Baseball Preview: No. 16 Baylor vs. No. 1 Texas
3/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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GAMES 20-22 •
No. 16 BAYLOR (12-7)
vs.
No. 1
DISCH-FALK FIELD •
BAYLOR BALLPARK •
THE SERIES
Overall Record:
Neutral Site: Baylor leads 10-4
Smith vs.
First Meeting:
Last Meeting:
COACHES
BAYLOR:
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 384-241-1 (11th season)
Record at Baylor: 384-241-1 (11th season)
Alma Mater:
Career Record: 1,507-702-8 (37th season)
Record at
TELEVISION BROADCAST
COLLEGE SPORTS TV (Time Warner Cable Ch. 15)
Carter Blackburn, play-by-play
Kevin Stocker, color
BAYLOR RADIO NETWORK
ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM (
Lark Smith, color
INTERNET FEEDS
GameTracker: www.BaylorBears.com
Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Video (Sat./Sun. only): www.BaylorBears.com
BAYLOR NATIONAL RANKINGS
Baseball
Sports Weekly/ESPN/Coaches 19th
NCBWA 27th
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday, March 18
BU - LHP Cory VanAllen (3-2, 5.00 ERA)
UT - RHP Randy Boone (3-0, 1.91 ERA)
Saturday, March 19
BU - RHP Mark McCormick (1-1, 4.18 ERA)
UT - Kyle McCulloch (4-1, 2.58 ERA)
Sunday, March 20
BU - LHP Trey
UT - RHP Adrian Alaniz (1-0, 2.00 ERA)
Baylor opens Big 12 Conference play this weekend, meeting
Sunday's game will be televised live on College Sports TV and can be seen on Time Warner Cable Channel 15 in the
Baylor (12-7) has won four straight after rallying to defeat No. 24 TCU 4-3 in 10 innings at home Tuesday night. The Bears are ranked 16th nationally in this week's Baseball America Top 25.
All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM in
Live streaming video also is available for the Saturday and Sunday games. For more information, visit the BearCasts link at www.BaylorBears.com.
LEADING OFF
BAYLOR-TEXAS A&M SERIES OPENER ON ESPN2
Baylor's series opener Friday, May 13 against Texas A&M at Baylor Ballpark will be televised nationally by ESPN2, the broadcasting company announced Wednesday. Due to the broadcast, first pitch has been moved up one hour to
The announcement of ESPN2's coverage of the Baylor-Texas A&M game means at least four Baylor regular season games will be televised this season, beginning with Sunday's game on College Sports TV. Baylor's Saturday, April 23 game at
The four regular-season broadcasts are the most in the program's history.
QUICK NOTES
• The Bears jumped three spots to No. 16 in this week's Baseball America Top 25.
• Other polls: Baylor is 19th in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches' Poll, 27th in the National
• At 7-1, Baylor owns the nation's best record against nationally ranked opponents.
• 21 of Baylor's first 26 games this season are against teams ranked in one of the four major polls at some point this season, including 20 consecutive weekend games after the season-opener against as yet unranked
• Baylor's sweep of Vanderbilt was the Bears' first sweep in a non-conference series and in a road series since doing so at UC Irvine in 2003.
• The sweep also was just the second in school history against an opponent ranked in the top 10 nationally. The Bears swept then-No. 6 Southern
• Baylor has won five straight road games for the first time since early in the 2003 season.
• Last season, Baylor did not score an eighth-inning run until the 22nd game of the season. Through 19 games this season, the Bears have scored six eighth-inning runs. The Bears entered conference play last season with only three runs scored after the seventh inning. This season, the Bears have scored 25 runs after the seventh inning.
• The Bears are 11-2 this season when the starting pitcher goes at least 5.0 innings.
• Baylor is 7-1 this season when scoring first.
• The Bears are 6-0 when leading after three innings, 7-0 when leading after five and 9-0 when leading after the sixth inning or later.
• After going winless win trailing later than the sixth inning last season, the Bears already have won four games in such situations this season.
• Since allowing four runs in the first inning of his Feb. 27 start at Arizona State, RHP Mark McCormick has allowed three runs, two earned, on 10 hits with seven walks and 18 strikeouts over 18.1 innings (0.98 ERA). Opposing batters are hitting .156 (10-for-64) against McCormick in that time.
• RHP Ryan LaMotta made his 69th career appearance Sunday, moving into a ninth-place tie all-time at Baylor with Jason Jennings (1997-99). That also was LaMotta's 66th career relief appearance; he now is tied with Paul Thorp (2000-02) for fourth in school history in that category.
• Reynolds has reached safely in 18 of 19 games this season. Since
• LHP Trey Taylor has not allowed more than four earned runs in 16 consecutive starts.
• Over his last 13 starts,
• DH/C Zach Dillon has hit safely in eight consecutive starts (pinch-hit sacrifice fly last Tuesday vs.
• C/DH Josh Ford has reached safely in 14 consecutive games and in 18 of 19 games this season.
• LaMotta has pitched scoreless ball in eight of 10 appearances this season.
• Saturday was LHP Cory VanAllen's first career victory on an opponent's home field.
• Baylor's infield of Reynolds,
• The Bears turned their first
• Baylor's leadoff batter has reached base in 73 of 172 innings this season (42.4 percent); 41 times that base runner has scored (56.2 percent). The Bears have scored in 58 innings this season; the leadoff batter reached base safely in 41 of those innings (70.7 percent).
• 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).
• 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 STARTERS
LHP Cory VanAllen (3-2, 5.00) earns his sixth start of the 2005 season Friday. This is the first Friday start of his career. In 27.0 innings this season, VanAllen has allowed 15 runs on 35 hits and nine walks with 21 strikeouts. Opponents hit .330 against VanAllen.
RHP Mark McCormick (1-1, 4.18) earns his sixth start of the 2005 season Saturday. In 28.0 innings this season, McCormick has allowed 14 runs, 13 earned, on 20 hits and 18 walks with 28 strikeouts. Opponents hit .196 against McCormick. Baylor has a 4-1 record in his four starts this season, including a 3-0 mark in his last three starts.
LHP Trey Taylor (2-2, 2.84) closes out the series with his sixth start of the 2005 season Sunday. In 31.2 innings this season,
THE
Baylor and
The Longhorns took two of three games in last season's series, winning the series opener 7-6 in
The Bears and the Longhorns began using the current split-series format in 1993. Since that time, the home team is 22-14. Only three times (1993, 1994 and 2001) has the home team won all three games. Both teams have swept the series once in this time -- Baylor in 1998 and
THE
BAYLOR AGAINST TOP-RANKED TEAMS
This weekend's series against
Since Baseball
Baylor's only other two victories against the nation's top-ranked team came
Of Baylor's 19 games against the nation's top-ranked team, nine were against
Baylor vs. No. 1 Teams
Baeball
Date Opponent W/L Score Location
# -
- NCAA Midwest Regional
BAYLOR IN TELEVISED GAMES
Sunday is the first of four regular-season television games for Baylor, the most in the program's history. Since 1988, Baylor is 15-16 in televised games.
BAYLOR IN CONFERENCE OPENERS
Since 1960, Baylor is 27-18 in conference openers, covering time in both the Southwest and Big 12 conferences. The Bears are 6-2 in Big 12 Conference openers and have won four consecutive such contests. Last season, Baylor defeated ninth-ranked Texas A&M 8-7 at
The Bears have won their first Big 12 series of the season each of the past six years, winning each of the last five two-games-to-one after sweeping
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).
SCHEDULE AGAIN AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST
Baylor's schedule ranks 12th nationally, according to the March 16 rankings at BoydsWorld.com. The Bears' schedule is the toughest in the Big 12; only Texas A&M (40th),
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
The 2005 Bears play 25 games against nine teams ranked in the Baseball America Preseason Top 25. Baylor also plays 36 games against 13 teams that appeared in the 2004 regionals. Baylor ranked 10th nationally in strength of schedule last season. In 2003, Baylor's schedule was deemed the nation's toughest in the preseason and was ranked fifth by season's end.
FORD, REYNOLDS ON WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST
1B Kyle Reynolds and C Josh Ford represent Baylor on the watch list for the Wallace Award, which is presented to the nation's top collegiate player by the College Baseball Foundation. 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. Screening Committee members will evaluate the candidates and will continue their review throughout the entire baseball season. 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
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
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.
RHP Mark McCormick is among 42 pitchers named to the initial watch list for the 2005 Clemens Award, presented July 14 to the nation's top collegiate pitcher by the Greater Houston Baseball Association.
McCormick, who is projected to be a first-round draft pick in June's First-Year Player Draft, was 2-4 with a 4.70 ERA in 46.0 innings covering 11 appearances and 10 starts last season. However, he missed six weeks of the season due to a shoulder injury. McCormick was named first-team preseason All-America by Baseball
The list is comprised of all Division I pitchers who were named as pre-season All-Americans by either Baseball America or
HEAD COACH Steve Smith
Smith has compiled a 384-241-1 (.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
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.
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. These remaining games will be available in the BearCast package:
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.
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
BAYLORBEARS.COM
Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.BaylorBears.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases,
INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, airs weekly throughout
UP NEXT ...
Baylor plays its first of four consecutive road games Tuesday, March 22, traveling to
