Bears, Raiders Meet in Final Big 12 Series

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BAYLOR (27-26, 13-9)
at
TEXAS TECH (35-17, 14-9)

May 21-23, 2004
Dan Law Field * Lubbock, Texas

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

Baylor returns to action this weekend, traveling to Lubbock, Texas, for a three-game Big 12 Conference series against Texas Tech at Dan Law Field. The Bears (27-26, 13-9) and the Red Raiders (35-17, 14-9) meet Friday at 6:30 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. This is the final Big 12 series of the season for both teams. Texas Tech and Baylor enter the weekend fourth and fifth, respectively, in the conference standings, one-half game apart with the Bears one-half game ahead of sixth-place Texas A&M. The Bears have won 11 of their last 15, including seven of eight in league play after a sweep of Nebraska at home last weekend. The Raiders have won three straight after a four-game losing skid and took two of three at Oklahoma State last weekend. All Baylor baseball games are carried via radio in Central Texas on KRZI 1660/1580 AM. Live audio and GameTracker also are 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 MATCHUPSFriday, May 21BU    LHP    Trey Taylor (5-3, 3.09 ERA)TTU   RHP    Steven Thomas (3-6, 4.93 ERA)
Saturday, May 22BU    RHP    Sean Walker (4-5, 3.49 ERA)TTU   LHP    Dallas Braden (5-3, 4.22 ERA)
Sunday, May 23BU    RHP    Mark McCormick (2-3, 3.27 ERA)TTU   RHP    Michael McGowan (2-1, 4.44 ERA)
subject to change

QUICK NOTES
* Baylor and Texas Tech meet for the 120th, 121st and 122nd times this weekend. Tech holds a slim 61-58 advantage in the all-time series, the seventh most-played series in Baylor baseball history.

* Baylor is 13-9 in Big 12 play and assured of finishing above .500 in the league. Only Baylor and Oklahoma State have never had a sub-.500 Big 12 record.

* Through 22 Big 12 Conference games, Baylor is ahead of last year's pace when the Bears were 12-10.

* Baylor has won five of eight Big 12 series this year, including each of the last three, which matches the number of series won by the 2003 team.

* Baylor has seven regular-season wins in May, matching the 2003 squad for the most in school history. Prior to 2003, no Baylor team had won more than four regular season May games since the 1960 team won five.

* According to the NCAA statistical rankings, Baylor is 10th nationally with a 3.22 staff ERA through games of May 16.

* If the season ended today, the Bears' staff ERA would be the lowest by a Baylor team since 1977 (3.10).

* Baylor has played each of the top three pitching staffs in America according to the latest NCAA statistical rankings (No. 1 Rice, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Long Beach State). The Bears have played three other teams ranked in the top 25 in ERA (No. 12 Vanderbilt, No. 22 UC Irvine and No. 25 Missouri).

* According to this week's report at www.BoydsWorld.com, Baylor's strength of schedule is ninth nationally. The Bears are also 38th nationally in the pseudo-RPI rankings, making Baylor the 28th highest at-large team. There are 34 at large spots in the NCAA Regionals.

* Baylor has played six opponents this season that have won a national title: Missouri (1954), Oklahoma (1951, 1994), Oklahoma State (1959), Rice (2004) Texas (1949, 1950, 1975, 1983, 2002) and UC Irvine (Division II in 1973, 1974).

* Baylor is 17-8 since April 3. In that time, the Bears are hitting .309 with a 3.11 ERA. Baylor has not lost more than two consecutive games in that time with winning streaks of six, four and three games.

* SS Paul Witt has handled 97 consecutive chances at second without an error, spanning 21 games. He has made just two errors in his last 127 chances at second (.984) since a two-error outing in the Saturday game at Oklahoma. He also is hitting .359 since then with hits in 24 of 28 games.

* 41 of Baylor's 53 games this season have been against teams ranked in one of the four polls at some point this season. The Bears are 19-22 in those games.

* 3B Michael Griffin has not gone more than nine at bats without a hit.

* Baylor has won six consecutive Trey Taylor starts. Taylor's three losses this season were all one-run losses and came against Long Beach State, UC Irvine and Vanderbilt. Taylor's ERA this year is 2.75 runs lower than his career ERA entering the season.

* DH Josh Ford's grand slam last Sunday against Nebraska was Baylor's fourth of the season, the most by a BU squad since the 1999 team had five. ... Baylor is 9-0 this season when Ford homers.

* Baylor has played 21 one-run games, 39.6 percent of this season's games and one shy of the most in a season under Steve Smith.

* After going hitless in his first five starts this season, SS Kyle Reynolds has hit safely in 34 of his last 39 starts, including five straight and 26 of the last 28.

* 2B Drew Sutton has reached safely in 47 of 53 games this season, including the last 11 and 15 of the last 16.

* CF Kevin Sevigny has reached safely in 11 consecutive starts.

* Baylor is 22-6 this season when scoring five or more runs and 26-6 when out-hitting the opposition. The Bears are 20-2 when doing both.

* After hitting just three home runs in their first 17 games, the Bears have knocked 40 homers in their last 36 games.

* Since hitting their first home run March 2, the Bears have not gone more than three games without a round-tripper.

* The Bears have five shutouts this season, tied for third in school history and two shy of the program record.

* The Bears have played 16 errorless games in 53 contests this season. Ironically, the 2004 Bears are 6-10 this season when not committing an error.

* Opponents are 9-for-102 (.088) in first at bats against Baylor relievers with seven double plays and 30 strikeouts.

* Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, the Bears have the league's best conference record at 137-80 (.631). 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 TECH SERIES
Baylor and Texas Tech meet for the 120th, 121st and 122nd times this weekend. The Raiders hold a slim 61-58 advantage in the all-time series, the seventh most-played series in Baylor baseball history. The series dates back to a 14-1 Baylor victory in 1928. The series is decidedly tilted toward the home team. While the Bears are 37-22 against the Raiders in Waco, Baylor is 19-37 at Lubbock. The Bears enter the weekend having lost six consecutive games at Dan Law Field since taking two of three on the Raiders home turf in 1998. Tech holds a 13-10 advantage since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997. Baylor won the series in 1998, 1999 (sweep) and 2003. Tech has won each of the other four series, including sweeps in 2000 and 2002. Baylor is 11-20 against Texas Tech during Steve Smith's tenure as Baylor head coach. Tech, Oklahoma (14-16) and Oklahoma State (12-15) are the only Big 12 schools against whom the Bears have a sub-.500 record under Smith. This weekend's series also matches the two winningest program's in the eight-year history of the Big 12. Baylor enters the weekend with an all-time Big 12 record of 137-80 (.631), while Tech is 134-87-1 (.606). The two are the only schools who have played .600 or better ball in the league's existence.

BIG 12 TOURNAMENT TAKING SHAPE
The field is set, but the seeds are not. Baylor, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech have qualified for next week's eighth rendition of the Big 12 Conference Tournament, this year at Ameriquest Field in Arlington, Texas. However, no team has secured its seed for the double-elimination event entering the season's final weekend. Four teams - Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech - are still alive for the conference title, although Texas would get the tiebreaker in seeding should Texas Tech match their league-best record. Either Nebraska or Missouri will be the seventh seed with the other seeded eighth. In between, just two games separate third-place Oklahoma State and sixth-place Texas A&M. The Bears could finish as high as second, but they would need to sweep Texas Tech, have Texas A&M sweep Texas, Nebraska sweep Oklahoma and Missouri take at least two from Oklahoma State. The Bears can finish no lower than sixth and must win at least as many games at Texas A&M this weekend to remain no lower than fifth. Baylor joins Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M as the only teams to have appeared in every Big 12 Conference Tournament.

WITT EARNS WEEKLY BIG 12 HONOR
2B Paul Witt was named co-Big 12 Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday. Witt, the third Bear to be so honored this season, shares the weekly honor with Ole Sheldon of Oklahoma. A product of Pine Bluff [Ark.] High School, Witt hit safely in all five games and was 7-for-17 (.412) on the week. He also scored three times, doubled and hit his first home run of the season. Witt scored the game-winning run in each of the first two games of Baylor's series sweep against Nebraska, including a scamper home on a two-out passed ball in the bottom of the ninth Saturday. However, the highlight of the week for Witt was his defensive gem in the fifth inning of Saturday night's game. After Nebraska tied the score 2-2, the Huskers continued to threaten with Daniel Bruce at third and one out. With the infield playing in, Nebraska leadoff hitter Jesse Boyer hit a sharp ground ball up the middle. Witt made a diving stop on the ball and threw out Bruce at home from one knee. The play, arguably the defensive play of the year in college baseball, can be view online at www.BaylorTV.com/video.php?id=000585. Witt finished the weekend a perfect 22-for-22 in fielding chances, including 16 assists. He also turned three ground-ball double plays and started a line-drive double play. On the season, Witt has made only six errors in 180 chances (.966) with only four errors in 132 chances (.970) at second base. Witt has handled 97 consecutive chances at second without an error, spanning 21 games. He has made just two errors in his last 127 chances at second (.984) since a two-error outing March 27 at Oklahoma; therefore, he has played errorless ball in 28 of 31 games at second. He also leads the team with a .359 average over the last 28 games, hitting safely in 24 of those contests.

GRIFFIN EARNS ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONORS
3B Michael Griffin was named first-team Academic all-District VI, announced Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Griffin was a second-team selection last year. An international business major at Baylor, Griffin shares the team lead in home runs at eight with seven coming in Big 12 Conference play. The product of Cedar Hill High School in Dallas, Texas, has started every game this season at the hot corner and is hitting .293 on the year. Griffin also leads the team in runs (38), doubles (14), extra-base hits (22), total bases (98) and stolen bases (15). First-team academic all-district honorees are now placed on the academic all-America ballots. That team will be announced June 1.

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 137-80 (.631), the Bears are ahead of Texas Tech (134-87-1; .606) 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).

ERRORS COSTLY FOR BEARS
Through 53 games, the Bears have committed 68 errors, and opponents have turned those errors into 66 unearned runs. That works out to an averted run index of 0.971. 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 67 errors, but the Bears have scored only 39 unearned runs (0.582 ARI). The Bears' current fielding percentage of .967 would rank third in school history. Baylor posted team fielding percentages of .966 in 1999 and in 2000, tied for third in school history entering the 2004 season. Conversely, the Bears had a 0.590 ARI in 1999 and a 0.568 ARI in 2000.

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 89 degrees (Tuesday vs. Rice). However, only eight of the 53 games have started with a temperature at or above 80 degrees (the Bears are 6-2 in such 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.

CARDIAC KIDS
Baylor has played 21 one-run games this season; the Bears are 7-14 in such contests. The 14 losses are the most in 10 seasons under the direction of head coach Steve Smith, and 10 have come against teams ranked in this week's Baseball America Top 25. Last season, Baylor played 16 one-run games, posting a 9-7 mark in such contests. Baylor has played 158 one-run games during Smith's tenure, going 84-74 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 370-229-1 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 travels to Arlington, Texas, for the eighth rendition of the Big 12 Conference Tournament. This year's event takes place at Ameriquest Field in Arlington as the tournament makes its second stop at the home park of the American League's Texas Rangers. Play begins with four first-round games Wednesday; seedings are still to be determined.

Bears, Raiders Meet in Final Big 12 Series

Players Mentioned

Kevin Sevigny

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Bears, Raiders Meet in Final Big 12 Series

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