Baseball Begins Busy Week with UTA, Texas State

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BAYLOR (23-23)
vs.
TEXAS-ARLINGTON (26-22)

7:00 p.m. CDT * May 11, 2004
Baylor Ballpark * Waco, Texas

BAYLOR
vs.
TEXAS STATE (27-21)

7:00 p.m. CDT * May 12, 2004
Baylor Ballpark * Waco, Texas

Radio: KRZI-AM (1580/1660)
Internet Audio: Click here.
GameTracker: Click here.

Following a week break for exams, Baylor returns to action Tuesday, hosting Texas-Arlington for a 7 p.m. CDT contest at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears also host Texas State at 7 p.m. Wednesday, a makeup from the Feb. 17 rainout. Baylor (23-23) has won seven of its last eight and 13 of its last 17 after a 2-1 win over Dallas Baptist at home May 4. Texas-Arlington (26-22) and Texas State (27-21) also suspended play over the past week due to final exams. The Mavericks last played May 2 and dropped both games of a doubleheader at McNeese State. The Bobcats last played May 4, falling 5-4 at Texas. 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, May 11BU            TBAUTA    RHP    Michael Gardner (9-2, 2.19 ERA)
Wednesday, May 12BU     LHP    Jared Theodorakos (3-2, 3.49 ERA)TXST   LHP    Joey Gonzalez (2-2, 4.30 ERA)

QUICK NOTES
* Baylor and Texas-Arlington meet for the 91st time Tuesday, the ninth most-played series in Baylor baseball history. The Bears lead the series 65-25 overall and 39-10 in Waco, where Baylor has won 17 straight against UTA.
* Baylor and Texas State meet for the 46th time Wednesday with the Bears holding a 33-12 advantage in the all-time series. The Bears are 27-10 against Texas State in Waco.
* Baylor ranks 11th nationally with a 3.22 staff ERA through games of May 9. Furthermore, the Bears have faced five of the nation's top 20 staffs in terms of ERA (No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Long Beach State, No. 13 UC Irvine, No. 15 Vanderbilt and No. 20 Missouri) and face a sixth (No. 1 Rice) next week.
* The Bears have more wins (4-13) against this week's Baseball America Top 25 than No. 4 Rice (3-5), No. 6 East Carolina (3-4), No. 10 Notre Dame (2-0), No. 14 Texas A&M (1-3), No. 17 Southern Mississippi (3-3) and No. 23 Central Florida (1-2), and as many wins as No. 25 Georgia Tech (4-5) - or 28 percent of the teams in the Top 25.
* Baylor, Mississippi (10-7), Arkansas (13-11) are the only teams in America who have played at least 15 games against this week's Baseball America Top 25 that have a record of .500 or better.
* SS Kyle Reynolds (nine games), DH Josh Ford (eight games), LF Reid Brees (five games) and 1B Drew Sutton (four games) all carry hitting streaks into Tuesday's game. Ford's is a season long and a tie of his career long (two other occasions).
* Baylor is 7-0 this season in games in which DH Josh Ford hits a home run. ... Ford has reached safely in 17 consecutive starts.
* CF Chase Gerdes has hit safely in 11 of 13 games this season when getting at least two at bats. Gerdes leads the team with seven infield hits.
* 3B Michael Griffin has six multiple-hit games in his last 13 contests. He and 1B Drew Sutton share the team lead with 17 multiple-hit games.
* After going hitless in each of his first five starts this season, SS Kyle Reynolds has hit safely in 29 of his last 33 starts, including 21 of the last 22.
* 2B Drew Sutton has reached safely in 40 of 46 games this season.
* CF Kevin Sevigny has reached safely in eight consecutive starts.
* LHP Trey Taylor has allowed no more than two earned runs in eight of 12 starts this season.
* Baylor pitchers have allowed just 12 runs in the last 62.0 innings (spanning seven games). In that time, Baylor pitchers have tossed 54 scoreless innings. ... Baylor starting pitchers have a 1.17 ERA over the last seven games.
* 20 of Baylor's 23 losses this season have come to teams ranked nationally at some point this season.
* Baylor is 20-6 this season when scoring five or more runs and 22-6 when out-hitting the opposition. The Bears are 18-2 when doing both.
* Through 19 Big 12 Conference games, Baylor is one game ahead of last year's pace when the Bears were 9-10.
* The Bears have recorded at least one extra-base hit in 31 consecutive games.
* After hitting just three home runs in their first 17 games, the Bears have knocked 32 homers in their last 29 games.
* Since hitting their first home run March 2, the Bears have not gone more than three games without a round-tripper.
* Having committed 62 errors with 64 unearned runs allowed, Baylor has a averted run index of 1.032. Baylor's opponents have committed 63 errors, but the Bears have scored only 38 unearned runs (0.603 ARI). However, Baylor's ARI over the past nine games is 0.375.
* The Bears have five shutouts this season, the most by a Baylor staff since the 2001 corps also registered five blankings.
* The Bears have played 13 errorless games in 46 contests this season. Ironically, the 2004 Bears are 5-8 this season when not committing an error.
* Baylor relief pitchers have held opponents to a .232 batting average this season with 144 strikeouts in 151.0 innings.
* Opponents are 7-for-81 (.086) in first at bats against Baylor relievers with six double plays and 25 strikeouts.
* Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, the Bears have the league's best conference record at 134-80 (.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 TEXAS-ARLINGTON SERIES
Baylor and Texas-Arlington meet for the 91st time Tuesday, the ninth most-played series in Baylor baseball history. The Bears lead the all-time series 65-25, including a 39-10 advantage in games played in Waco. This is the third and final meeting between the teams this season; the Mavericks defeated Baylor 5-1 March 9 at Arlington, while the Bears posted a 13-2 triumph April 6 at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears have won 19 of 24 meetings during head coach Steve Smith's tenure, including seven of the last nine. Baylor has won 17 straight against UTA in Waco. The Bears' last home loss to the Mavericks was a 5-4 decision Feb. 18, 1992.

THE TEXAS-ARLINGTON MAVERICKS
Texas-Arlington (26-22) is in its third season under the direction of Jeff Curtis, a 1990 Nebraska-Kearney graduate. Curtis has amassed a 92-76 career record, all coming at UTA. Prior to taking over at Arlington, Curtis served two years as an assistant coach for former head coach Clay Gould.

UTA Notes: UTA is listed among teams also receiving votes in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 35. ... The Mavericks have dropped eight of their last 12 games since a 1-0 victory April 13 against Oklahoma State. UTA is 5-2 this season against the Big 12 Conference with wins against Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Oklahoma twice, and losses to Baylor and Oklahoma State. ... Like Baylor, the Mavericks have struggled in one-run games, going 6-11 this season. UTA is 1-3 in extra-inning games, 9-13 away from home and 12-6 in night games. ... The Mavericks hit .304 as a team with 30 home runs, 97 doubles, 13 triples, 32 stolen bases in 49 ventures and 6.3 runs per game. The Mavericks have been shutout just once this season (Feb. 20, 7-0 vs. Oregon State). ... LF Hunter Pence (.423, 6 HR, 30 RBI) paces the UTA batters in average, home runs, slugging percentage (.624), on base percentage (.467) and stolen bases (8-for-8). 1B Ryan Nelson (.309, 5, 32), 3B Aaron Battle (.311, 4, 32) and CF Paul Bruder (.310, 4, 32) share the team lead in RBI. ... The Mavericks boast a 3.89 staff ERA with three shutouts, 12 saves, 327 strikeouts against 153 walks in 425.2 innings and a .263 opponents' batting average. ... RHP Michael Gardner (9-2, 2.19 ERA) is the staff ace and is scheduled to get Tuesday's start, his 12th in 13 appearances this season. Gardner has one complete-game shutout, 65 strikeouts against 26 walks in 82.1 innings and a .211 opponents' batting average. RHP Mike Snapp (3-3, 1.21 ERA) shoulders closer responsibilities for the Mavericks with 12 saves in 28 appearances this season. Snapp has 31 strikeouts against eight walks in 37.1 innings with a .195 opponents' average. ... UTA fields at a .960 clip with 76 errors and 39 double plays in 48 games.

THE TEXAS STATE SERIES
Baylor and Texas State meet for the 46th time on the diamond Wednesday. The Bears hold a 33-12 advantage in the all-time series and have won 19 of 26 meetings during head coach Steve Smith's tenure. The teams first met March 26, 1919. Baylor is 27-10 against the Bobcats in Waco.

THE TEXAS STATE BOBCATS
Texas State (27-21) is in its sixth season under the direction of head coach Ty Harrington. A 1989 Texas graduate, Harrington has amassed a 173-133 career record, all coming at Texas State.

TXST Notes: The Bobcats are 7-6 in their last 13 games and have not won or lost more than two consecutive games since a four-game winning streak April 6-10. Texas State is 0-5 against the Big 12 Conference this season, losing to Texas and Texas A&M twice each and to Baylor once. ... Texas State hits .282 as a team with 37 home runs, 97 doubles, 13 triples, 50 stolen bases in 61 attempts, and 5.7 runs per game. ... LF Matt Miller (.363, 7 HR, 43 RBI) leads regular starters in batting average, RBI and on base percentage (.425). CF Evan Tierce (.335, 5, 34) is a stout leadoff man with 42 runs scored, 15 doubles, four triples and 16 stolen bases in 17 ventures. 1B Mark Cooper (.344, 8, 40) leads the team in home runs and slugging percentage (.561). ... Texas State boasts a 3.81 team ERA with four shutouts, 285 strikeouts against 176 walks in 430.1 innings and an opponents' batting average of .259. ... The Bobcats send LHP Joey Gonzalez (2-2, 4.30 ERA) to the mound Wednesday for his sixth appearance in 12 appearances this season. Gonzalez has walked 11 with 16 strikeouts in 29.1 innings; opponents hit .308 off the southpaw. SS/RHP Dominic Ramos (2-2, 2.81) shoulders closer responsibilities for the Bobcats. He has five saves this season in 17 appearances with 23 strikeouts against eight walks in 25.2 innings; opponents hit .184 against Ramos. ... Texas State fields at a .963 clip with 71 errors and 40 double plays in 48 games.

BIG 12 TOURNAMENT TAKING SHAPE
Seven schools, including Baylor, have clinched berths in the 2004 Big 12 Conference Tournament, held May 26-30 at Ameriquest Field in Arlington. Baylor, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech have all secured spots in the eight-team field. Missouri, Kansas and Kansas State are still alive for the final berth, although Missouri is the only team that holds its own fate. Both Kansas and Kansas State, who meet in the season's final weekend, would need to win out and have Missouri lose out in order to qualify. Missouri and Kansas play this weekend at Lawrence. Kansas State took two of three from Missouri in the conference season's first weekend. Baylor joins Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M as the only teams to have appeared in ever Big 12 Conference Tournament.

RAIN, RAIN, STAY AWAY
When more than an inch of snow fell in Waco and forced postponement of Baylor's season opener Feb. 14, the Bears should have guessed it would be a troublesome season weather wise. The following morning, three inches of snow blanketed Ferrell Field but was gone by noon and a doubleheader against Loyola Marymount ensued. Since then, inclement weather has forced Baylor to reschedule one midweek game, play four weekend doubleheaders and cancel two conference games. With the loss of those two Big 12 games and barring any further cancellations, the Bears will play five more road games (15) in conference play than home games. The Bears have seen first-pitch temperatures ranging from 38 degrees (Feb. 15 vs. Loyola Marymount) to 87 degrees (April 27 at TCU). However, only five of the 42 games have started with a temperature at or above 80 degrees (the Bears are undefeated in those five contests). Even in a three-game series at Long Beach State in sunny southern California, Baylor was greeted with temperatures in the lower 50s with persistent rain.

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 134-80 (.626), the Bears are ahead of Texas Tech (131-86-1; .603) and Texas (133-89; .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 seven seasons (1998-2004). 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).

OFFENSIVE EFFICIENCY REPORT
Baylor has an uncharacteristically low offensive efficiency rating this season. The Bears have a total offensive production of 20.0 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 5-13. In those 18 one-run contests, the Bears have a total offensive production of 16.5 bases per game with an offensive efficiency rating of 1.269. In the other 28 games, Baylor has a TOP of 22.3 bases per game and an offensive efficiency rating of 1.383. 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="">

ERRORS COSTLY FOR BEARS
Through 46 games, the Bears have committed 62 errors, and opponents have turned those errors into 64 unearned runs. That works out to an averted run index of 1.032. 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 63 errors, but the Bears have scored only 38 unearned runs (0.603 ARI). 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 school history. Conversely, the Bears had a 0.590 ARI in 1999 and a 0.568 ARI in 2000.

CARDIAC KIDS
Baylor has played 18 one-run games this season; the Bears are 5-13 in such contests. The 13 losses are 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 155 one-run games during Smith's tenure, going 82-73 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.

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 366-226-1 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.

UP NEXT ...
Baylor continues a six-game home stand this weekend, hosting Nebraska for a three-game series. The Bears and the Huskers meet Friday at 7 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Live streaming video will be available for all three games.

Baseball Begins Busy Week with UTA, Texas State

Players Mentioned

Chase Gerdes

Kevin Sevigny

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Baseball Begins Busy Week with UTA, Texas State

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