Baseball Hosts Sam Houston State

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BAYLOR (14-19)
vs.
SAM HOUSTON STATE (12-19-1)

April 13, 2004
Baylor Ballpark * Waco, Texas

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

Baylor continues a six-game home stand Tuesday, hosting Sam Houston State for a 6 p.m. CDT game at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears (14-19) have won five of their last seven after splitting a rain-shortened two-game series at home against Oklahoma State over the weekend. Baylor dropped Sunday's finale 11-5, ending a season-long four-game winning streak. Sam Houston State (12-19-1) has dropped three straight after a seven-wins-in-eigh-games stretch. The Bearkats lost the first two games of a weekend series at home against Texas State before rains cancelled Sunday's finale. All Baylor baseball games are carried via radio in Central Texas on KRZI 1660/1580 AM. GameTracker also is 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 MATCHUP
Friday, April 13BU    LHP    Trey Taylor (3-3, 4.26 ERA)SHSU         TBA
Rotations subject to change

QUICK NOTES
* Baylor and Sam Houston State meet for the 92nd time Tuesday, the eighth most-played series in Baylor baseball history. The Bears lead the series 54-37.
* According to the April 5 rankings at BoydsWorld.com, Baylor's strength of schedule ranks second nationally behind only Southern California. Through games of April 7, the Bears' first 14 opponents have a combined record of 307-187-3 (.621). Those 14 opponents have played each other 55 times this season, giving Baylor an adjusted opponents' winning percentage of .709 (289-118-3).
* The Bears have won 13 consecutive midweek home games.
* The Bears are hitting .340 in Big 12 Conference games, 43 points higher than any other team in the league.
* Baylor has collected 10 or more hits in nine of its last 11 and 12 of its last 16 games.
* The Bears have recorded at least one double in 18 consecutive games.
* Baylor is 13-5 this season when scoring five or more runs and 13-5 this season when out-hitting the opponent.
* Having committed 43 errors with 48 unearned runs allowed, Baylor has a averted run percentage of 1.116. Baylor's opponents also have committed 43 errors, but the Bears have scored only 26 unearned runs (0.605 ARP).
* 3B Michael Griffin currently is riding a season-long 12-game hitting streak, the longest by a Bear this season. Griffin has hit safely in 27 of 33 games this season without consecutive hitless games. He has reached base safely in 30 of 33 games, including each of the last 28 contests. In the other two games, he reached by virtue of an error once and on a fielder's choice once and scored both times.
* SS Kyle Reynolds has hit safely in seven straight games and in 11 consecutive starts.
* 2B Paul Witt (five games), DH Josh Ford (four games) and C Zach Dillon (three games) also enter Tuesday's game with active hitting streaks.
* RHP Zane Carlson made career relief appearance No. 100 last Friday against Oklahoma State.
* LHP Jared Theodorakos snapped a person four-decision winning streak Sunday with his loss against Oklahoma State. It was his first loss since taking the decision against Nebraska in the first round of the 2002 Big 12 Conference Tournament.
* Baylor is five games below .500 this season; ironically, though, the Bears have outscored their opponents 191-157.
* Opposing batters are 5-for-58 (.086) with 18 strikeouts and five double plays in first at bats against Baylor relievers. Baylor's bullpen has stranded 43 of 62 inherited runners this season (69.4 percent); last year, the Bears stranded 81 of 150 inherited runners (54.0 percent).
* First batters are 1-for-12 against RHP Abe Woody with three double plays and four 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-11 in first at bats against RHP Ryan LaMotta, 1-for-11 in first at bats against RHP Zane Carlson, 0-for-9 in first at bats against RHP Andy Pape and 1-for-6 in first at bats against LHP Russell Reichenbach (relief situations only).
* LF Reid Brees posted his first career three-double game Sunday against Oklahoma State. Brees is the first Bear with three doubles in a game 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 21 homers in their last 16 games.
* The Bears have played 11 errorless games in 31 contests this season. Last year, Baylor played 18 errorless games all season. Ironically, the 2004 Bears are 3-8 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 129-77 (.626). 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 SAM HOUSTON STATE SERIES
Baylor and Sam Houston State meet for the 92nd time Tuesday making this the eighth most-played series in Baylor baseball history. The Bears hold a 54-37 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to March 7, 1952 (result unknown). Baylor is 7-2 against Sam Houston State under head coach Steve Smith. This is the first meeting between the programs since a 17-8 Baylor victory April 13, 1999 in Waco.

THE SAM HOUSTON STATE BEARKATS
Sam Houston State (12-19-1) is in its second season under the direction of head coach Chris Rupp, a 1980 Texas A&M graduate. Rupp, who earned the head coach job at Sam Houston State after a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Rice, has a career record of 32-52-1, all coming at Rice. Prior to joining the Rice coaching staff, Rupp spent nine seasons as head coach at San Jacinto College North.

SHSU Notes: Sam Houston State has dropped three straight after losing both games of a rain-shortened weekend series at home against Texas State. Prior to this losing skid, the Bearkats won seven of eight. ... The Bearkats hit .267 as a team with 23 home runs, 41 doubles, one triple, 23 stolen bases in 36 attempts and 5.7 runs per game. ... C Andrew Kasparek (.329, 1 HR, 8 RBI) leads the team in batting average, while 3B Jonathan Stone (.325, 5, 29) leads the team in home runs and RBI. ... Sam Houston State has a 5.47 staff ERA with four saves and 181 strikeouts against 166 walks in 278.0 innings pitched. Opponents hit .297 off Bearkat pitching. ... The Bearkats are expected to pitch by committee Tuesday with either RHP Ryan Rafferty (3-3, 5.05 ERA) or LHP Ryan Herrera (0-2, 3.48) getting the start. Rafferty has appeared in 11 games with seven starts and has 25 strikeouts against 24 walks in 41.0 innings; opponents hit .267 off the senior right-hander. Herrera has appeared in six games with two starts. Herrera has struggled with control, striking out only three with 13 walks in 10.1 innings pitched; opponents hit .317 off the southpaw. RHP Dustin Craig (2-3, 4.37) serves as the closer with three saves and 34 strikeouts in 35.0 innings and 18 appearances. ... Sam Houston State has been susceptible to poor defense this season. The Bearkats have a team fielding percentage of .943 with 72 errors and seven double plays in 32 games. SHSU has committed three or more 14 times this season.

BEARS LOOK TO EXTEND MIDWEEK HOME STREAK
Baylor won its 13th consecutive midweek home game Wednesday with a 13-2 triumph over Texas-Arlington; the Bears have five 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 87-15 (.853) 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.

PANKRATZ ENJOYS SOLID WEEK
RF Mike Pankratz hit .636 (7-for-11) in three games last week with a home run, six RBI, four runs scored, a triple, a 1.091 slugging percentage, a .692 on base percentage and one stolen base. Pankratz went 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBI and a stolen base in Tuesday's 13-2 victory over Texas-Arlington. He backed that with a 4-for-4 outing in Friday's 12-2 victory over Oklahoma State. Pankratz was a double shy of hitting for the cycle against the Cowboys, drove in four runs and scored twice.

SLUMBERING BATS NOW AWAKE
After struggling at the plate in the season's first six weeks (the Bears were hitting .245 after a 1-0 loss March 13 against Vanderbilt), Baylor's offense has returned to its normal potency over the past four weeks. Over the last 14 games, the Bears are hitting .347 (180-for-518) with 32 doubles, seven triples, 17 home runs and 8.3 runs per game. Since that 1-0 loss to Vanderbilt, the Bears are 9-7 with a .345 team average, 36 doubles, eight triples, 21 home runs and 8.1 runs per game. In fact, 1B Jared Clements and C Tyler Bullock are the only Bears with at least 10 at bats hitting below .310 in that time. RF Mike Pankratz has been the hottest at .424 (28-of-66), while 3B Michael Griffin has been the key run producer with six doubles, four home runs and 22 RBI. Baylor managed just three home runs in its first 17 games, but the Bears have hit 21 round-trippers in the last 16 contests with homers in 11 of those games and at least two homers in seven of those games. The Bears have seen their team batting average raise from a season-low .228 (March 2) to a season-high .297 at present.

BEARS' SCHEDULE RANKS SECOND NATIONALLY
According to the April 5 strength of schedule ratings at BoydsWorld.com, Baylor's schedule ranks as the nation's second toughest behind only Southern California. Through games of April 11, the Bears' first 15 opponents have a combined record of 307-187-3 (.621) this season and five are ranked in this week's Baseball America Top 25 (No. 5 Long Beach State, No. 13 Texas A&M, No. 14 UC Irvine, No. 18 Oklahoma and No. 22 Vanderbilt). The records could be even better as the 15 opponents have played each other 55 times this season. That gives Baylor an adjusted opponents' winning percentage (total minus losses to common opponents and all games against Baylor) of .709 (289-118-3). Only one of Baylor's 2004 opponents - Houston (14-20) - has a sub-.500 record, and the Cougars' strength of schedule is ranked third nationally.

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 129-77 (.626), the Bears are ahead of Texas Tech (123-82-1; .600). 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).

PLAY IT AGAIN, SLAMMY
Baylor has hit three grand slams this season, including one in each of the last two games. The Bears hit just two grand slams last season and only one in 2002. This season's three slams have come in the last seven games with 3B Michael Griffin, SS Kyle Reynolds and 1B Drew Sutton providing the bases-full round-trippers.

ERRORS COSTLY FOR BEARS
Through 33 games, the Bears have committed 43 errors, and opponents have turned those errors into 48 unearned runs. That works out to an averted run percentage of 1.116. By comparison, Baylor's APR last season was 0.733 after committing 105 errors with 77 unearned runs allowed. This season, Baylor's opponents have made the same number of errors (43), but the Bears have scored only 26 unearned runs (0.605 ARP). The Bears' current fielding percentage of .966 would tie for third in school history. Baylor also posted team fielding percentages of .966 in 1999 and in 2000. Conversely, the Bears had a 0.590 APR in 1999 and a 0.568 APR in 2000.

GRIFFIN CRACKS CAREER HOME RUN CHART
With his game-winning grand slam April 4 at Missouri, 3B Michael Griffin cracked Baylor's career home runs chart. Griffin now has 23 career round-trippers, tied with Kevin Ellis (1989-1992) for 10th in school history. When Ellis hit his 23rd career home run, he ranked second in school history. Griffin needs three homers to match ninth-place Kelly Shoppach (1999-2001) with 26. In the March 30 game against TCU, Griffin collected career hit No. 200 and moved into ninth place on Baylor's career RBI list. Griffin now has 154 RBI as a Bear, seven shy of seventh-place Jason Jennings (1997-1999). Griffin currently is seventh all-time at Baylor with 87 extra-base hits. He needs 11 hits, two doubles and one triple to crack Baylor's career top 10 lists in those categories.

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 .340 in Big 12 Conference games, 43 points higher than any other Big 12 team, as opposed to .265 in non-conference contests. Baylor's slugging percentage is more than 150 points higher against Big 12 pitching. The struggles for Baylor in conference games has been fielding, where in 11 games the Bears have committed 22 errors. Baylor has committed just 21 errors in 21 non-conference games. The Bears are collared with a .947 fielding percentage in league play.

CARDIAC KIDS
Baylor has played 15 one-run games in its first 33 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.

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).

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 357-222-1 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 returns to Big 12 Conference this weekend with the annual split-series against Texas. The Bears conclude a six-game home stand Friday, hosting the Longhorns for a 7 p.m. CDT first pitch at Baylor Ballpark. The series then shifts to Disch-Falk Field in Austin for a 6:15 p.m. start Saturday and Sunday's 1 p.m. finale.

Baseball Hosts Sam Houston State

Players Mentioned

Zach Dillon

Ryan LaMotta

Mike Pankratz

Andy Pape

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Baseball Hosts Sam Houston State

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Players Mentioned

Zach Dillon

Ryan LaMotta

Mike Pankratz

Andy Pape

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