No. 8 Baseball Hosts UTA

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GAME 4 • FEB. 15, 2005 • 6:00 P.M. CST

8 BAYLOR (3-0)

vs.

TEXAS-ARLINGTON (2-4)

BAYLOR BALLPARK • WACO, TEXAS

THE SERIES

Overall Record: Baylor leads 65-26

Waco: Baylor leads 39-11

Arlington: Baylor leads 26-15

Neutral Site: Never Met

Smith vs. UTA: 19-6

Last Meeting: UTA 4, at Baylor 3 [5/11/04]

BAYLOR RADIO NETWORK

ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM (Waco)

Tom Barfield, play-by-play

Lark Smith, color

INTERNET FEEDS

Audio: www.BaylorBears.com

Video (BearCast): None

PROBABLE STARTERS

BU - RHP Sean Walker * (4-6, 4.24 ERA)

UTA - RHP Grant Varnell (0-0, 4.50 ERA)

* - 2004 statistics

Baylor plays its first home game of the 2005 season Tuesday, hosting Texas-Arlington. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST at Baylor Ballpark. This is the first of three meetings this season between Baylor and UTA, two of which will be played in Waco.

The Bears (3-0) are off to their best start since 2000 after sweeping Houston (8-6), Tennessee (3-2) and 19th-ranked Rice (6-1) at last weekend's Minute Maid Park College Classic in Houston, Texas. Baylor climbed two spots to No. 8 in this week's Baseball America Top 25.

The Mavericks (2-4) dropped a pair of close games in a Sunday doubleheader at home against Arkansas, a team ranked 25th nationally in last week's Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches' Poll. UTA has lost three straight after taking two of three at the Texas-Pan American Invitational to open the season.

Baylor sends senior RHP Sean Walker (0-0) to the mound, while UTA counters with senior RHP Grant Varnell (0-0). Walker, who pitched all of last season without an ACL, makes his first appearance since having surgery on that right knee last June. Varnell has appeared in two games for the Mavericks thus far in the 2005 season; he makes his second start Tuesday.

All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM in Waco. Live streaming audio and GameTracker also are available for all Baylor baseball games online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the College Sports Network.

LEADING OFF

BAYLOR UP TWO SPOTS IN BASEBALL AMERICA TOP 25

On the strength of a 3-0 showing at the season-opening Minute Maid Park College Classic over the weekend, Baylor climbed two spots to No. 8 in this week's Baseball America Top 25. This is the highest ranking for the Bears since a No. 6 ranking in late March 2003.

The top seven spots did not change from last week's rankings with Tulane in the top spot, followed by Louisiana State, Cal State Fullerton, Texas, Miami, Stanford and South Carolina. The Bears leaped idle Georgia, which dropped to ninth, and Washington, which slipped to 12th from eighth after an 0-3 start.

UC Irvine made the biggest jump this week; unranked last week, the Anteaters slid into the 19th spot after sweeping Washington.

Several of Baylor's 2005 opponents appear in this week's poll. Along with Texas, the Bears have games this season against No. 11 Arizona State, No. 14 Texas A&M, No. 17 Rice, No. 18 Vanderbilt, No. 20 Long Beach State, No. 23 TCU and No. 24 Oral Roberts.

QUICK NOTES

• Baylor and Texas-Arlington meet for the 92nd time Tuesday. The Bears hold a 65-26 advantage in the all-time series.

• The Bears climbed to No. 8 in this week's Baseball America Top 25, Baylor's highest ranking since reaching No. 6 in late March 2003.

• Other polls: Baylor is 12th in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches' Poll, 12th in the NCBWA rankings and 13th in Collegiate Baseball.

• After Tuesday's game against UT-Arlington, 16 of the Bears' next 19 games are against teams ranked in this week's Baseball America Top 25.

• Five Bears earned all-tournament honors at the Minute Maid Park College Classic: DH/C Zach Dillon, C/DH Josh Ford, 2B Michael Griffin, RF Mike Pankratz and LHP Trey Taylor. Baylor led all teams with five representatives.

• Several Bears maintained hitting streaks that began last season: 1B Kyle Reynolds (6 games), Ford (5), Griffin (5) and Dillon (4). Pankratz also has hit safely in each of this season's first three games.

• Dillon established a career high with four RBI Friday against Houston. He also matched his career high with three hits in that game.

• Ford matched his career high with four hits against Houston, the fifth four-hit game of his career. It was his second career four-hit game in a Minute Maid Park College Classic game; he also had four hits against Houston in 2003.

• RHP Abe Woody recorded his ninth career save Saturday against Tennessee, moving into a fourth-place tie all-time at Baylor.

• Taylor made his 35th career start against Tennessee, moving into a 10th-place tie all-time at Baylor.

• Baylor ended a six-game losing streak against Rice with its 6-1 victory Sunday. The Bears' last win against the Owls was the memorable 11-10 come-from-behind victory at the 2001 NCAA Houston Regional.

• Baylor improves to 7-5 in four Minute Maid Park College Classics. This was the first time Baylor went undefeated in the event and, ironically, the first time a Baylor player did not earn MVP honors.

• The Bears are off to their first 3-0 start since 2000. No Baylor team has started 4-0 since the 1993 squad opened 7-0.

• Baylor snapped a four-game losing streak in season openers with its 8-6 victory Friday against Houston. Since 1920, Baylor has lost four straight season openers four times. The fifth season has produced a victory every time.

• The Bears are three games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 2003 season. Last season, Baylor started 3-1 before a four-game losing streak. The 2004 Bears never again eclipsed the .500 mark.

• Pankratz provided Baylor's first home run of the 2005 season, a solo shot in the 12th at bat of the first game. Last season, Baylor's first round-tripper came in the 11th game and the 317th at bat.

• Baylor had 16 hits in the season opener against Houston. Last season, the Bears did not collect 16 hits in a game until a season-high tying 18 in the Big 12 opener March 19 at Texas A&M, the 20th game of the year.

• Baylor put the leadoff batter on base in 12 of 25 innings over the weekend; eight times that runner scored.

• According to BoydsWorld.com, Baylor's 2005 schedule is the nation's fourth most-difficult behind only Southern California, Arizona and UCLA.

• Baylor Ballpark has ranked 21st or better nationally in average attendance every year since the facility's opening in 1999, including a program-best ninth in 2001. Baylor ranked 19th nationally in average attendance last season.

• Entering the 2005 season, 2B Michael Griffin is the NCAA active career leader in games played (189), at bats (782) and hits (243). He also is third and one shy of the lead in doubles (50), second and two shy of the lead in RBI (166), and third and four shy of the lead in total bases (405).

• Baylor and LSU are the only NCAA Division I teams to enter the 2005 season with two players who have amassed at least 25 career home runs each. For Baylor, that tandem is C Josh Ford and 2B Michael Griffin, both of whom have 28 career round-trippers.

• Baylor's 2005 roster features five players who have previously been drafted: LHP/1B Drew Jeffcoat (2003-Los Angeles-36th Round), RHP Mark McCormick (2002-Baltimore-11th Round), IF Kyle Reynolds (2002-Arizona-50th Round), LHP Trey Taylor (2001-Colorado-2nd Round; 2003-Chicago Cubs-20th Round) and LHP Cory VanAllen (2003-Los Angeles-3rd Round).

• Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, the Bears have the league's best conference record at 137-83 (.623). Baylor leads all conference schools in both first-team All-Big 12 selections (21) and first-team Academic All-Big 12 selections (47), and the Bears are the only Big 12 Conference program to have ranked in the top 10 nationally at some point during each of the past eight seasons (1998-2005).

THE TEXAS-ARLINGTON SERIES

Baylor and Texas-Arlington meet for the 92nd time Tuesday. The Bears hold a 65-26 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to a 3-2 and 2-0 Baylor sweep of a doubleheader Feb. 26, 1973 in Waco.

The Bears lost two of three to the Mavericks last season. UTA won the only meeting in Arlington (5-1), while the team split two meetings at Baylor Ballpark (Baylor won the first 13-2; UTA took the second 4-3).

Baylor leads the series 39-11 in games played in Waco. UTA's victory in Waco last season was the program's first since Feb. 18, 1992, ending a streak of 17 consecutive Baylor victories.

The Bears are 19-6 against UTA under head coach Steve Smith.

THE TEXAS-ARLINGTON MAVERICKS

Texas-Arlington (2-4) is in its 4th season under the direction of head coach Jeff Curtis, a 1990 Nebraska-Kearney graduate. Curtis has amassed a 100-84 career record, all coming at UTA.

UTA Notes: The Mavericks opened the season taking two of three at the Texas-Pan American Invitational at Edinburg, Texas, the first weekend of February. UTA defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas State but lost to UTPA. Last week, the Mavs lost a single game at home to Dallas Baptist and dropped both ends of a Sunday doubleheader at home against Arkansas. ... UTA hits .197 as a team with 1 home run and six stolen bases in six games. The Mavericks average 2.7 runs per game. ... The UTA pitching staff boasts a 2.41 ERA with one save and 47 strikeouts against 15 walks in 56.0 innings. Opposing batters hit .256 against the Mavericks. ... UTA has committed seven errors in six games with a team fielding percentage of .971.

WELCOME BACK, TERRY

Tuesday's game is a homecoming of sort for one UTA Maverick. Junior LHP Russell Reichenbach is a former Baylor Bear. The Hurst, Texas, native transferred to UTA at the conclusion of the 2004 season. Reichenbach, whose cousin Clay Reichenbach plays third base for Rice and faced the Bears last Sunday, appeared in 21 games over two seasons for Baylor. He tallied 11 strikeouts in 17.1 innings as a Bear.

BEARS WIN MINUTE MAID PARK COLLEGE CLASSIC

Baylor was the only team to go undefeated in last weekend's Minute Maid Park College Classic. It was the first time in four appearances at the MMPCC that the Bears did not lose a game.

Five Bears earned all-tournament honors: DH/C Zach Dillon, C/DH Josh Ford, 2B Michael Griffin, RF Mike Pankratz and LHP Trey Taylor. Baylor led all teams with five representatives.

BAYLOR BIGGEST JUMPER IN THIS WEEK'S POLLS

While Baylor only climbed two spots in the Baseball America Top 25, the Bears jumped quite a few spots in the other three polls. Baylor did not jump much in the Baseball America rankings because the publication already had the Bears ranked high.

However, the Bears made the biggest jump of team nationally in the other three polls -- up eight spots to No. 12 in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches' Poll, up 12 spots to No. 13 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 and up 21 spots to No. 12 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association rankings.

Eight of Baylor's 2005 opponents appear in all of this week's polls. A ninth, Oklahoma State, is ranked by the NCBWA.

SMOOTH FIELDING CONTINUES FOR WITT

In 2004, SS Paul Witt handled 131 consecutive chances at second base without an error, spanning the season's final 28 games. Through three games this season at shortstop, Witt has handled 10 chances without an error.

Witt is not the only Bear to look sharp defensively this season. As a team, Baylor has committed just one error in 118 chances for a .992 fielding percentage. The lone error was a bobbled scoop by RHP Mark McCormick in the season opener against Houston.

Baylor is second in the Big 12 Conference in fielding percentage behind only Texas A&M, which has not made an error in 116 chances over three games.

BAYLOR IN THE BIG 12 STATISTICAL RANKINGS

Through games of Feb. 13, Baylor ranks third in team batting average (.330), third in team ERA (3.00) and second in team fielding percentage (.992) in the Big 12 Conference.

Individually, C/DH Josh Ford is tied for third with a .500 batting average, while RF Mike Pankratz is tied for sixth at .444. RHP Ryan LaMotta is tied for the league lead in ERA at 0.00, while LHP Cory VanAllen is 10th at 1.69.

Here is where other Bears stand in the latest Big 12 statistical rankings:

- 1B Kyle Reynolds: t-9th in home runs (1)

- RF Mike Pankratz: t-9th in home runs (1)

- C/DH Josh Ford: t-2nd in doubles (3); 8th in on base percentage (.538); t-7th in slugging percentage (.750)

- RHP Ryan LaMotta: 6th in opp. batting average (.154); t-10th in appearances (2)

- RHP Mark McCormick: 7th in opp. batting average (.167)

- LHP Trey Taylor: t-4th in wins (1)

- LHP Cory VanAllen: t-4th in wins (1); t-9th in strikeouts (8)

- RHP Abe Woody: t-2nd in saves (1)

SCHEDULE AGAIN AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST

Baylor ranked 10th nationally in strength of schedule last season, and 2005 does not appear to be any easier. The Bears' 2005 schedule ranks as the nation's fourth most-difficult, according to BoydsWorld.com. In 2003, Baylor's schedule was deemed the nation's toughest in the preseason and was ranked fifth by season's end.

Southern California's 2005 schedule ranks as the nation's toughest entering the season; the Trojans are followed by Arizona, UCLA and Baylor. The Bears are the only team in the top 14 spots that is not from the state of California or does not play in the Pac-10. Texas A&M, the next highest-ranked Big 12 schedule, is 15th.

The 2005 Bears play 25 games against nine teams ranked in the Baseball America Preseason Top 25. Along with three ranked Big 12 opponents, the Bears face Arizona State, Vanderbilt, Rice, TCU, Long Beach State and Oral Roberts. Baylor also plays 36 games against 13 teams that appeared in the 2004 regionals.

From the weekend of Feb. 18-20 to the weekend of March 25-27, the Bears have five consecutive weekend series against teams ranked in Baseball America's Preseason Top 25. After Tuesday's game against UT-Arlington, 16 of the Bears' next 19 games are against teams ranked in this week's Baseball America Top 25.

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 137-83 (.623), the Bears are ahead of Texas Tech (137-86-1; .614) and Texas (133-89; .599). Included in the first eight 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 eight seasons (1998-2005). Baylor joins Oklahoma State as the only schools to have never finished below .500 in Big 12 play.

Including the 2004 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 (41).

HEAD COACH Steve Smith

Steve Smith begins his second decade as head coach at Baylor in 2005. In his first decade, Smith guided the program to near unprecedented heights, including the most successful six-year run in the program's 100-year history.

Smith has compiled a 372-234-1 (.614) career record, all at Baylor. He holds the best winning percentage of any coach in Baylor baseball history, and he ranks second among the program's 18 head coaches in career victories. Smith has led Baylor to six NCAA Regional appearances, two NCAA Super Regional appearances and the 2000 Big 12 Conference title. He also has coached 12 All-America selections and seven USA Baseball National Team members while at Baylor.

In January 2005, Smith was named head coach of the USA Baseball National Team for the upcoming summer. Smith is just the second Big 12 Conference coach to serve as head coach of the national team. He also previously served as an assistant coach under his former Mississippi State boss Ron Polk on the 1998 USA Baseball National Team that posted an overall record of 30-12.

Smith led the Bears to their first-ever 50-win season in 1999 and a Big 12 championship in 2000, and piloted the team to six straight NCAA appearances from 1998 to 2003. His Bears have the best conference record in the Big 12 since the league began. Through the 2004 season, Smith ranked 47th 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 10 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 a league-leading 41 players on the Academic All-Big 12 first team in the past eight seasons.

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 College Sports Online network, which 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. A total of 24 games will be available online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor athletics and a member of the College Sports Online network. Seventeen of the 24 webcasts will be against Big 12 Conference opponents, including the Bears' three-game league sets against Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Missouri, as well as the home portion of the Texas series.

Fans may purchase the games for $4.95 per game or $9.95 for a three-series. Fans also have the option of purchasing monthly ($6.95) or annual ($49.95) subscriptions which include all BearCasts in that time period. The following games will be available in this year's Baylor webcast package:

Feb. 18 and 20 - Oral Roberts

March 4, 5 and 6 - Long Beach State

March 15 - TCU

March 19 and 20 - Texas

April 1, 2 and 3 - Oklahoma

April 5 - Houston

April 8, 9, 10 - Kansas State

April 29, 30, May 1 - Texas Tech

May 13, 14, 15 - Texas A&M

May 20, 21, 22 - Missouri

BAYLOR BASEBALL RADIO NETWORK

Catch every inning of Baylor baseball in 2005 on the flagship station for Baylor athletics, ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM Waco.

Tom Barfield and Lark Smith are in their fourth 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 in 2002, 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.

Live streaming audio for all 2005 Baylor baseball games are available on the Internet at www.BaylorBears.com. BU baseball is also a staple of the daily "Baylor SportsBeat" hosted by John Morris and airing weekdays at 7:25am and 5:25pm on ESPN/KRZI 1660 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 24th-ranked Oral Roberts for a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears and the Golden Eagles meet Friday at 6 p.m. CST, Saturday at 5:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

No. 8 Baseball Hosts UTA

Players Mentioned

Zach Dillon

Drew Jeffcoat

Ryan LaMotta

Mike Pankratz

Cory VanAllen

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No. 8 Baseball Hosts UTA

Related News

Players Mentioned

Zach Dillon

Drew Jeffcoat

Ryan LaMotta

Mike Pankratz

Cory VanAllen

Related Videos

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