Baseball Hosts Oklahoma State
4/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 8, 2004
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BAYLOR (13-18, 4-5 Big 12)
vs.
OKLAHOMA STATE (20-11, 3-3 Big 12)
7 p.m. CDT * April 9
6 p.m. CDT * April 10
2 p.m. CDT * April 11
Baylor Ballpark * Waco, Texas
Radio: KRZI-AM (1580/1660)
Internet Audio: Click here.
Internet Video: Click here.
GameTracker: Click here.
Baylor continues a six-game home stand this weekend, hosting Oklahoma State for a three-game Big 12 Conference series at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears and the Cowboys meet Friday at 7 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Baylor (13-18, 4-5) has won three straight and four of five after a 13-2 victory Wednesday night at home against Texas-Arlington. The Bears took two of three last weekend at Missouri, winning the final two games. Oklahoma State (20-11, 3-3) is 8-4 in its last 12 games. The Cowboys, ranked 34th in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association poll, took two of three at home against Texas A&M last weekend, losing Sunday's series finale 9-7.
Live streaming video for this weekend's series is available at www.BaylorBears.com. 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 MATCHUPS
Friday, April 9
BU RHP Sean Walker (1-5, 3.97 ERA)
OSU LHP Thomas Cowley (1-1, 4.83 ERA)
Saturday, April 10
BU LHP Trey Taylor (3-3, 4.26 ERA)
OSU LHP Spencer Grogan (7-1, 2.77 ERA)
Sunday, April 11
BU TBA
OSU RHP Daniel Rew (4-3, 3.33 ERA)
Rotations subject to change
QUICK NOTES
* Baylor and Oklahoma State meet for the 43rd, 44th and 45th times this weekend. The Cowboys hold a 26-16 advantage in the all-time series.
* 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 263-160-3 (.621). Those 14 opponents have played each other 46 times this season, giving Baylor an adjusted opponents' winning percentage of .721 (250-96-3).
* Wednesday's 13-2 win against Texas-Arlington was the Bears' 13th consecutive victory in midweek home games.
* Baylor's nine-run fifth inning Wednesday against Texas-Arlington marked the Bears' most productive inning since a nine-run seventh Feb. 14, 2001 in a 22-3 victory at home against Texas State.
* The Bears are hitting .331 in their first nine Big 12 Conference games with 18 doubles, four triples, 13 home runs and 7.4 runs per game.
* Baylor has collected 10 or more hits in seven of its last nine and 10 of its last 14 games.
* After Drew Sutton's grand slam Wednesday against Texas-Arlington, the Bears have hit grand slams in two straight games and three in their last seven contests. Baylor hit two grand slams last season and only one in 2002.
* The Bears have recorded at least one double in 16 consecutive games.
* Baylor is 12-4 this season when scoring five or more runs and 12-4 this season when out-hitting the opponent.
* Having committed 39 errors with 41 unearned runs allowed, Baylor has a averted run percentage of 1.051. Last season, the Bears' ARP was 0.733 after committing 105 errors with 77 unearned runs allowed.
* Baylor batters in the leadoff spot tote a .341 average this season. The nine-hole has been even more productive at .361. Meanwhile, the third spot in the order has struggled at .244.
* RHP Zane Carlson made career appearance No. 100 Wednesday night against Texas-Arlington. All but one of those appearances has been in relief.
* Baylor is five games below .500 this season; ironically, though, the Bears have outscored their opponents 174-144.
* Opposing batters are 5-for-55 (.092) with 17 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-10 in first at bats against RHP Zane Carlson, 0-for-8 in first at bats against RHP Andy Pape and 1-for-6 in first at bats against LHP Russell Reichenbach (relief situations only).
* 3B Michael Griffin currently is riding a season-long 10-game hitting streak, tied for the second-longest by a Bear this season. Griffin has hit safely in 25 of 31 games this season without consecutive hitless games. He has reached base safely in 28 of 31 games, including each of the last 22 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.
* LF Reid Brees snapped his 11-game hitting streak Wednesday against Texas-Arlington; it stands as the longest streak of the season for the Bears and the longest run of Brees' career. He also ended a stretch of reaching safely in 13 straight.
* RF Mike Pankratz has hit safely in five straight and in 15 of the last 16 games. He has reached safely in 23 of the last 25 games and in 27 of 31 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 20 homers in their last 14 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 128-76 (.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 OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES
Baylor and Oklahoma State meet for the 43rd, 44th and 45th times this weekend. Oklahoma State holds a 26-16 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to an 8-7 OSU victory April 29, 1925.
The Cowboys are 10-6 all-time in Waco. OSU leads the series 14-11 since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997; however, the series is tied 10-10 in Big 12 regular season games. The teams also have met twice in the Big 12 Tournament (both OSU wins) and three times in the 1999 NCAA Super Regional (OSU winning two of three).
Baylor won the season series in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003; the 2002 series was rain-shortened, and the teams split two games. Oklahoma State is 5-3 in Waco since the inception the Big 12. Last season, the Bears won two of three at Stillwater.
THE OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS
Oklahoma State (20-11, 3-3) is in its first season under the direction of head coach Frank Anderson, a 1983 Emporia State graduate who joined the Cowboys' program this season after four seasons as pitching coach at Texas. Prior his stay in Austin, Anderson spent 10 seasons as an assistant at Texas Tech. This is Anderson's first season as a collegiate head coach.
OSU Notes: Oklahoma State is 34th in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association poll. ... The Cowboys are 8-4 in their last 12 games and took two of three at home last weekend against Texas A&M. OSU opened Big 12 play the previous week, winning one of three at Texas. ... Oklahoma State's strength of schedule ranks 31st in this week's BoydsWorld.com rankings, and the Cowboys are 26th in this week's Iterative Strength Rankings on that site. ... Oklahoma State hits .324 as a team with 22 home runs, 64 doubles, 10 triples, 31 stolen bases in 40 attempts and 7.3 runs per game. ... C Jason Jaramillo (.383, 4 HR, 30), included on the Golden Spikes and Bench Award watch lists, leads the Cowboys in batting average and and shares the team lead in RBI with LF Scott Kirby (.325, 4, 30), who also leads the Cowboys with 11 doubles and three triples. 3B Josh Fields (.372, 5, 29), under center during the fall for OSU's football team, and RF Rod Allen (.313, 5, 25) share the team lead in home runs. Allen, the Cowboys' leadoff batter, is 9-of-10 in stolen base ventures. ... The Cowboys tote a 4.65 team ERA with four complete games, two shutouts, five saves and 196 strikeouts against 85 walks in 275.0 innings. Opponents hit .294 against OSU pitching. ... LHP Thomas Cowley (1-1, 4.83 ERA) gets the start Friday, his fourth start in 11 appearances this season. Cowley has one complete game and has 25 strikeouts against eight walks in 31.2 innings with a .267 opponents' average. ... LHP Spencer Grogan (7-1, 2.77) makes his 10th start in 10 appearances Saturday. Grogan has two complete games to his credit with 30 strikeouts and eigth walks in 65.0 innings; opponents hit .314 off the southpaw. Sunday's starter is slated to be RHP Daniel Rew (4-3, 3.33), who makes his seventh start in 13 appearances this weekend. Rew has 29 strikeouts and 18 walks in 48.2 innings with a .266 opponents' average. LHP Brett McDonald (1-0, 1.46), who has seen spot action in the outfield, has emerged as the Cowboys' closer with Rew (three saves) now in the rotation. McDonald has two saves and 12 strikeouts against four walks in 12.1 innings with a .208 opponents' average. ... Oklahoma State fields at a .969 clip with 37 errors and 27 double plays in 31 games.
GRIFFIN NAMED BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
3B Michael Griffin was named co-Big 12 Conference Player of the Week, sharing this week's honor with Oklahoma 1B Ole Sheldon. Nebraska's Zach Kroenke earned pitcher of the week honors. Griffin hit .400 with three home runs and 12 RBI on the week, leading the Bears to a 3-1 mark and a series victory at Missouri. The Dallas, Texas, native blasted a pair of home runs in Saturday's 15-9 victory over the Tigers, and his sixth-inning grand slam capped a Baylor rally that led to a 9-6 Bears' victory. Earlier in the week, Griffin collected career hit No. 200, a game-ending two-run single against TCU in the Bears' 11-0, seven-inning mercy rule victory. His grand slam Sunday was career home run No. 23, tying him with Kevin Ellis (1989-1992) for 10th in Baylor history. Griffin is the second Bear named Big 12 Player of the Week this season; DH Josh Ford was so honored two weeks ago. LHP Cory VanAllen and RHP Mark McCormick also have earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Week accolades this season.
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 10 games, the Bears are hitting .333 (124-for-372) with 23 doubles, five triples, 13 home runs and 8.6 runs per game. Since that 1-0 loss to Vanderbilt, the Bears are 8-6 with a .340 team average, 31 doubles, six triples, 20 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 .407 (24-of-59), 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 20 round-trippers in the last 14 contests with homers in 10 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 .292 at present.
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.
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 7, the Bears' first 14 opponents have a combined record of 263-160-3 (.621) this season and five are ranked in this week's Baseball America Top 25 (No. 7 Long Beach State, No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 16 UC Irvine, No. 22 Oklahoma and No. 25 Vanderbilt). The records could be even better as the 14 opponents have played each other 46 times this season. That gives Baylor an adjusted opponents' winning percentage (total minus losses to common opponents and all games against Baylor) of .721 (250-96-3). Only one of Baylor's 2004 opponents - Houston (12-19) - has a sub-.500 record, and the Cougars' strength of schedule is ranked third nationally.
ERRORS COSTLY FOR BEARS
Through 30 games, the Bears have committed 39 errors, and opponents have turned those errors into 41 unearned runs. That works out to an averted run percentage of 1.051. By comparison, Baylor's APR last season was 0.733 after committing 105 errors with 77 unearned runs allowed. The Bears' current fielding percentage of .965 would tie for fifth in school history. Baylor posted team fielding percentages of .966 in 1999 and in 2000, tied for third in all-time at Baylor. 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 128-76 (.627), the Bears are ahead of Texas Tech (121-81-1; .599). 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 CRACKS CAREER HOME RUN CHART
With his game-winning grand slam Sunday 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 last week's TCU game, Griffin collected career hit No. 200 and moved into ninth place on Baylor's career RBI list. Griffin now has 153 RBI as a Bear, eight shy of seventh-place Jason Jennings (1997-1999). Griffin currently is seventh all-time at Baylor with 87 extra-base hits. He needs 13 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 .331 in Big 12 Conference games as opposed to .265 in non-conference contests. Baylor's slugging percentage is nearly 154 points higher against Big 12 pitching. The struggles for Baylor in conference games has been fielding, where in nine games the Bears have committed 18 errors. Baylor has committed just 21 errors in 21 non-conference games. The Bears are collared with a .945 fielding percentage in league play.
CARDIAC KIDS
Baylor has played 15 one-run games in its first 31 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 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.
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 356-221-1 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 continues a six-game home stand Tuesday, hosting Sam Houston State for a 6 p.m. CDT contest at Baylor Ballpark. This is the fifth game in the home stand, one of 10 home games in a 12-game stretch for the Bears.
