Baseball Begins Busy Week at TCU

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BAYLOR (18-22) at TCU (26-15)
7:00 p.m. CDT * April 27, 2004
Lupton Stadium * Fort Worth, Texas

BAYLOR (18-22) vs. TEXAS SOUTHERN (12-14)
6:00 p.m. CDT * April 28, 2004
Baylor Ballpark * Waco, Texas

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

Baylor plays two midweek games this week, starting with a 7 p.m. CDT contest Tuesday against TCU at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. The Bears also host Texas Southern for a 6 p.m. game Wednesday at Baylor Ballpark. Baylor (18-22) has won eight of its last 12 after a two-game, rain-shortened series sweep of Kansas over the weekend that concluded with Sunday's 9-2 victory. TCU (26-15) has won six straight and nine of its last 11, including a three-game series sweep at home against Saint Louis over the weekend. Texas Southern (12-14) has not played since losing both ends of a doubleheader April 14 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. This is the first ever meeting between Baylor and Texas Southern on the diamond. Wednesday's game is a schedule addition due to the April 10 rainout against Oklahoma State. 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 MATCHUPSTuesday, April 27BU  RHP Andy Pape (1-1, 4.09)TCU LHP Ryan Weems (4-1, 6.32)
Wednesday, April 28BU  LHP Jared Theodorakos (3-2, 4.24)TSU     TBA
Rotations subject to change

QUICK NOTES
* Baylor and TCU meet for the 227th time Tuesday, the third most-played series in Baylor baseball history. The Bears hold a 128-98 edge in the series, but TCU is 47-46 in games played at Fort Worth.
* Wednesday's contest is the first ever diamond meeting between Baylor and Texas Southern.
* C Zach Dillon (four games), LF Reid Brees (three games) and SS Kyle Reynolds (three games) all extended hitting streaks Sunday against Kansas. C Tyler Bullock also has a four-gamer active, a match of his career long. Dillon has hit safely in six consecutive starts.
* 2B Paul Witt's steal of home Sunday against Kansas was the first by a Bear since Tim Hartshorn accomplished the feat June 1, 2002 against Lamar.
* Sunday's game against Kansas marked the third time this season that all nine starters have hit safely. The Bears also accomplished this March 19 at Texas A&M (W, 8-7) and April 3 at Missouri (W, 15-9).
* Baylor is 6-0 this season in games in which DH Josh Ford hits a home run. ... Ford has reached safely in 11 consecutive starts.
* 2B Paul Witt is hitting .373 (22-for-59) with 15 runs scored, six doubles, nine RBI, a .431 on base percentage and six stolen bases in 10 attempts over the last 16 games, all starts.
* CF Chase Gerdes has hit safely in nine of 10 games this season when getting at least two at bats. In just four weeks of action, Gerdes has tallied seven infield hits, tops on the team.
* 3B Michael Griffin has four multiple-hit games in his last seven contests. He and 2B Drew Sutton share the team lead with 15 multiple-hit games.
* RF Mike Pankratz has reached safely in 13 of his last 14 games.
* After going hitless in each of his first five starts this season, SS Kyle Reynolds has hit safely in 23 of his last 27starts, including 15 of the last 16.
* 2B Drew Sutton has reached safely in 35 of 40 games this season.
* LHP Trey Taylor has allowed no more than two earned runs in seven of 11 starts this season.
* The two runs allowed by RHP Abe Woody in Friday's game against Kansas snapped a seven-appearance, 12.2-inning scoreless streak for Woody.
* 18 of Baylor's 22 losses this season have come to teams ranked nationally at some point this season.
* Baylor is 17-6 this season when scoring five or more runs and 17-6 when out-hitting the opposition. The Bears are 15-2 when doing both.
* Through 16 Big 12 Conference games, Baylor has 21 home runs against league pitching. Last season, the Bears had 20 home runs in their first 16 conference games. At 8-8, Baylor is one game off last year's 16-game Big 12 pace and the 2003 Bears dropped their next three league contests.
* The Bears have recorded at least one extra-base hit in 25 consecutive games.
* After hitting just three home runs in their first 17 games, the Bears have knocked 29 homers in their last 23 games.
* Having committed 56 errors with 63 unearned runs allowed, Baylor has a averted run percentage of 1.125. Baylor's opponents have committed 53 errors, but the Bears have scored only 32 unearned runs (0.552 ARP).
* The Bears have four shutouts this season, the most by a Baylor staff since the 2001 corps registered five blankings.
* The Bears have played 11 errorless games in 38 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.
* Baylor relief pitchers have held opponents to a .233 batting average this season with 128 strikeouts in 137.2 innings.
* Opponents are 7-for-72 (.097) in first at bats against Baylor relievers with six double plays and 21 strikeouts.
* RF Mike Pankratz and 1B Drew Sutton share the team lead with 13 two-out RBI each. 3B Michael Griffin is right behind with 12, and 2B Paul Witt has five two-out RBI in his last nine games. Baylor has 59 two-out RBI in the last 23 games after just 20 in the first 17 games.
* Baylor's .322 batting average in Big 12 games is 14 points higher than second-place Texas Tech (.308) and 35 points higher than third-place Nebraska (.287).
* According to the April 19 rankings at BoydsWorld.com, Baylor's strength of schedule ranks second nationally behind only Southern California. Through games of April 21, the Bears' first 18 opponents have a combined record of 441-258-5 (.629). Those 18 opponents have played each other 118 times this season, giving Baylor an adjusted opponents' winning percentage of .769 (419-124-5).
* Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, the Bears have the league's best conference record at 132-79 (.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 TCU SERIES
Baylor and TCU meet for the 227th time Tuesday; the Bears hold a 128-98 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1904 season. This is the third-most played series in Baylor Baseball history behind only Texas (312 meetings) and Texas A&M (249 meetings). The Horned Frogs lead the series 47-46 in games played at Fort Worth. This is the second and final meeting between the teams in the 2004 regular season. Baylor won the first meeting 11-0 in seven innings March 30 at Baylor Ballpark.

THE TCU HORNED FROGS
TCU (26-15) is under the direction of first-year head coach Jim Schlossnagle, who took over the reigns of the Frogs' program last summer after two seasons as head coach at UNLV. Schlossnagle has a career record of 103-62, all coming in the past three years.

TCU Notes: The Horned Frogs have won six straight at nine of their last 11. TCU swept Saint Louis at home over the weekend and won at Oklahoma 5-4 last Tuesday. The Frogs are 16-4 at home this season. ... TCU hits .304 as a team with 51 home runs, 82 doubles, 10 triples, 45 stolen bases in 67 attempts and 7.1 runs per game. ... 1B Chad Huffman (.397, 9 HR, 32 RBI) leads the team in average, doubles (14), slugging percentage (.673) and on base percentage (.500). Huffman also ranks second on the team in home runs and third in RBI. 3B Shelby Ford (.327, 12, 39) leads the Frogs in home runs, while DH Chris Neuman (.304, 7, 46) paces the squad in RBI. Huffman and Ford are both freshmen; Neuman is a first-year transfer from Texas. 2B Roman Moses (.299, 4, 22) is TCU's speed threat with 14 steals in 20 ventures. ... The Frogs tote a 4.90 staff ERA with two complete games (both shutouts), nine saves, 294 strikeouts against 120 walks in 359.2 innings pitched and a .285 opponents' batting average. ... LHP Ryan Weems (4-1, 6.32 ERA) gets Tuesday's start, his ninth in 13 appearances this season. Weems, who started and suffered his lone loss of the season March 30 at Baylor, has 37 strikeouts against 14 walks in 47.0 innings of work with an opponents' batting average of .306. RHP Robbie Findlay (3-1, 3.98) bears closer duties for the Frogs with six saves; he has 33 strikeouts against 14 walks in 31.2 innings and a .231 opponents' average. ... TCU fields at a .963 clip with 57 errors and 37 double plays in 41 games.

TICKET POLICY FOR BAYLOR-TEXAS SOUTHERN
Ticket stubs for the April 10 game against Oklahoma State will be honored for Wednesday's game against Texas Southern. Season ticket holders who may not have a stubb from the April 10 game will be able to check in at the Baylor Ballpark ticket office to receive a pass.

BEARS LOOK TO REVERSE ROAD TRENDS
Baylor has played nearly two-thirds of its first 40 games at home, going 14-12 in the friendly confines of Baylor Ballpark. Things have not been nearly as smooth on the road where the Bears are 4-10 this season; however, Baylor has won three of its last four road games. While there has been some difference in the batting (.308 at home against .279 on on the road), pitching and fielding have dipped significantly in road games. Baylor pitchers have a staff ERA of 2.82 at home with a .235 opponents' batting average. In road contests, the Bears' ERA balloons to 4.80 with a .276 opponents' average. Baylor fields at a .971 clip with 1.1 errors per game at home; the Bears field at a .947 percentage on the road with 1.9 errors per contest. Ironically, half the Bears' road victories have come in very hostile environments. Baylor claimed an 8-7 decision March 19 at ninth-ranked Texas A&M and a 5-3 extra-inning afair April 18 at top-ranked Texas.

OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY REPORT
Baylor has an uncharacteristically low offensive efficiency rating this season. The Bears have a total offensive production of 19.9 bases per game and an offensive efficiency rating of 1.344 (anything below 1.375 is considered very poor). Things have been ever more troublesome in one-run games, in which Baylor is 4-13. In those 17 one-run contests, the Bears have a total offensive production of 16.8 bases per game with an offensive efficiency rating of 1.265. In the other 23 games, Baylor has a TOP of 22.2 bases per game and an offensive efficiency rating of 1.392. Over the past six seasons, Baylor has toted an offensive efficiency rating of no lower than average with a low of 1.429 in 1998.

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+SH+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 SECOND NATIONALLY
According to the April 19 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 21, the Bears' first 18 opponents have a combined record of 441-258-5 (.630) this season and six are ranked in this week's Baseball America Top 25 (No. 1 Texas, No. 5 Long Beach State, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 16 UC Irvine, No. 17 Texas A&M and No. 22 Vanderbilt). The records could be even better as the 18 opponents have played each other 118 times this season. That gives Baylor an adjusted opponents' winning percentage (total minus losses to common opponents and all games against Baylor) of .769 (419-124-5). Only two of Baylor's 2004 opponents - Houston (16-22) and Sam Houston State (13-22-1) - have sub-.500 records, and Houston's strength of schedule is ranked 10th nationally. Of Baylor's 22 losses this season, 18 have come to opponents ranked nationally at some point this season.

ERRORS COSTLY FOR BEARS
Through 40 games, the Bears have committed 56 errors, and opponents have turned those errors into 63 unearned runs. That works out to an averted run index of 1.125. By comparison, Baylor's ARI last season was 0.733 after committing 105 errors with 77 unearned runs allowed. This season, Baylor's opponents have made 53 errors, but the Bears have scored only 32 unearned runs (0.552 ARI). The Bears' current fielding percentage of .963 would tie for seventh 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 ARI in 1999 and a 0.568 ARI 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 doubles over the weekend, 3B Michael Griffin claimed sole possession of 10th place on Baylor's career doubles chart. He is now two shy of ninth-place Ken Kolkhorst (1975-1978). Griffin also moved into sole possession of sixth place on Baylor's career extra-base hits chart over the weekend; he now has 93, three shy of Fritz Connally (1977-1980). 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 159 RBI as a Bear, two shy of seventh-place Jason Jennings (1997-1999). He needs one hit 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, 14 points higher than second-place Texas Tech (.308) and 35 points higher than third-place Nebraska (.287). The struggle for Baylor in conference games has been fielding, where in 16 games the Bears have committed 33 errors. Baylor has committed just 23 errors in 24 non-conference games. The Bears are collared with a .943 fielding percentage in league play, 20 points behind ninth-place Kansas (.966).

CARDIAC KIDS
Baylor has played 17 one-run games this season; the Bears are 4-13 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.

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 14 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 360-222-1 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 travels to Manhattan, Kan., this weekend for a three-game Big 12 Conference series at Kansas State. The Bears face the Wildcats at 7 p.m. CDT Friday, followed by a 4 p.m. first pitch Saturday and Sunday's 1 p.m. series finale.

Baseball Begins Busy Week at TCU

Players Mentioned

Zach Dillon

Chase Gerdes

Mike Pankratz

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Baseball Begins Busy Week at TCU

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Players Mentioned

Zach Dillon

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