Baseball Hosts Dallas Baptist

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BAYLOR (16-21)
vs.
DALLAS BAPTIST (35-9)

6:00 P.M. CDT * April 20, 2004
Baylor Ballpark * Waco, Texas

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

Baylor aims for its 15th consecutive victory in midweek home games Tuesday, hosting Dallas Baptist for a 6 p.m. CDT contest at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears (16-21) have won seven of their last 11 and took one of three over the weekend against top-ranked Texas. The Patriots (35-9) have won 11 consecutive, including a three-game series sweep at Florida International over the weekend. This is the first of two meetings between Baylor and Dallas Baptist this season; the Patriots return to Baylor Ballpark for a 7 p.m. CDT game May 4. 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 MATCHUPBU    RHP    Andy Pape (1-0, 4.67 ERA)DBU   RHP    Jeff Gilmore (8-2, 3.47 ERA)

QUICK NOTES
* Baylor and Dallas Baptist meet for the 55th time Tuesday; the Bears hold a 36-18 advantage in the all-time series, 25-13 in Waco and 7-4 in head coach Steve Smith's tenure.
* 18 of Baylor's 21 losses this season have come to teams ranked nationally at some point this season.
* Saturday's 5-3 victory at Texas was the first victory over a nationally top-ranked opponent in head coach Steve Smith's career. It also was the first victory over an opponent ranked No. 1 in the recorded history of Baylor baseball.
* The Bears have won 14 consecutive midweek home games.
* According to the April 12 rankings at BoydsWorld.com, Baylor's strength of schedule ranks third nationally behind only Southern California and Arizona. Through games of April 11, the Bears' first 15 opponents have a combined record of 307-187-3 (.621). Those 15 opponents have played each other 55 times this season, giving Baylor an adjusted opponents' winning percentage of .709 (289-118-3).
* On the season, Baylor has a total offensive production of 19.8 bases per game and an offensive efficiency rating of 1.350. Baylor's opponents have a TOP of 16.1 bases per game and an offensive efficiency rating of 1.371.
* The Bears are hitting .322 in Big 12 Conference games, 24 points higher than any other team in the league.
* The Bears have recorded at least one extra-base hit in 22 consecutive games.
* Baylor is 15-6 this season when scoring five or more runs and 15-5 this season when out-hitting the opponent.
* Having committed 54 errors with 61 unearned runs allowed, Baylor has a averted run percentage of 1.130. Baylor's opponents have committed 48 errors, but the Bears have scored only 31 unearned runs (0.646 ARP).
* 3B Michael Griffin currently is riding a season-long 16-game hitting streak, the longest by a Bear this season and a match of his career long (2002). Griffin has hit safely in 31 of 37 games this season without consecutive hitless games. He has reached base safely in 35 of 37 games, including each of the last 32 contests. He has reached safely and/or scored in every game this season.
* 2B Paul Witt has hit safely in nine consecutive games, the longest streak of his career.
* 3B Michael Griffin cracked Baylor's career doubles chart last Tuesday with Nos. 43 and 44. The second two-bagger tied Griffin with Jeremy Dodson (1996-1998) and David Murphy (2001-2003) for 10th in Baylor history.
* Opposing batters are 6-for-66 (.091) with 20 strikeouts and six double plays in first at bats against Baylor relievers. Baylor's bullpen has stranded 51 of 74 inherited runners this season (68.9 percent); last year, the Bears stranded 81 of 150 inherited runners (54.0 percent).
* First batters are 2-for-13 against RHP Abe Woody with four double plays and four strikeouts. Woody has walked the first batter he has faced three times; each time, he recorded an out on the next batter.
* Opposing batters are 1-for-12 in first at bats against RHP Ryan LaMotta, 2-for-14 in first at bats against RHP Zane Carlson, 0-for-10 in first at bats against RHP Andy Pape and 1-for-7 in first at bats against LHP Russell Reichenbach (relief situations only).
* 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 24 homers in their last 20 games.
* The Bears have played 11 errorless games in 37 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.
* Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, the Bears have the league's best conference record at 130-79 (.622). 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 DALLAS BAPTIST SERIES
Baylor and Dallas Baptist meet for the 55th time Tuesday. The Bears hold a 36-18 advantage in the series, which dates back to a 10-5 Baylor victory May 5, 1979 in Waco. The Bears are 25-13 against the Patriots in Waco. This is the first meeting between the teams since Baylor took two of three from Dallas Baptist in a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark during the 2002 season. After the Patriots won the series opener 9-7, the Bears bounced back for wins of 4-1 and 14-4 in a Saturday doubleheader. Baylor head coach Steve Smith is 7-4 in his career against Dallas Baptist.

THE DALLAS BAPTIST PATRIOTS
Dallas Baptist (35-9) is in its second season under the direction of head coach Mike Bard, a 1993 Texas Tech graduate. Bard, a former assistant at Texas Tech, Kansas and Texas-Arlington, is 71-35 in two seasons with the Patriots. He is the older brother of Cleveland Indians catcher and fellow former Red Raider Josh Bard. ... DBU assistant coach Nate Frieling served as Baylor's director of baseball operations each of the past two seasons.

DBU Notes: The Patriots have won 11 in a row and 22 of their last 24. The only losses in that stretch were to Abilene Christian and Pacific. This season, Dallas Baptist has wins over Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, Texas-Arlington, Fresno State and Texas State. ... DBU hits .331 as a team with 46 home runs, 93 doubles, 28 triples, 89 steals in 112 attempts and 8.1 runs per game in 44 contests. ... SS Ben Zobrist (.396, 6 HR, 54 RBI) leads the team in batting average and RBI, and he is second in doubles (14); he also has swiped 17 bases in 18 attempts. CF Drew Holder (.370, 8, 40) is tops on the team in home runs, and LF Ryan Olivo (.376, 7, 50) leads the team with three triples. DBU has seven regular starters hitting above .300 and five Patriots have swiped at least 10 bases. ... The Patriots tote a 3.67 team ERA with three complete games, three shutouts, 10 saves and 303 strikeouts against 115 walks in 390.1 innings. Opponents hit .267 off Dallas Baptist pitching. Five Patriot pitchers have recorded two saves each. ... RHP Jeff Gilmore (8-2, 3.47 ERA) earns Tuesday's start, his 13th in 14 appearances this season. Gilmore has one complete game to his credit and 39 walks against 17 walks in 72.2 innings. Opponents hit .247 off Gilmore. ... Dallas Baptist has a team fielding percentage of .971 with 50 errors and 34 double plays in 44 games.

BEARS LOOK TO EXTEND MIDWEEK HOME STREAK
Baylor won its 14th consecutive midweek home game last Tuesday with a 10-8 triumph over Sam Houston State; the Bears have six 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 88-15 (.854) in midweek home games during head coach Steve Smith's tenure. The Bears enjoyed 32 consecutive victories in such 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.

A TALE OF TWO SEASONS
After struggling at the plate in the season's first six weeks, Baylor's offense has returned to its normal potency over the past three fortnights. Over the last 20 games, the Bears are hitting .333 with 43 doubles, 10 triples, 24 home runs and 7.6 runs per game. Only one regular starter has hit below .300 during that time, and RF Mike Pankratz has been the Bears' leading hitter (.383, 4 HR, 20 RBI) with hits in 16 of those 20 contests and 10 multiple-hit games. In the season's first 17 games, Baylor managed just three home runs, hit .245 as a team and had just three regular starters above .300.

OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY LAGS IN CLOSE GAMES
Part of the reason Baylor is 3-13 in one-run games this season is because of a poor offensive efficiency rating. In those 16 one-run contests, the Bears have a total offensive production of 16.4 bases per game. However, Baylor has an offensive efficiency rating of 1.248 (anything below 1.375 is considered very poor) in those games. Conversely, the Bears have produced 22.4 bases per game in the other 21 contests and have an offensive efficiency rating of 1.414 (below average). Baylor is 13-8 in games decided by two or more runs. On the season, Baylor has a total offensive production of 19.8 bases per game and an offensive efficiency rating of 1.371 (poor).

NOTE: Total Offensive Production (TOP) and Offensive Efficiency are statistics derived by Larry Little and Martie Cordaro in 1997. TOP measures how many bases a team produces per game (TB+BB+HBP+SF+SH+SB-GDP-CS). If a team produces 24.0 bases per game, that team should score 6.0 runs per game. Offensive Efficiency compares a team's TOP with how many runs that team actually scores (TOP is divided by TB+BB+HBP+SB-RUNS). Offensive efficiency ratings are ranked accordingly: <1.375 -="" very="" poor;="" 1.375-1.399="" -="" poor;="" 1.400-1.424="" -="" below="" average;="" 1.425-1.449="" -="" average;="" 1.450-1.474="" -="" good;="" 1.475-1.499="" -="" great;="" 1.500+="" -="" phenomenal).="" it="" does="" not="" measure="" how="" good="" a="" team="" is="" offensively="" so="" much="" as="" the="" odds="" of="" a="" team="" scoring="" as="" many="" runs="" as="" it="" should="" score="" in="" a="" game.="" for="" example,="" a="" team="" with="" a="" top="" of="" 24.0="" bases="" per="" game="" and="" an="" offensive="" efficiency="" of="" 1.450-1.474="" has="" a="" good="" chance="" to="" score="" at="" least="" 6.0="" runs="" per="" game="" without="" any="" help="" from="" the="" opponent="">

BEARS' SCHEDULE RANKS THIRD NATIONALLY
According to the April 12 strength of schedule ratings at BoydsWorld.com, Baylor's schedule ranks as the nation's third-toughest behind only Southern California and Arizona. 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 sixth nationally.

ERRORS COSTLY FOR BEARS
Through 37 games, the Bears have committed 54 errors, and opponents have turned those errors into 61 unearned runs. That works out to an averted run percentage of 1.130. 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 48 errors, but the Bears have scored only 31 unearned runs (0.646 ARP). The Bears' current fielding percentage of .962 would rank eighth in school history. Baylor posted team fielding percentages of .966 in 1999 and in 2000, tied for third in school history. Conversely, the Bears had a 0.590 APR in 1999 and a 0.568 APR in 2000.

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 130-79 (.622), the Bears are ahead of Texas Tech (126-82-1; .605). 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).

GRIFFIN CONTINUES TO CLIMB CAREER CHARTS
With his two home runs over the weekend, 3B Michael Griffin claimed sole possession of 10th place on Baylor's career home runs chart. He is now one shy of ninth-place Kelly Shoppach (1999-2001). Griffin also moved into a sixth-place tie on Baylor's career extra-base hits chart over the weekend; he now has 91, tied with Marty Crawford (1993-1996) and five shy of Fritz Connally (1977-1980). Griffin has matched Jeremy Dodson (1996-1998) and David Murphy (2001-2003) for 10th on Baylor's career doubles chart. Griffin now has 44 two-baggers as a Bear, four shy of ninth-place Ken Kolkhorst (1975-1978). 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 158 RBI as a Bear, three shy of seventh-place Jason Jennings (1997-1999). He needs three hits 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 .322 in Big 12 Conference games, 24 points higher than any other Big 12 team, as opposed to .269 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 14 games the Bears have committed 31 errors. Baylor has committed just 23 errors in 23 non-conference games. The Bears are collared with a .942 fielding percentage in league play.

CARDIAC KIDS
Baylor has played 16 one-run games in its first 37 contests this season; the Bears are 3-13 in such contests. The 13 losses is the most in 10 seasons under the direction of head coach Steve Smith. Last season, Baylor played 16 one-run games, posting a 9-7 mark in such contests. Baylor has played 154 one-run games during Smith's tenure, going 81-73 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.

BEARS IN THE PROFESSIONAL RANKS
Two former Bears - Jason Jennings (1997-1999) and Kip Wells (1996-1998) - began the 2004 season on Major League rosters. Jennings is in his third full season with the Colorado Rockies, while Wells begins his sixth season of Major League service and third with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Another former Bear, Lee Tunnell (1979-1981), is a member of Buck Showalter's coaching staff with the Texas Rangers. Baylor also has 15 former players in the Minor Leagues.

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 359-224-1 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 Kansas for a three-game Big 12 Conference series at Baylor Ballpark, putting the wraps on a 12-game stretch with 10 home contests. The Bears and the Jayhawks meet Friday at 7 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.

Baseball Hosts Dallas Baptist

Players Mentioned

Ryan LaMotta

Mike Pankratz

Andy Pape

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Baseball Hosts Dallas Baptist

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Players Mentioned

Ryan LaMotta

Mike Pankratz

Andy Pape

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