Super Regional Preview: Softball Hosts Michigan
5/24/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 24, 2007
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2007 NCAA
#7 BAYLOR (48-13) HOSTS #10
GAME 1 - MAY 25, 2007 - 6:30 PM
GAMES 2 & 3 - MAY 26, 2007 - 1:00 PM
GETTERMAN STADIUM
THE SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, MAY 25
Game
SATURDAY, MAY 26
Game
Game 3 - If necessary game, 30 minutes following
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: KWGW 104. 9 FM (Friday); ESPN Radio 1660 AM (Saturday)
Live Video: www.BaylorBears.com
Live Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Television: CSTV (
Grande (Cable) -
Time Warner (Cable) -
Direct TV (Satellite) -
Dish Network (Satellite) -
Jonathan Coachman - Play-by-play
Ann Schatz - Color
THE SERIES
Baylor vs.
Neutral: Baylor leads 2-1
The No. 7 Baylor (48-13) softball team looks to capture its first Women's College World Series berth in school history as the Lady Bears host No. 10 Michigan (46-11) in a best-of-three series at the NCAA Waco Super Regional in front of an already sold-out crowd at Getterman Stadium this weekend. Game one between the Lady Bears and the Wolv
The super regional, which will be televised nationally by CSTV, pits two teams that breezed through the opening round of the NCAA Softball Championships. Baylor, the No. 8 seed in the championship, swept through the NCAA Hempstead Regional as the Lady Bears outscored its opponents, 25-4, in three games while capturing the regional title with a 10-0, five-inning shutout of
Baylor is making its second appearance in the super regional round after falling to No. 2 Cal in 2005.
The Lady Bears own a slight, 3-2 edge in the series with the Wolv
SCOUTING
No. 10 Michigan, the No. 9 overall seed in the tournament, makes its third consecutive appearance in the NCAA Super Regional round as the Wolv
Senior pitcher Lorilyn Wilson leads the Wolv
At the plate,
In her 23rd season at the helm of the
BAYLOR AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
After sweeping through the 2007 NCAA Hempstead Regional with a perfect, 3-0 record, Baylor is now 11-6 all-time at the NCAA Championship with a pair of regional titles.
Baylor's appearance in the super regional round this season marks the second time the Lady Bears have advanced to the best-of-three series to determine advancement into the Women's College World Series.
In 2005, Baylor came within one win of its first appearance at the WCWS. After capturing the NCAA Auburn Regional title, Baylor faced No. 2 Cal in a best-of-three series to determine who would advance to the series in
Baylor's first-ever contest in NCAA Championship play might have been one of the most memorable in school history as the Lady Bears defeated North Carolina, 1-0, in a 16-inning marathon. The game received national attention as Baylor's Cristin Vitek established a new NCAA, NCAA Championship and Big 12 Conference record with 28 strikeouts to help lead the Lady Bears to the victory over the Tar Heels. Baylor finished the regional with a 2-2 record as the Lady Bears were eliminated with losses at the hands of LSU and
LISA
With a win against
The senior has been a force in the circle this year, posting a 23-7 record and 2.01 ERA on the year. With 169 strikeouts this year, the right-hander enters the meeting with No. 10 Michigan just 10 strikeouts shy of 600 for her career.
HEAD COACH Glenn Moore PICKS UP 300th CAREER VICTORY AT BAYLOR
Baylor's 10-0 win over
The milestone is just one of several
Moore has led Baylor to three consecutive NCAA Championship appearances, the first appearances in school history, as he has guided the Lady Bears to a pair of regional titles as well as their first-ever Big 12 Conference title.
BAYLOR CONTINUES ON HOT HITTING STREAK
Baylor enters the super regional as one of the hottest teams in the country, winning 22-of-26 contests dating back to the team's trip to the Bank of Hawai'i Invitational. During the hot streak, which included a 13-game winning streak, the Baylor offense has hit at an impressive .313 clip while the pitching staff has been dominant in the circle, posting a 22-4 record and 2.05 ERA while holding opponents to a .212 average.
In the circle, Kirsten Shortridge has led the way during the streak as the freshman has posted an 9-1 record with a 1.90 ERA while holding opponents to an impressive .195 batting average against.
With a home run at the Bank of Hawai'i Invitational,
The career milestone is just one of a number of Baylor marks
Ashley Monceaux AND BAYLOR CONTINUE TO PRODUCE
Over the past few years, the Baylor offense has had tremendous success at the plate and this year has been no different. So far this season, Baylor has posted a .319 batting average on the year and currently ranks second in the league and 11th in the country in the category. In addition, the Lady Bears have hit 57 home runs on the season and have posted an impressive .478 slugging percentage.
Leading the way for Baylor has been senior Ashley Monceaux. Monceaux leads the Lady Bears with a .401 batting average, 18 home runs and 65 RBI. The 18 home runs and 65 RBI have tied Baylor single-season marks as she looks to close out a storied two-year career in a Baylor uniform. The senior first baseman has posted an almost unbelievable .802 slugging percentage and 142 total bases as she ranks among the top five in the conference in nine different categories.
As a team, Baylor currently features six players batting over .300 on the season, including freshman Kirsten Shortridge (.350) and
GETTERMAN STADIUM KIND TO LADY BEARS
Since the stadium opened, Getterman Stadium has been kind to the Lady Bears as Baylor owns a 165-53 mark all-time at the stadium since it opened in 1999.
The 2007 season has been Baylor's most successful in the friendly confines as the Lady Bears have posted an impressive 28-2 record at home, the best mark in school history, after Baylor went 21-8 at home last season. As a team, Baylor is batting an almost unbelievable .350 at home this season while the pitching staff has been dominant in Getterman this year, posting a 28-2 record and 1.20 ERA this season.
Since the stadium opened, no Lady Bears team has lost more than 10 games at home in a single season.
In the stadium's six years of existence, attendance has steadily risen as Baylor set a new record for overall attendance and average attendance this year. In 22 ticket dates at Getterman Stadium this season, Baylor drew 18,412 through the turnstiles for an average of 836 per contest. A max capacity crowd of 1,455 saw Baylor clinch the Big 12 Conference title as the Lady Bears sold out their final two games of the year as the team claimed wins over Texas and Texas A&M to clinch its first-ever Big 12 title.
BAYLOR SOFTBALL IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
The Baylor softball team is currently ranked No. 7 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. In addition, Baylor earned a No. 8 ranking in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25.
Baylor is one of five Big 12 Conference school ranked in both polls as Texas A&M (No. 8, No. 8), Oklahoma (No. 1, No. 3), Missouri (No. 19, RV) and Texas (RV, No. 18) join the Lady Bears in the polls.
After win the Big 12 Conference post-season title, Oklahoma has moved to No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll while Tennessee is No. 1 in the NFCA national rankings.
Baylor's appearance in both polls marks the 56th consecutive week the Lady Bears have appeared in the NFCA Top 25 and the 55th consecutive week the team has appeared in the USA Softball Top 25. The last time Baylor failed to appear in either poll was March 16, 2004. Within the Big 12 Conference, only Texas A&M and Oklahoma have currently appeared in the national polls for more consecutive weeks.
NCAA WACO SUPER REGIONAL SELLS OUT IN LESS THAN TWO DAYS
The NCAA Waco Super Regional between Baylor and Michigan sold out in less than two days as the Baylor Athletic Department announced all tickets to the pair of sessions were gone by Tuesday at 2:00 p.m.
This marks the first time in school history all tickets have been sold before the day of the game and will mark the fourth consecutive sell-out at Getterman Stadium as the Lady Bears contests against Texas and Texas A&M were sold out to close out the regular season.
Prior to this weekend, Baylor has sold out Getterman Stadium on four separate occasions as the Lady Bears have posted a 2-2 record at home during sold-out contests.
BAYLOR LADY BEARS IN THE CAREER CHARTS
Several Lady Bears are aiming to continue making their way up the career charts in 2007. Below is a list of Lady Bears who currently rank in the top ten in one of the career categories:
BATTING RECORDS
RUNS: Chelsi Lake (103, 7th)
HITS: Chelsi Lake (223, 4th)
MULTIPLE-HIT GAMES: Chelsi Lake (57, 5th); Ashley Monceaux (32, 10th)
DOUBLES: Chelsi Lake (46, 1st); Ashley Monceaux (6th, 28)
TRIPLES: Chelsi Lake (t-10th, 4)
HOME RUNS: Chelsi Lake (1st, 44); Ashley Monceaux (4th, 25);
TOTAL BASES: Chelsi Lake (409, 1st)
SACRIFICE FLIES: Chelsi Lake (t-1st, 9)
PITCHING RECORDS
APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (1st, 169); Ashley Monceaux (10th, 29); Kirsten Shortridge (9th, 32)
GAMES STARTED: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 116); Kirsten Shortridge (8th, 23)
RELIEF APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (t-1st, 53)
WINS: Lisa Ferguson (1st, 79); Kirsten Shortridge (8th, 17)
LOSSES: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 36); Brittany Turner (t-8th, 5)
DECISIONS: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 115)
COMPLETE GAMES: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 60)
SHUTOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 27)
SAVES: Lisa Ferguson (1st, 19)
INNINGS PITCHED: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 773.0); Kirsten Shortridge (8th, 159.2); Ashley Monceaux (10th, 103.1)
STRIKEOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (3rd, 590); Ashley Monceaux (10th, 76); Kirsten Shortridge (9th, 123)
UP NEXT...
Should Baylor advance out of the NCAA Waco Super Regional, the Lady Bears would advance to the NCAA Women's College World Series at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla., for the first time in school history. The Lady Bears would open play at the World Series on Thursday, May 31.
