Bears Travel to OKC for Big 12 Championship
5/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 21, 2007
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GAME 56 • MAY 23 • 8 P.M. CDT
BAYLOR (31-24) vs.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP • BRICKTOWN BALLPARK •
GAME 57 • MAY 25 • 4:30 P.M. CDT
BAYLOR vs.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP • BRICKTOWN BALLPARK •
GAME 58 • MAY 26 • 8 P.M. CDT
BAYLOR vs.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP • BRICKTOWN BALLPARK •
Baylor baseball begins postseason play Wednesday, May 23, at the 2007 Big 12 Conference Championship at Bricktown Ballpark in
Baylor (31-24) finished the regular season with a three-game series sweep of
All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on
Live streaming video also is available for the Big 12 Championship. For more information, visit www.Big12Sports.com.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23
Game 1: No. 4
Game 2: No. 1
Game 3: No. 2
Game 4: No. 3
THURSDAY, MAY 24
Game 5: No. 1
Game 6: No. 4
FRIDAY, MAY 25
Game 7: No. 2
Game 8: No. 3
SATURDAY, MAY 26
Game 9: No. 1
Game 10: No. 5
Game 11: No. 2
Game 12: No. 6 BAYLOR vs. No. 7
SUNDAY, MAY 27
Championship Game, 1:00 p.m. FSN
THE
Overall:
Neutral Site:
Since Start of Big 12:
Regular-Season Big 12:
Big 12 Tournament:
Smith vs. OSU: 17-19
2007 Series: at
First Meeting: OSU 8, Baylor 7 [4/29/1925]
Last Meeting: at OSU 10, Baylor 5 [4/1/2007]
THE
Overall: Baylor leads 24-19
Neutral Site: Baylor leads 5-3
Since Start of Big 12: Baylor leads 20-18
Regular-Season Big 12: Baylor leads 17-15
Big 12 Tournament: tied 3-3
Smith vs.
2007 Series:
First Meeting: result unknown [5/5/1905]
Last Meeting: at Baylor 8,
THE
Overall: Baylor leads 30-26
Neutral Site: Baylor leads 3-0
Since Start of Big 12: Baylor leads 19-15
Regular-Season Big 12: Baylor leads 18-15
Big 12 Tournament: Baylor leads 1-0
Smith vs.
2007 Series: at Baylor 2,
First Meeting: Baylor 9,
Last Meeting: at Baylor 5,
BAYLOR/ISP NETWORK
1660 ESPN RADIO (
Lark Smith, color
INTERNET FEEDS
GameTracker: www.BaylorBears.com
Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Video: www.Big12Sports.com
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Baseball
NCBWA NR
Collegiate Baseball NR
QUICK HITS
• Since the start of the 2003 season, Baylor is:
- 138-55 (.715) when its starting pitcher lasts at least 5.0 innings
- 36-9 (.800) when its pitching staff records at least 10 strikeouts
- 131-40 (.766) when scoring first
- 152-29 (.840) when out-hitting its opponent
- 144-38 (.791) when holding its opponent to fewer than five runs
- 128-27 (.826) when scoring at least six runs
- 115-19 (.858) when scoring at least seven runs
• Since the start of the 2002 season, Baylor is 180-8 (.957) when leading after eight innings, winning 40 of the last 41, 74 of the last 76 and 109 of the last 112 such games. The Bears are 23-1 when leading after eight innings this season; the lone loss was the middle game of the Texas Tech series.
• Baylor has won 27 of its last 30 games when hitting at least two home runs.
• Baylor is 14-4 in extra-inning games since the start of the 2003 season.
• The Bears are 55-18 (.753) at Baylor Ballpark since the start of the 2005 postseason.
• Baylor is 20-3 all-time at Baylor Ballpark in finales with a chance to sweep a three-game series (does not include the
• The Bears have out-scored their opponents 88-53 in the first two innings and 51-23 in the eighth inning this season. However, opponents have out-scored Baylor 44-22 in the third inning.
• Baylor is 22-9 this season when scoring first (9-15 when the opponent scores first).
• Saturday's 13-7 victory over
• Baylor is 4-10 on Saturday this season, going 27-14 elsewhere in the week.
• 19 of Baylor's 24 losses were to opponents ranked at some point this season.
• Baylor's sweep of
• Baylor topped the 100,000 mark in total home attendance for the second time in school history (2005) and for the first time without the benefit of postseason games. The Bears' season average of 3,180 also is a school record. It marks the third consecutive season and the fourth time in five years that Baylor has averaged 3,000-plus.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The Big 12 Championship makes its ninth appearance at
BAYLOR BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP TIDBITS
•
• Baylor has made four championship game appearances: 1999, 2000, 2003 and 2005. Only
• This is the second time Baylor has been the sixth seed but the first time at
• Baylor is 29-30 all-time in conference tournaments, including a 17-17 mark in the Big 12 event.
• Only
THE
Baylor and
The teams have met seven times in postseason play; OSU holds a 4-3 advantage in those meetings. This is the fourth time Baylor and
Baylor holds a slim 16-15 advantage in regular-season meetings since the inception of the Big 12 in 1997. The Bears have won five series, the Cowboys have won four series, and two series were rain-shortened, two-game sets and were split.
THE
Baylor and
The teams have met six times in postseason play with each team winning three times. All six meetings have come at the Big 12 Tournament.
Baylor holds a slim 17-16 edge in regular-season meetings since the inception of the Big 12 in 1997. However, the Tigers have won 11 of the last 17 meetings. Baylor has won six of the 11 series, but
THE
Baylor and
This is just the second time Baylor and
Baylor holds a slim 18-15 advantage in regular-season meetings since the inception of the Big 12 in 1997. The Bears have won seven of the 11 series. Both teams have claimed one series sweep -- Baylor in 2003 and
BAYLOR STARTERS
RHP Jeff Mandel will start Wednesday's game against
Mandel, one of only two seniors on the 27-man roster for the Big 12 Championship who have spent their entire collegiate careers at Baylor, is 6-7 with a 4.77 ERA in 14 appearances (all starts) this season. He has allowed 93 hits and 26 walks against 69 strikeouts over 83.0 innings with a .285 opponents' batting average.
Last Friday, Mandel did not escape the first inning against
Mandel is 2-4 this season away from Baylor Ballpark, but he has won his last two road starts. He has made one neutral-site start this season. That was a loss to then-No. 8 and now top-ranked Vanderbilt in his first start of the season at the Houston College Classic.
Wednesday will be Mandel's first career start at the Big 12 Championship. He has made two appearances, both in relief. In 2004, he allowed three runs on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts over 3.1 innings in Baylor's 12-1, seven-inning loss to
Ironically, Mandel's best memories from Big 12 Tournament play probably are as a batter. He was 4-for-14 with two doubles and five RBI while playing first base in four games at the 2005 event when the Bears were runners-up. All four hits were against
CZIMSKEY CONTINUES TEAR
C Matt Czimskey was 1-for-4 with a sacrifice fly and three RBI in Sunday's regular-season finale. That pushed his career-long hitting streak to 16 games, tied for the 10th-longest in Baylor history. Czimskey's streak is the longest by a Baylor player since Michael Griffin's 16-gamer in 2004. It also is the second-longest by a Baylor catcher behind only Kelly Shoppach's 28-game run (2001) that is the second-longest in school-history.
Czimskey finished the Big 12 season with a league-best .386 batting average in conference games. It marked the second consecutive season in which a Baylor catcher led the league in batting average. Zach Dillon led last season with a school-record .421 average in Big 12 play.
VERY UN-FRESHMAN-LIKE
Freshman All-America candidate 3B Raynor
The last time a freshman led Baylor in batting average was in 1993 when Marty Crawford paced the Bears at .350. Crawford led the team in batting average in each of his four seasons at Baylor; he is the only player in school history to lead the team in batting average more than twice.
Campbell, who also has seen time at second base this season, is tied for third on the team in doubles (11), tied for fifth in home runs (four), fourth in hits (58) and fifth in runs scored (34). He also has committed just 11 errors on the season.
However,
SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST
Baylor's 2007 schedule is rated as the nation's 19th-toughest through games of May 19, according to listings at www.BoydsWorld.com. The Bears' schedule ranks fourth among Big 12 Conference schools behind only
Not surprisingly, 11 of the top 20 teams nationally in strength of schedule are from
CAS-SAVE-CHIA'S VALUE
RHP Nick Cassavechia, a member of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's 35-man National Stopper of the Year Watch List, has been one of the league's most valuable pitchers. Cassavechia, joins
Cassavechia, who arrived at Baylor as a pitcher/catcher, has tallied 16 career saves in just one-and-half seasons as the Bears' closer in mid-March 2006. He already ranks fourth on Baylor's all-time career saves list. He has eight career saves in Big 12 play, tied with Abe Woody for second in school history behind only Zane Carlson (17). Cassavechia and Carlson are the only pitchers in Baylor history to record at least eight saves in multiple seasons.
Entering the Big 12 Championship, Cassavechia is fourth in the Big 12 in saves. He is second on the team with 63 strikeouts over 43.0 innings, averaging 13.19 strikeouts per nine innings, against only 14 walks (three of which have been intentional).
In Big 12 play, Cassavechia finished fifth in the league in ERA (2.43), tied for fifth in saves (three), tied for ninth in strikeouts (44), first in strikeouts per nine innings (13.35) and 10th in opponents' batting average (.248).
Earlier this season, Cassavechia enjoyed a 21.0-inning streak during which he did not walk a batter; he posted 33 strikeouts during that time. Over the last half of the 2006 season and the first month of this season, he stranded 22 consecutive inherited runners. He has recorded at least one strikeout in 23 of his 25 appearances this season with multiple strikeouts 18 times, including 14 of the last 15 and a streak of 10 consecutive appearances from March 20 to April 22.
Cassavechia has shown his value even more so late in the season as he has been called upon earlier in games. He has logged at least 2.1 innings in five of his last seven appearances, including 3.0-plus innings four times. He earned the victory in the series opener against
TRIPLE YOUR PLEASURE
Baylor is second in the Big 12 Conference with 25 triples this season, trailing only
Through games of May 13, Baylor ranked eighth nationally in triples per game with 0.45. Brigham Young was the national leader at 0.67. Baylor was one of only 22 teams nationally with at least 20 triples this season. Only
Individually, LF Ben Booker leads the Big 12 with seven triples, two more than any other player in the league. Through games of May 13, he ranked 30th nationally in triples per game. SS Beamer Weems is tied for second in the Big 12 with five triples, while RF Aaron Miller is tied for sixth with four.
The Bears had 10 triples in Big 12 play, ranking third in the league behind only
BEARS ARE EXTRA SPECIAL
Baylor is 14-4 in extra-inning games since the start of the 2003 season, including a 2-1 mark in such games this season. Last year, the Bears lost their only extra-inning game -- a 13-inning, 7-6 loss at home to
Five of the 14 wins over the past five seasons have come on an opponent's home field (
Baylor's luck was not as good in 2002 when the Bears were 1-5 in extra-inning games, including a span of three consecutive games lost in extra innings in mid-May.
BAYLOR SEPTET EARNS ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 HONORS
Seven Baylor baseball student-athletes were named first-team Academic All-Big 12 Conference this season. Baylor and
Baylor baseball student-athletes have received 56 first-team Academic All-Big 12 Conference honors in the league's 11-year history. That total leads the conference ahead of
The seven Baylor student-athletes honored were senior C Matt Czimskey, 1B Tim Jackson, RHP Wade Mackey, RHP Jeff Mandel, RHP Tim Matthews, RHP Andy Pape and C Matt Sodolak. Pape becomes the 10th Baylor baseball student-athlete to be named first-team Academic All-Big 12 three times. This is the third year in which Mandel has earned Academic All-Big 12 honors, collecting first-team honors last season and second-team honors in 2005. Czimskey, Jackson, Mackey, Matthews and Sodolak all were first-time honorees.
BAYLOR AMONG NATIONAL APR LEADERS
Baylor received a public recognition award from the NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program for having an Academic Progress Rate (APR) score which ranks among the top 10 percent within their sport. The Bears' most-recent APR score was 983 with an adjusted squad size mark of 992. Baylor was one of 30 Division I programs honored by the NCAA. Head coach Steve Smith's squad was the only of Baylor's 19 varsity teams so honored.
UP NEXT ...
Baylor awaits word from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. Pairings for the 2007 tournament will be announced Monday, May 28, at 11:30 a.m. CDT on ESPN.
