Show Me Weekend: Baseball Travels to Missouri

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BAYLOR (10-17, 2-4)
at
MISSOURI (20-6-1, 1-2)

April 2-4, 2004 * Columbia, Mo.
Taylor Stadium at Simmons Field

Radio: KRZI-AM (1580/1660)
Internet Audio: Click here.
Internet Video: None.
GameTracker:

Baylor travels to the Show Me State this weekend for a three-game Big 12 Conference series against Missouri at Taylor Stadium at Simmons Field in Columbia, Mo. Friday's series opener is set for 6:30 p.m. CST, followed by a 2 p.m. start Saturday and Sunday's series finale at 1 p.m. Baylor (10-17, 2-4) snapped a three-game losing streak Tuesday with an 11-0, seven-inning victory at home against TCU. The Bears dropped all three games at Oklahoma over the weekend. Missouri (20-6-1) cancelled its Wednesday game against Southern Illinois at Normal, Ill., due to forecasted inclement weather. The Tigers salvaged the final game of a three-game set at home against Kansas State over the weekend, their first Big 12 action of the year. All Baylor baseball games are carried via radio in Central Texas on KRZI 1660/1580 AM. Live audio and GameTracker are available for all games at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the Official College Sports Network.

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPSFriday, April 2BU    RHP    Sean Walker (1-4, 3.46)MU    RHP    Danny Hill (2-2, 4.70)

Saturday, April 3BU    LHP    Trey Taylor (2-3, 3.99)MU    RHP    Erik Dessau (5-1, 1.69)

Sunday, April 4BU           TBAMU    RHP    Garrett Broshuis (6-0, 1.84)
Rotations subject to change

QUICK NOTES
* Baylor and Missouri meet for the 30th, 31st and 32nd times this weekend. The Bears lead the all-time series 19-10.
* The Bears are hitting .332 in their first six Big 12 Conference games with a staff ERA of 3.86.
* Baylor has collected 10 or more hits in four of its last five and seven of its last nine games.
* The Bears have recorded at least one double in 12 consecutive games.
* Baylor leadoff hitters tote a .324 average this season. The nine-hole has been even more productive at .359. Meanwhile, the cleanup spot in the oder has struggled at .238.
* Baylor is seven games below .500 this season; however, ironically, the Bears have outscored their opponents 133-115.
* 3B Michael Griffin registered career hit No. 200 Tuesday with his game-ending two-run single. His double earlier in the game was career two-bagger No. 40. Griffin also passed David Murphy (2001-2003) on Baylor's career RBI list; Griffin now has 143 RBI as a Bear.
* LHP Jared Theodorakos has won four consecutive decisions dating back to his first start of the 2003 season.
* Opposing batters are 5-for-45 (.111) with 12 strikeouts and five double plays in first at bats against Baylor relievers. Baylor's bullpen has stranded 37 of 51 inherited runners this season (72.5 percent); last year, the Bears stranded 81 of 150 inherited runners (54.0 percent).
* First batters are 1-for-10 against RHP Abe Woody with three double plays and two strikeouts. Woody has walked the first batter he has faced twice; both times, he recorded an out on the next batter.
* Opposing batters are 1-for-9 in first at bats against RHP Ryan LaMotta, 0-for-8 in first at bats against RHP Andy Pape, 1-for-8 in first at bats against RHP Zane Carlson and 1-for-5 in first at bats against LHP Russell Reichenbach (relief situations only).
* RHP Zane Carlson recorded career strikeout No. 200 in last Saturday's game at Oklahoma.
* LF Reid Brees has hit safely in eight straight, the longest active streak for the Bears and the longest run of Brees' career. He also has reached safely in 10 straight and in 11 of the last 12 games.
* DH Josh Ford has reached safely in 12 consecutive games. Currently, Ford is riding a five-game hitting streak.
* 3B Michael Griffin currently is riding a season-long six-game hitting streak. Griffin has hit safely in 21 of 27 games this season without consecutive hitless games. He has reached base safely in 24 of 27 games, including each of the last 18 contests. In the other three games, he reached by virtue of an error once and on a fielder's choice once and scored both times.
* RF Mike Pankratz ended his career-long 10-game hitting streak last Sunday. It was the longest streak of the season for the Bears. Pankratz has hit safely in 16 of the last 18. He has reached safely in 19 of the last 21 games and in 23 of 27 games this season.
* The Bears have four shutouts this season, the most by a Baylor staff since the 2001 corps registered five blankings.
* After hitting just three home runs in their first 17 games, the Bears have knocked 12 homers in their last 10 games.
* Baylor is hitting .335 over the last 10 games with 21 doubles, five triples, 12 home runs and a .522 team slugging percentage. The Bears have scored 7.2 runs per game in that time.
* The Bears have played 10 errorless game in 27 games 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 but 2-1 when committing four or more.
* Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, the Bears have the league's best conference record at 126-75 (.627). Baylor leads all conference schools in both first-team all-Big 12 selections (21) and first-team Academic all-Big 12 selections (35), and the Bears are the only Big 12 Conference program to have ranked in the top 10 nationally during each of the past six seasons (1998-2003).

THE MISSOURI SERIES
Baylor and Missouri meet for the 30th, 31st and 32nd times this weekend. The Bears hold a 19-10 advantage in a series that dates back to the 1905 season. Baylor holds a 17-10 lead in the series since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997. The Bears are 5-4 all-time at Columbia, Mo., all coming during the existence of the Big 12. Baylor took two-of-three at Missouri in the 1998 and 2000 seasons. The Tigers took two-of-three at Simmons Field in 2002. Missouri won last year's Big 12 series at Baylor Ballpark. After the Bears won the series opener 10-4, the Tigers rebounded for a 23-18 victory Saturday and a 12-8 triumph Sunday. However, the Bears got the best of Mizzou at the Big 12 Tournament. Baylor blanked Missouri 11-0 in seven innings behind a Steven White three-hitter in the opening round. Two days later, the Bears overcame five errors to knock the Tigers from the tourney 9-8.

THE MISSOURI TIGERS
Missouri (20-6-1, 1-2) is in its 10th season under the direction of head coach Tim Jamieson, a 1981 University of New Orleans graduate. Jamieson was a catcher for three NCAA Regional participant teams while at UNO and earned all-regional honors in 1980. After graduation, he served as an assistant coach at his alma mater, helping the Privateers to four regional appearances and a trip to Omaha in 1984. Jamieson has a career record of 206-225-1, all coming at Missouri.

MU Notes: The Tigers are off to their best start since the 1982 Tiger Nine started 20-3. ... Mizzou opened Big 12 play last weekend at home against Kansas State. The Tigers dropped the first two games 5-3 and 6-4 (11 innings) before blanking the Wildcats 12-0 in seven innings Sunday to avoid being swept. ... This weekend's series, combined with a Tuesday game against Saint Louis, concludes a 12-game stretch with 11 home games for the Tigers. ... Missouri hits .304 as a team, fifth in the Big 12 Conference entering the week. The Tigers have 31 home runs, 57 doubles, 17 triples and 15 stolen bases in 23 attempts over the season's first 27 skirmishes. Missouri averages 8.0 runs per game. The Tigers display patient bats and keen eyes with 164 walks against only 175 strikeouts this season. ... Mizzou is led at the plate by 1B Cody Ehlers (.377, 9 HR, 35 RBI); an honorable mention all-Big 12 selection in 2003, Ehlers leads the team in home runs, RBI, runs (27), doubles (12) and slugging percentage (.764), and he has walked 17 times against only nine strikeouts this season for a .452 on base percentage. RF James Boone (.391, 1, 14) boasts the team's top average. ... Missouri sports a 2.90 staff ERA (second in the Big 12 entering the week) with one complete game, three shutouts, 10 saves and 227 strikeouts against only 59 walks in 248.2 innings. ... The Tigers send three RHPs to the hill this weekend: Danny Hill (2-2, 4.70 ERA); Erik Dessau (5-1, 1.69) and Garrett Broshuis (6-0, 1.84). All three make their eighth starts in as many appearances this weekend. Hill has 46 strikeouts against 12 walks in 44.0 innings with a .259 opponents' batting average. Dessau has 22 whiffs and eight walks in 42.2 frames and a .224 opponents' mark. Broshuis has recorded 42 Ks against 10 walks in 44.0 innings with a .206 opponents' average. RHP Mark Alexander (1-0, 2.18) shoulders closer duties with five saves and a .231 opponents' batting clip. ... The Tigers are the Big 12's fourth-ranked team in fielding with a .972 percentage. The Tigers have committed 31 errors with 22 double plays in 27 games.

MISSOURI TRIP PROVIDES HOMECOMING FOR THEO
LHP Jared Theodorakos returns to his home state this weekend as the Bears travel to Missouri. Theodorakos is a product of Chaminade Prep High School in St. Louis. A two-time all-state selection, Theodorakos was 18-7 on the hill with a 3.25 ERA and 230 strikeouts while at Chaminade. He also was handy with the bat, hitting .463 with 21 home runs and 115 RBI. As a senior, Theodorakos was honored with the Rising Star Award as the top high school player in St. Louis.

BEARS' SCHEDULE RANKS THIRD NATIONALLY
According to the March 30 strength of schedule ratings at BoydsWorld.com, Baylor's schedule ranks as the nation's third toughest behind only Houston and Gonzaga. The Bears' first 13 opponents have a combined record of 212-129-3 (.621) this season and four are ranked in this week's Baseball America Top 25 (No. 7 Long Beach State, No. 9 Texas A&M, No. 17 UC Irvine and No. 25 Vanderbilt). The records could be even better; as the 13 opponents have played each other 46 times this season. Only one of Baylor's 2004 opponents - Houston (9-18) - has a sub-.500 record.

BATS WARM WITH ARRIVAL OF SPRING
The Bears are hitting .335 (120-for-358) over their last 10 games with 21 doubles, five triples, 12 home runs, a .522 slugging percentage and 7.2 runs per game. In that time, Baylor has averaged 12.0 hits per game, collecting 10 or more hits seven times. Baylor managed just three home runs in its first 17 games, but the Bears have hit 12 in the last 10 contests with homers in seven of those games and two homers in five of those games. The Bears have seen their team batting average raise from a season-low .228 (March 2) to a season-high .281 at present. IF Drew Sutton has swung the hottest bat over the last 10 games, going 19-for-44 (.432) with five doubles, two triples, two home runs, 11 RBI and 12 runs scored. His slugging percentage in that time is .773 with a .510 on base percentage. Sutton is one of seven Bears with at least 20 at bats to hit .300 or better during the last 10 games.

GRIFFIN COLLECTS CAREER HIT No. 200
3B Michael Griffin not only ended Tuesday's game against TCU with his two-run single up the middle, he also reached a milestone. That was career hit No. 200. And with three RBI in the game against TCU, Griffin passed David Murphy (2001-2003) for ninth place on Baylor's career RBI list. Griffin now has 143 RBI as a Bear, one more than Murphy and 18 shy of seventh-place Jason Jennings (1997-1999). Griffin currently is seventh all-time at Baylor with 82 extra-base hits. He needs 20 hits to crack Baylor's top 10 chart for career hits. Griffin also needs four doubles, one triple and three home runs to crack Baylor's career top 10 lists in those categories.

BEARS LOOK TO REVERSE ROAD TRENDS
Baylor has played two-thirds of its first 27 games at home, going 9-9 in the friendly confines of Baylor Ballpark. However, things have not been nearly as smooth on the road where the Bears are 1-8 this season. While there has been little difference in the batting (.285 at home against .274 on on the road), pitching and fielding have dipped significantly in road games. Baylor pitchers have a staff ERA of 2.62 at home with a .222 opponents' batting average. In road contests, the Bears' ERA balloons to 4.03 with .297 opponents' average. Baylor fields at a .972 clip with 1.1 errors per game at home; the Bears field at a .949 percentage on the road with 1.9 errors per contest. Ironically, the Bears' lone road victory this season was an 8-7 triumph March 19 at Texas A&M, arguably one of the nation's toughest places to steal a road win.

BAYLOR SOLVES BIG 12 PITCHING
It appears Baylor's tough pre-conference slate, filled with teams bearing quality pitching staffs, has paid dividends. The Bears are hitting .332 in Big 12 Conference games as opposed to .265 in non-conference contests. Baylor's slugging percentage is nearly 100 points higher against Big 12 pitching. The struggles for Baylor in conference games has been fielding, where in six games the Bears have committed 15 errors. Baylor has committed just 20 errors in 20 non-conference games. The Bears are collared with a .934 fielding percentage in league play.

BEARS BEST IN THE BIG 12
Baylor has the best conference record of any team in the Big 12 Conference since the league's start in 1997. At 126-75 (.629), the Bears are ahead of Texas Tech (121-79-1; .604). Included in the first seven-plus 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). Baylor joins Oklahoma State as the only schools to have never finished below .500 in Big 12 play. 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).

CARDIAC KIDS
Baylor has played 15 one-run games in its first 27 contests this season; the Bears are 3-12 in such contests. The 12 losses is the most in 10 seasons under the direction of head coach Steve Smith. Five of the Bears' last seven games have been one-run affairs, going 1-4 in those games. Last season, Baylor played 16 one-run games, posting a 9-7 mark in such contests. Baylor has played 153 one-run games during Smith's tenure, going 81-72 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 EXTEND MIDWEEK HOME STREAK
Baylor has won 12 consecutive midweek home games, including four such wins this season. The Bears' last loss at home in a midweek game was a 9-7 loss to Texas State in the 2003 season opener. Baylor is 85-15 (.850) in such games during head coach Steve Smith's tenure. The Bears enjoyed 32 consecutive victories in midweek home games from April 8, 1997 to April 26, 2000. That streak was ended by a 6-1 defeat at the hands Texas Wesleyan in the Bears' final home game of the 2000 season.

SMITH CLAIMS WIN No. 350
The Bears' March 19 victory at ninth-ranked Texas A&M was career win No. 350 for head coach Steve Smith, all coming at Baylor. Now in his 10th season at the helm of the Baylor program, Smith is 353-220-1.

CARLSON EYES NCAA SAVES MARK
With a three-inning save March 12 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.

BAYLOR AMONG ALL-TIME WINNINGEST PROGRAMS
With 1,780 all-time wins in 102 seasons of collegiate baseball, Baylor ranked 39th nationally in total victories at the beginning of 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).

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 353-220-1 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 commences a six-game home stand Tuesday, hosting Texas-Arlington for a 6 p.m. contest at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears dropped a 5-1 decision at UTA earlier this season. Starting with Tuesday's game, Baylor plays 10 of its next 12 games at home.

Show Me Weekend: Baseball Travels to Missouri

Players Mentioned

Ryan LaMotta

Mike Pankratz

Andy Pape

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Show Me Weekend: Baseball Travels to Missouri

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Players Mentioned

Ryan LaMotta

Mike Pankratz

Andy Pape

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