April 1, 2005
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# 8 BAYLOR (32-4, 3-1) vs. OKLAHOMA STATE (26-10, 1-1)
April 2, 2005, 2:00 p.m. - Getterman Stadium - Waco, Texas
April 3, 2005, 1:00 p.m. - Getterman Stadium - Waco, Texas
THE SERIES
Baylor vs. Oklahoma St.: Oklahoma State leads 21-9
Waco, Texas: Series tied 3-3
Stillwater, Okla.: Oklahoma State leads 11-3
Neutral: Oklahoma State leads 7-3
Streak: Oklahoma State won 1
Last Meeting: Oklahoma State 4, Baylor 1 (5/2/04)
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: Fox Sports Radio 1580 AM (Sat. only)
Live Audio: www.BaylorBears.com (Sat. only)
Live Video: www.BaylorBears.com (Sat. only)
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Television: None
No. 8 Baylor (32-4, 3-1) returns to action this weekend when the Lady Bears host Oklahoma State (26-10, 1-1) in a two-game series beginning on Saturday, April 2, at 2:00 p.m.
Baylor enters the contest with the Cowgirls in third-place in the conference standings and is riding a three-game conference winning streak since falling to Texas A&M in the conference opener. Meanwhile, Oklahoma State stands in a tie for fourth place in the conference after splitting a pair of games against Missouri to open conference play.
The Lady Bears and Cowgirls split the season series last year in Stillwater, Okla., as Baylor captured the first game of the series before Oklahoma State won the series finale. Oklahoma State owns a 21-9 edge in the series against the Lady Bears, however, the teams have split the six career contests played in Waco.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State enters the contest with the Lady Bears with a record of 26-10, 1-1 in the Big 12 Conference with a game at North Texas on Friday, April 1, before opening the series with Baylor on Saturday, April 2. After splitting a two-game series to open conference play, the Cowgirls have defeated Tulsa and Arkansas in a pair of mid-week contests.
The Cowgirls are led at the plate by Shanel Scott, who leads the team with a .414 batting average through 36 games this season. The lead-off hitter leads the team with 32 runs scored and 18 stolen bases this season. Stephanie Nicholson provides the pop for Oklahoma State in the line-up, leading the team with eight home runs and 29 RBI this season.
In the circle, the Cowgirls are led by freshman standout Marjorie Johnson. Johnson, who has returned to the line-up after missing the past few weeks, leads the Cowgirls with an 8-2 record and 1.33 ERA in 13 appearances. In 68.1 innings of work this season, Johnson has struck out 112 and has held opponents to an average of .157 on the year. Oklahoma State also features Jessica Hoppock, who holds an 11-6 record on the season with a 2.47 ERA in 104.2 innings of work.
QUICK NOTES
• Baylor fell one spot to No. 8 in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25. The Lady Bears are No. 10 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25.
• Baylor is 102-3 over the past four seasons when scoring at least four runs.
• Baylor is 86-8 over the past four seasons when collecting at least eight hits.
• Baylor is 130-12 over the past four seasons when out-hitting its opponent.
• Baylor is 85-21 over the past three seasons at Getterman Stadium, including a 27-4 mark at home last season.
• With its opening win of the season over Louisiana-Monroe, Baylor earned its 100th victory at Getterman Stadium. Baylor is now 115-40 all-time in games played at Getterman Stadium.
• Baylor's Chelsi Lake has established new school single-season home run and RBI marks this season. Currently, she has 12 home runs and 43 RBI this season.
• Baylor players earned the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week honor for three consecutive weeks to start the season (Chelsi Lake, Kim Wilmoth and Tessa Lynam).
• Baylor has established a new school record with 33 home runs this season.
LADY BEARS SET ATTENDANCE RECORD
Baylor's match-up with Texas A&M to open conference play established a Getterman Stadium attendance record as a crowd of 1,288 attended to catch a battle between a pair of top 10 teams. The announced crowd surpassed the listed capacity of 1,250, marking the first time in school history Getterman Stadium has been sold out.
The crowd surpassed the previous Getterman Stadium high of 1,136 who watched Baylor take on LSU at last year's NCAA Waco Regional on May 22, 2004. Baylor fell to the Tigers 7-3 in 10 innings in the contest.
The previous high for Baylor in a Big 12 Conference game at Getterman Stadium occurred on May 5, 2004, when 984 fans saw the Lady Bears defeat the Texas Longhorns 7-2.
BAYLOR ECLIPSES HOME RUN MILESTONE
Thirty-six games into the 2005 season, this year's version of the Lady Bears have already established a new school record for most home runs in a season. Through 36 games this season, Baylor has blasted 33 home runs, surpassing the 27 home runs hit by the 2002 squad as the most in a single season. Chelsi Lake leads the team and is tied for the conference lead with 12 home runs on the season with Stephanie Pomes second on the team with seven home runs. Currently, Baylor is fourth in the conference in the category.
OSBURN SETS CAREER HOME RUN MARK
While the team shattered the school single-season home run record, Kelly Osburn established a new Baylor career home run mark with the 21st home run of her career in the 18-3 win over Oklahoma Christian. On a 1-2 pitch from Lindsey Lawson to lead-off the second inning, Osburn drove the ball over the left field wall for her fifth homer run of the season and 21st of her career, surpassing Ryan Stukel, who hit 20 from 2000-03, for most career home runs.
OSBURN ALSO ESTABLISHES RUNS SCORED RECORD
With a run scored in Baylor's 2-0 win over No. 4 Texas on March 30, Kelly Osburn pushed her team-leading runs scored total to 42, establishing a new single-season school record in the category. Osburn's total of 42 runs eclipses the previous record of 41 runs, held by Sheeley Green, who established the mark during the 1996 season. In two-plus seasons as a Lady Bear, Osburn has scored 107 runs, 21 runs shy of the Baylor career mark of 128 held by Michelle Sorrels.
FERGUSON ONE SHY FROM CAREER SAVE MARK
After tossing 1.2 innings of relief in Baylor's 10-2 victory over Massachusetts at the Speedline Classic, Lisa Ferguson earned her second save of the season and 10th of her career, moving her into a tie for the Baylor career mark.
Former Baylor pitcher Joni Miller established the standard with 10 saves from 2000-2003. Ferguson is on pace to shatter the school record after finishing second in the NCAA with eight saves her freshman season.
800TH CAREER STRIKEOUT IN SIGHT FOR VITEK
Senior left-handed pitcher Cristin Vitek continues to climb up the career charts in several categories, including strikeouts where she entered the season as Baylor's career leader with 645. In fact, Vitek has a good shot at becoming Baylor's first-ever 800 strikeout performer as the lefty currently has 736 strikeouts and is now only 64 strikeouts shy of the milestone.
Last season, she became only the second player in school history to record 600 strikeouts in her career when she struck out Tina Boutelle of Texas in the sixth inning at the Big 12 Conference Tournament.
BAYLOR FOURTH IN BIG 12 PRESEASON POLL
Returning seven starters and two pitchers, the Baylor softball team has been tabbed to finish fourth in the Big 12 Conference.
Texas is the Big 12 softball coaches' preseason favorite to win the league title this season. The Longhorns, with 77 points, received six of the possible 10 first-place votes to edge out Oklahoma, which tallied four first-place votes and 75 points. Texas A&M (61 pts.) ranked third followed by Baylor (fourth - 58 pts.), Nebraska (fifth - 48 pts.), Missouri (sixth - 43 pts.), Oklahoma State (seventh - 32 pts.), Kansas (eighth - 24 pts.), Texas Tech (ninth - 20 pts.) and Iowa State (10th -12 pts).
It is the highest Baylor has been picked in the preseason poll since 2002, when the Lady Bears were picked to finish fourth in the conference. The fourth-place preseason selection ties the 2002 squad for the highest predicted league finish in school history.
BAYLOR IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
The Lady Bears entered the season ranked in both of the national polls and have climbed into the top 10 for the first time in school history as Baylor is currently No. 8 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 and No. 9 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25.
After falling to Texas A&M and sweeping Texas Tech in a weekend series, the Baylor softball team fell one spot to No. 8 in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.
The Michigan Wolverines, who have won 27-straight since a season-opening loss to Baylor, sit atop this week's poll at No. 1 with 17-of-20 first-place votes.
Baylor is one of six Big 12 Conference teams in this week's rankings as Texas (No. 4), Texas A&M (No. 6), Oklahoma (No. 9), Missouri (No. 16) and Nebraska (No. 22) join Baylor in this week's poll.
Baylor's No. 10 ranking in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 marks the fifth consecutive week the Lady Bears have been ranked in the top ten in the poll.
Michigan, with 22 first-place votes, is ranked No. 1 in the poll released by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Oklahoma (No. 8), Texas (No. 5), Texas A&M (No. 9), Nebraska (No. 22) and Missouri (No. 15) join the Lady Bears in this week's rankings.
The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll is voted on by 30 NCAA Division I coaches, representing each conference. The first regular season poll will be released on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll is voted on by NCAA Division I coaches representing 15 different ASA regions and 11 different collegiate conferences. The poll is also voted on by selected softball media members. First-place votes are in parentheses.
BAYLOR LADY BEARS IN THE CAREER CHARTS
Several Lady Bears are aiming to continue making their way up the career charts in 2005. Below is a list of Lady Bears who currently rank in the top ten in one of the career categories:
BATTING RECORDS
AT-BATS: Kim Wilmoth (6th, 586)
RUNS: Kelly Osburn (3rd, 107); Kim Wilmoth (5th, 97); Harmony Schwethelm (8th, 82)
HITS: Kim Wilmoth (4th, 181); Harmony Schwethelm (8th, 146); Carrie Leerberg (10th, 139)
MULTIPLE-HIT GAMES: Kim Wilmoth (4th, 51); Harmony Schwethelm (5th, 41)
DOUBLES: Kelly Osburn (5th, 26); Stephanie Pomes (8th, 23)
TRIPLES: Carrie Leerberg (1st, 9); Kim Wilmoth (t-2nd, 8); Kelly Osburn (t-6th, 6)
HOME RUNS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 21); Stephanie Pomes (t-3rd, 15); Chelsi Lake (t-6th, 13)
TOTAL BASES: Kelly Osburn (3rd, 241); Kim Wilmoth (6th, 217)
WALKS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 70)
HIT BY PITCH: Kelly Osburn (2nd, 15); Kim Wilmoth (t-9th, 8) Carrie Leerberg (t-6th, 9)
SACRIFICE FLIES: Stephanie Pomes (1st, 7); Kelly Osburn (t-7th; 3)
SACRIFICE HITS: Kim Wilmoth (8th, 21); Harmony Schwethelm (9th, 20)
STOLEN BASES: Kim Wilmoth (1st, 86); Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 65); Carrie Leerberg (3rd, 60); Kelly Osburn (4th, 58)
STOLEN BASE ATTEMPTS: Kim Wilmoth (1st, 108); Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 78); Carrie Leerberg (3rd, 71); Kelly Osburn (4th, 69)
PITCHING RECORDS
APPEARANCES: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 150); Lisa Ferguson (6th, 61)
GAMES STARTED: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 102); Lisa Ferguson (6th, 40)
RELIEF APPEARANCES: Cristin Vitek (1st, 48); Lisa Ferguson (t-7th, 21)
WINS: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 72); Lisa Ferguson (5th, 27)
LOSSES: Cristin Vitek (4th, 35); Lisa Ferguson (t-6th, 9)
DECISIONS: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 107); Lisa Ferguson (5th, 36)
COMPLETE GAMES: Cristin Vitek (3rd, 46); Lisa Ferguson (5th, 18)
SHUTOUTS: Cristin Vitek (3rd, 18); Lisa Ferguson (4th, 10)
SAVES: Cristin Vitek (3rd, 8); Lisa Ferguson (t-1st, 10); Tessa Lynam (t-6th, 2); Nicole Jackson (t-8th, 1)
INNINGS PITCHED: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 698.2); Lisa Ferguson (5th, 266.1)
STRIKEOUTS: Cristin Vitek (1st, 736); Lisa Ferguson (6th, 175); Tessa Lynam (8th, 54)
GETTERMAN STADIUM KIND TO LADY BEARS
With a win over Louisiana-Monroe to open the season, Baylor claimed its 100th win at Getterman Stadium as the Lady Bears now own a 115-40 career mark on their home field, opened in 1999. The Lady Bears had their best year ever at Getterman Stadium last season as Baylor went 27-4 at home on the year.
Baylor went undefeated in conference play at home last season as the Lady Bears swept season series with Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas Tech and Iowa State. Prior to the NCAA Softball Championships the Lady Bears were 27-2 at Getterman Stadium on the year.
Baylor has lost less than 10 games at home four of the five years the stadium has been open and has never posted a losing record in a season at home.
Arizona's 1-0 win over Baylor at the Compass Bank Invitational was the first loss for Baylor at home since a 3-2 setback to Oklahoma Christian on April 1, 2004, a span of 15 games.
UP NEXT...
Baylor travels to Arlington, Texas, to take on Texas-Arlington in a non-conference contest on Wednesday, April 6, at 6:00 p.m.
