Bears, Sooners Meet in Key Big 12 Series
3/31/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
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GAMES 28-30 •
No. 15 BAYLOR (17-10, 4-2)
vs.
BAYLOR BALLPARK •
THE SERIES
Overall Record: Baylor leads 25-22
Neutral Site: Baylor leads 3-0
Since Start of Big 12: Baylor leads 14-11
Smith vs. OU: 15-16
First Meeting: at Baylor 8, OU 5 [1935]
Last Meeting: Baylor 14, OU 4 [
COACHES
BAYLOR:
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 389-244-1 (11th season)
Record at Baylor: 389-244-1 (11th season)
Alma Mater:
Career Record: 1,323-803-3 (39th season)
Record at OU: 527-345-1 (15th season)
BAYLOR RADIO NETWORK
ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM (
INTERNET FEEDS
GameTracker: www.BaylorBears.com
Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Video: www.BaylorBears.com
BAYLOR NATIONAL RANKINGS
Baseball
Sports Weekly/ESPN/Coaches 17th
NCBWA 27th
PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday, April 1
BU - LHP Trey
OU - RHP Steven Guerra (3-1, 3.32 ERA)
Saturday, April 2
BU - RHP Mark McCormick (3-1, 3.21 ERA)
OU - RHP Brad Burns (1-0, 3.55 ERA)
Sunday, April 3
BU - LHP Cory VanAllen (4-2, 4.12 ERA)
OU - RHP Will Savage (3-2, 3.35 ERA)
Baylor returns to action this weekend, hosting
Baylor (17-10, 4-2) defeated
All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM in
BearCast live streaming video also is available for the
LEADING OFF
BAYLOR SCHEDULE RANKS AS NATION'S TOUGHEST
Baylor's 2005 schedule ranked fourth nationally preseason and was listed as the nation's toughest in the this week's BoydsWorld.com rankings. That tough schedule should come as no surprise; Baylor has ranked 13th or better in strength of schedule each of the past six seasons.
Baylor is a national-best 10-1 this season against ranked opponents, including a 6-0 mark against teams ranked in the top 10.
This weekend's series against
QUICK NOTES ...
• Baylor and
• According to this week's rankings at www.BoydsWorld.com, Baylor ranks fifth nationally in RPI and in ISR (Iterative Strength Rating).
• Baylor's strength of schedule ranks first nationally, according to www.BoydsWorld.com.
• Through games of March 27, Baylor's opponents have a combined record of 370-208 (.640). The Bears' opponents have played 131 games against each other, giving Baylor's opponents an adjusted winning percentage (total record minus games each other and all games vs. Baylor) of .731 (166-61).
• At 10-1, Baylor owns the nation's best record against nationally ranked opponents.
• The Bears have won a program-best nine consecutive games against Top 25 teams. The previous program best was a six-game streak in 1999.
• Baylor has won a program-best six consecutive games against teams ranked in the top 10 nationally. The previous program best was five in 1999.
• Friday's game against Oklahoma is the Bears' first weekend game against a team that has not been ranked at some point this season since the season opener Feb. 11 against as yet unranked Houston.
• The Bears are 14-3 this season when the starting pitcher goes at least 5.0 innings.
• Baylor is 6-1 this season on Sunday.
• Baylor is 7-1 this season in gold jerseys.
• Baylor is 10-1 this season when scoring first.
• Baylor is 8-0 when leading after three innings, 9-0 after four, 10-0 after five and 14-0 when leading after the sixth or later.
• 3B Michael Griffin's grand slam Tuesday was Baylor's third this season and eighth since the beginning of the 2004 season.
• RHP Mark McCormick has allowed only seven runs, four earned, on 18 hits and 12 walks with 32 strikeouts over his last 32.1 innings. In that time, he has posted a 1.11 ERA and held opposing batters to a .162 average. McCormick's overall ERA has dropped from 10.27 to 3.21 in that time.
• Baylor is 6-1 this season in McCormick's seven starts.
• In LHP Trey Taylor's last 18 starts, he has allowed three or fewer 14 times and two or fewer 12 times. Baylor is 11-4 in Taylor's last 15 starts; he is 6-3 in that time.
• C/DH Josh Ford has reached safely in 22 consecutive games (a career-long streak) and in 26 of 27 games this season.
• RHP Ryan LaMotta has pitched scoreless ball in 11 of 13 appearances this season.
• Baylor's leadoff batter has reached base in 91 of 242 innings this season (37.6 percent); 49 times that base runner has scored (53.8 percent). The Bears have scored in 75 innings this season; the leadoff batter reached base safely in 49 of those innings (65.3 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 141-85 (.624). 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 Trey Taylor (2-3, 3.59) makes his eighth start of the season Friday, his fifth Friday start this year. In 42.2 innings this season, Taylor has allowed 22 runs, 17 earned, on 39 hits and 17 walks with 35 strikeouts. Opponents hit .253 against the southpaw. ... Friday's start is the 42nd of Taylor's career, passing Bruce Aguilar (1986-89) for sole possession of fifth all-time at Baylor. ... Taylor's first strikeout of the game will be the 200th of his career.
RHP Mark McCormick (3-1, 3.21) earns his eighth start of the 2005 season Saturday. In 42.0 innings this season, McCormick has allowed 18 runs, 15 earned, on 28 hits and 23 walks with 43 strikeouts. Opponents hit .188 against McCormick. Baylor has a 6-1 record in his seven starts this season, including a 5-0 mark in his last five starts.
LHP Cory VanAllen (4-2, 4.12) closes out the series with his eighth start of the season Sunday. In 39.1 innings this season, VanAllen has allowed 19 runs, 18 earned, on 42 hits and 13 walks with 26 strikeouts. Opponents hit .284 against VanAllen.
THE OKLAHOMA SERIES
Baylor and Oklahoma meet for the 48th, 49th and 50th times this weekend. The Bears hold a 25-22 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to an 8-5 Baylor victory during the 1936 season.
This is the eighth series between the teams since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997. Baylor holds a 14-11 advantage in games as Big 12 foes; the Sooners swept last season's series at Norman, but the Bears defeated OU 14-4 in seven innings at the Big 12 Tournament. Each of the last two regular-season series have resulted in sweeps by the home team.
Baylor is 17-8 all-time against Oklahoma in Waco, including a 9-3 advantage in Big 12 meetings. The Bears have won each of the four previous Big 12 series in Waco.
THE OKLAHOMA SOONERS
Oklahoma (16-9, 2-1) is in its 15th season under the direction of head coach Larry Cochell, a 1964 Arizona State graduate. Cochell has amassed a 527-345-1 in 15 seasons at Norman. He has a career record of 1,323-803-3 in 39 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
OU Notes: Oklahoma has won four of five since being swept at Arizona State two weeks ago, including each of the last three games. The Sooners defeated TCU 5-4 March 22 and then lost the series opener at home against Texas A&M 7-5 in 10 innings last Thursday. OU bounced back to sweep a Friday doubleheader against the Aggies -- 2-0 and 3-2. Oklahoma defeated Dallas Baptist 7-5 Tuesday night at Norman. ... The Sooners are 3-5 this season against common Baylor opponents -- Arizona State (0-4), Northwestern State (2-1) and TCU (1-0). The Bears are 2-3 against those three teams -- 1-2 vs. Arizona State, 0-1 vs. Northwestern State and 1-0 vs. TCU. ... Oklahoma hits .308 as a team with 12 home runs, 40 doubles, 11 triples and 32 stolen bases in 42 attempts. The Sooners score 8.0 runs per game and produce 21.6 bases per game with a 1.513 offensive efficiency rating. ... OU boasts a 4.57 staff ERA with one complete game, two shutouts, five saves and 181 strikeouts against 94 walks. Opposing batters hit .267 against Sooner pitching. ... Oklahoma fields at a .964 clip with 36 errors and 25 double plays turned. Opponents are 23-of-33 in stolen base attempts.
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 141-85 (.624), the Bears are ahead of Texas Tech (139-89-1; .609) and Texas (137-92; .598). 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).
BAYLOR DROPS FIVE SPOTS IN BASEBALL AMERICA
Baylor dropped five spots to No. 15 in this week's Baseball America Top 25, released by the publication Monday morning. The Bears were 1-3 last week, including a two-games-to-one series loss at Oklahoma State.
The Bears were not the only highly ranked team to struggle last week as seven of the top 10 lost weekend series. Included in that group was previously top-ranked Cal State Fullerton, which dropped to No. 2 after losing two of three at Long Beach State. The Titans descent allowed formerly top-ranked Texas to return to the nation's top spot after a one-week hiatus. Georgia Tech, Tulane, Louisiana State, Florida, Miami, Arkansas and Arizona round out the top 10.
Baylor remains the Big 12 Conference's second-highest ranked team behind the Longhorns. Texas A&M is down two spots to No. 16, while Nebraska remains at No. 20.
Other Baylor 2005 opponents ranked are No. 13 Rice, No. 22 Long Beach State and No. 24 Arizona State, the last two of which re-entered the rankings this week.
In other polls this week, Baylor slid six spots to No. 17 in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll, tumbled 15 spots to No. 27 in the National
BEARS REMAIN FIFTH IN PSEUDO RPI
Baylor ranks fifth nationally in this week's pseudo RPI rankings, according to www.BoydsWorld.com. The Bears also rank fifth nationally in Iterative Strength Rating (ISR).
At 16-10 with the nation's top-ranked schedule and a 10-1 mark against ranked opponents, Baylor is the highest-ranked Big 12 team in the pseudo RPI rankings. Texas is the next highest-ranked Big 12 team at No. 12, followed by Texas A&M (31st), Texas Tech (53rd), Oklahoma State (54th), Oklahoma (79th), Nebraska (89th), Missouri (98th), Kansas State (133rd) and Kansas (176th).
ARSENAL OF OPPOSING ARMS CONTINUES
Through Baylor's first 27 games, only two opposing pitchers this season had a losing record going into the game: UTSA's Ryan Crew (0-1) and Arizona State's Pat Bresnehan (0-1).
In fact, the 27 opposing starting pitchers Baylor has faced this season had a combined 43-10 record entering their starts against Baylor. However, the Bears' opposing starting pitchers are 8-13 in their games against the Bears.
Baylor's opposing starters over the past 15 games have entered the games with combined records of 35-4. The Bears are 10-5 in that time, and those starting pitchers went 5-7 against the Bears.
Additionally, Baylor has faced three of the nation's five returning 12-game winners, doing so in successive weekend series against Oral Roberts (Dennis Bigley), Arizona State (Jason Urquidez) and Long Beach State (Cesar Ramos).
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 Lubbock.
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 [Texas] High School, Woody boasts a career record of 11-1 with a 3.58 ERA and 10 saves in 57 career relief appearances. He led the Bears with five saves last season and is currently tied for second in the Big 12 with two saves this season. Woody has tallied 83 career strikeouts in 110.1 innings of work while holding opponents to a .212 batting average.
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.
McCORMICK ON CLEMENS AWARD WATCH LIST
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 America earlier this year.
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 389-244-1 (.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.
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:
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.
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
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 Central Texas and the region. The program, co-hosted by
UP NEXT ...
Baylor continues its eight-game home stand Tuesday, April 5, hosting Houston at Baylor Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT. The Bears defeated the Cougars 8-6 in the 2005 season opener at the Minute Maid Park College Classic in Houston.
