Baseball Preview: No. 14 Baylor Travels to UTSA
2/28/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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GAME 11 •
14 BAYLOR (6-4)
at
TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO (0-10)
WOLFF MUNICIPAL STADIUM •
THE SERIES
Overall Record: Baylor leads 20-2
Neutral Site: Never Met
Smith vs. UTSA: 18-0
Last Meeting: at Baylor 6, UTSA 1 [
COACHES
BAYLOR: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 378-238-1 (11th season)
Record at Baylor: 378-238-1 (11th season)
UTSA:
Alma Mater:
Career Record: 111-126 (5th season)
Record at UTSA: 111-126 (5th season)
BAYLOR RADIO NETWORK
ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM (
Tom Barfield, play-by-play
Lark Smith, color
INTERNET FEEDS
GameTracker: www.BaylorBears.com
Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Video (BearCast): None
BAYLOR NATIONAL RANKINGS
Baseball
Sports Weekly/ESPN/Coaches 19th
NCBWA 29th
Collegiate Baseball 25th
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUP
BU - RHP Sean Walker (0-1, 4.91 ERA)
UTSA - RHP Ryan Crew (0-1, 4.50 ERA)
Baylor returns to action Tuesday, traveling to
Ranked 14th in this week's Baseball America Top 25, Baylor (6-4) dropped two of three at
Texas-San Antonio (0-10) has stumbled out of the gates. The Roadrunners have faced three nationally ranked opponents this season:
Baylor sends RHP Sean Walker (0-1) to the mound Tuesday for his second start of the season. UTSA counters with RHP Ryan Crew (0-1, 4.50); he makes his second start of the season Tuesday and has allowed three runs on four hits and three walks over 6.0 innings in two previous appearances.
All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM in
LEADING OFF
BAYLOR SLIPS SIX SPOTS IN BASEBALL
After dropping two of three at
Preseason No. 1 Tulane retained possession of the top spot for the fourth consecutive week after going 2-1 at
Several teams on Baylor's 2005 schedule appear in this week's rankings. Along with Texas, the Bears face or have faced No. 12 Rice, No. 13 Vanderbilt, No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 22 Texas Tech and No. 25 Texas Christian.
QUICK NOTES
• Baylor and Texas-San Antonio meet for the 23rd time Tuesday. The Bears lead the all-time series 20-2 and are 18-0 against UTSA since 1996.
• The Bears slipped to No. 14 in this week's Baseball America Top 25.
• Other polls: Baylor is 19th in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches' Poll, 29th in the NCBWA rankings and 25th in Collegiate Baseball.
• 10 of the Bears' next 12 games are against teams ranked in Baseball America Top 25 at some point this season.
• Baylor's comeback victory Sunday at Arizona State (trailed 5-0 after two innings) marked the first time since the 2003 season the Bears won a game when trailing any later than after six innings (down 5-4 after six against ASU). Last season, the Bears were 0-23 when trailing after six innings, 0-25 after seven and 0-25 after eight.
• The five-run deficit also was the largest the Bears have overcome since the 2003 season.
• The Bears are now 3-0 this season in one-run games after going 7-16 in such contests last season.
• Sunday's victory marked the first time Baylor has won the final game of a three-game series after losing the first two since the 2002 season (at Kansas State). It marked the first time the Bears have accomplished this feat in a non-conference series since the 2000 season (at Cal State Fullerton).
• Through 10 games this season, the Bears are hitting 43 points higher than through 10 games last season. Baylor also has eight more doubles, six more home runs, a slugging percentage .101 higher and average nearly a run more per game.
• 1B Kyle Reynolds hit his fourth home run of the season Sunday in just 10 games. That matches his 2004 total amassed in 55 games. Four home runs is the most he has produced in a single season.
• Reynolds has reached safely in every game this season and in 10 straight dating back to the 2004 season. Since
• LHP Trey Taylor and LHP Cory VanAllen both saw winning streaks end over the weekend.
•
• LF Reid Brees has reached safely in four straight games.
• DH/C Zach Dillon has reached safely and/or scored in seven of eight games played.
• 2B Michael Griffin has not gone more than nine at bats without a hit since an 0-for-10 stretch in June 2003.
• SS Paul Witt leads the team with five multiple-hit games this season. Witt has hit safely in six games with five multiple-hit showings.
• Baylor's leadoff batter has reached base in 41 of 87 innings this season (47.1 percent); 21 times that base runner has scored (51.2 percent). The Bears have scored in 30 innings this season; the leadoff batter reached base safely in 21 of those innings (70.0 percent).
• According to BoydsWorld.com, Baylor's 2005 schedule is the nation's fourth most-difficult behind only
• 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-
• 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).
BAYLOR STARTER
RHP Sean Walker (0-1, 4.71) makes his third appearance and second start of the 2005 season Tuesday at Texas-San Antonio. In 3.2 innings, he has allowed two runs on two hits and four walks with one strikeout. Opponents hit .182 against
Tuesday will be
THE TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO SERIES
Baylor and Texas-San Antonio meet on the diamond for the 23rd time Tuesday. The Bears hold a commanding 20-2 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to 12-4 Baylor victory
Nearly all the Baylor-UTSA contests have come during head coach Steve Smith's tenure. The Bears are 18-0 against the Roadrunners in that time, including a 6-1 victory at Baylor Ballpark last season. UTSA's two victories in the series both came during the 1994 season: 10-2 at
Baylor is 7-1 against UTSA at
THE TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO ROADRUNNERS
Texas-San Antonio (0-10) is in its fifth season under the direction of head coach Sherman Corbett, a 1985 Texas A&M graduate. Corbett has a career record of 111-126, all coming at UTSA.
UTSA Notes: The Roadrunners are in the throws of a 10-game losing skid to open the 2005 season. UTSA lost its season-opener 1-0 at home against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and have a pair of two-run losses since then. Each of the other seven losses have been of three runs or more. ... UTSA hits .232 as a team with 1 home run and 11 stolen bases in 13 tries over 10 games. ... Michael McKennon (.310, 1, 8) has been the steadiest bat in the UTSA lineup and leads the Roadrunners in nearly every offensive category. Sean Danielson is a threat to run when on bases and has swiped four bags in six ventures. ... The UTSA pitching staff has an ERA of 7.57 with no saves and 54 strikeouts against 56 walks in 88.0 innings. Opponents hit .323 against Roadrunner pitching. ... UTSA fields at a .958 clip with 16 errors and seven double plays turned.
REYNOLDS BEGINS SEASON ON TORRID TEAR
1B Kyle Reynolds has enjoyed arguably the best 10-game stretch of his collegiate career to begin the 2005 season. He leads the team in average (.457), home runs (four), total bases (32), slugging percentage (.914), on base percentage (.524) and stolen bases (four). Reynolds also is tied for the team lead with four doubles and ranks second on the squad in runs scored (seven) and walks (five).
It took Reynolds just 10 games to match his career high for home runs in a season, hitting his fourth of the year Sunday at
TOUGH LUCK HAUNTS
LHP Trey Taylor suffered his first loss in six decisions last Friday at
Since the beginning of the 2004 season,
BAYLOR IN THE BIG 12 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Through games of Feb. 27, Baylor ranks ninth in team batting average (.275), ninth in team ERA (3.94) and fourth in team fielding percentage (.968) in the Big 12 Conference.
Here is where the Bears stand individually in the latest Big 12 statistical rankings:
- Batting Average: 1B Kyle Reynolds (5th, .457)
- Home Runs: 1B Kyle Reynolds (t-2nd, 4)
- Runs Batted In: 1B Kyle Reynolds (t-6th, 16)
- Doubles: C/DH Josh Ford (t-7th, 4); 1B Kyle Reynolds (t-7th, 4)
- On Base Percentage: 1B Kyle Reynolds (t-9th, .524)
- Slugging Percentage: 1B Kyle Reynolds (1st, .914)
- ERA: LHP Trey
- Wins: RHP Ryan LaMotta (t-8th, 2); LHP Trey Taylor (t-8th, 2);
LHP Cory VanAllen (t-8th, 2)
- Strikeouts: LHP Trey
- Appearances: RHP Ryan LaMotta (t-4th, 6); RHP Abe Woody (t-4th, 6)
- Saves: RHP Abe Woody (t-1st, 3)
- Opponents' Batting Average: LHP Trey Taylor (9th, .176)
WOODY NAMED TO STOPPER WATCH LIST
RHP Abe Woody has been named to the initial watch list for the 2005 National Stopper of the Year Award, sponsored by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. One of 30 Division I closers from across the nation in the running for the first-year award, Woody joins Texas junior J. Brent Cox as the only Big 12 Conference closers on the list.
A product of Round Rock [
At the end the regular season, the Division I leader in saves and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as the award's finalists. These finalists will be released June 1, just prior to the beginning of NCAA regional play. From the list of finalists, the NCBWA's All-America Committee will select a winner. The inaugural winner will be announced on June 8, two days prior to the beginning of NCAA Super Regional action.
The NCBWA, founded in 1962, presents the Xanthus-Dick Howser Trophy to the nation's top player. It also selects a Division I All-America Team, Division I and III Players of the Week, Division I District Players of the Year and Division III Players of the Year.
FORD ADDED TO WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST
C/DH Josh Ford has been added to the Brooks Wallace Award watch. The award is presented to the nation's top collegiate player by the College Baseball Foundation. The list is comprised of 64 Division I players from across the nation. Cal State Fullerton catcher Kurt Suzuki won the initial Brooks Wallace Award last season.
The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semi-finalists by May 24. The selection committee then will narrow the list to three finalists following the NCAA Super Regionals.
The selection committee for the Wallace Award is comprised of a national panel of coaches, sports information directors, former winners and media. Additional Wallace Watch candidates may be added as the season progresses. Voting for the three finalists and the Wallace Award winner will be conducted by confidential balloting, with totals tabulated by the J.W.Anderson & Associates accounting firm in
RECORD CROWD SHOWS FOR HOME OPENER
Baylor's home opener against Texas-Arlington drew a crowd of 3,721, the largest opening-day attendance in school history. It also was the largest midweek attendance in Baylor Ballpark history, eclipsing the previous mark of 3,139 established
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.
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
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
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
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
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 378-238-1 (.613) 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
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
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 -
March 15 - TCU
March 19 and 20 -
April 1, 2 and 3 -
April 5 -
April 8, 9, 10 -
April 29, 30, May 1 -
May 13, 14, 15 -
May 20, 21, 22 -
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
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
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
INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, airs weekly throughout
UP NEXT ...
Baylor returns home this weekend, hosting
