylor head coach Steve Smith is two 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 348-216-1.

CARDIAC KIDS
Baylor has played 10 one-run games in its first 18 contests this season; the Bears are 2-8 in such contests and have lost eight straight. Last season, Baylor played 16 one run games, posting a 9-7 mark in such contests. Baylor has played 148 one-run games during head coach Steve Smith's tenure, going 80-68 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.

WHO'S HOT
* SS Kyle Reynolds is hitting .394 (13-for-33) with two doubles and three RBI in the Bears' last 10 games. In that time, Reynolds has appeared in nine games with seven starts. He also is hitting .400 (8-for-20) in the Bears' last five games.
* SS/2B Paul Witt is hitting .375 (3-for-8) over Baylor's last 10 games. He has appeared in seven games with three starts.
* LF Reid Brees is hitting .357 (5-for-14) in Baylor's last 10 games. Brees has appeared in six games with three starts during that time.
* 2B Drew Sutton continues his hot hitting. The Jackson, Tenn., native is hitting .351 (13-for-37) with six runs, three doubles, a home run and six RBI in the last 10 games.
* Baylor has posted a .990 fielding percentage over the last 10 games, making just six errors in that time.

BEARS OPPONENTS DOING JUST FINE, THANK YOU
Baylor's 5-13 record is quite deceiving, considering the Bears have played one of the nation's toughest schedule through the first six weeks of the 2004 season. The Bears' first eight opponents have a combined record of 87-52-2 (.624) this season, three are ranked in this week's Baseball America Top 25 (No. 9 Long Beach State, No. 18 UC Irvine and No. 19 Arizona), Vanderbilt is 29th in this week's Collegiate Baseball Top 30, and another (Loyola Marymount) is receiving votes in the writers' poll. Only one of Baylor's 2004 opponents - Houston (6-12) - has a sub-.500 record, and the Cougars have played 14 games against ranked opponents. Texas-San Antonio (9-7) has a win against 14th-ranked Notre Dame under its belt, while Texas-Arlington (11-7) has won seven of eight and is 3-0 this season against the Big 12.

CARLSON EYES NCAA SAVES MARK
With a three-inning save Friday against Vanderbilt, senior RHP Zane Carlson needs 13 saves to break the NCAA Division I career record. The nation's active career saves leader starting the year, Carlson has 37 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 currently is tied for sixth in NCAA history and needs one save 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 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.

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 348-216-1 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 begins Big 12 Conference play this weekend; the Bears face No. 9 Texas A&M in the annual split-series. Friday's series opener at Olsen Field in College Station is scheduled for 7 p.m. The series switches to Baylor Ballpark for Saturday's 6 p.m. contest and Sunday's 2 p.m. series finale.

Theo's Back: Baylor Hosts Texas State

Players Mentioned

Mike Pankratz

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Theo's Back: Baylor Hosts Texas State

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