Familiar Foes Gather For NCAA Houston Regional
5/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 30, 2007
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GAME 59 • JUNE 1 • 2 P.M. CDT
BAYLOR (34-25) vs. 16 TCU (46-12)
NCAA
REGIONAL SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, JUNE 1
Game 1: No. 2 TCU vs. No. 3 BAYLOR, 2 p.m.
Game 2: No. 1 Rice vs. No. 4 Prairie View A&M, 6 p.m.
Saturday, June 2
Game 3: Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2 p.m.
Game 4: Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 6 p.m.
Sunday, June 3
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 loser, 2 p.m.
Game 6: Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6 p.m.
MONDAY, JUNE 4
Game 7: Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 6 p.m. *
* - if necessary
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NATIONAL RANKINGS
Baseball
NCBWA NR
Collegiate Baseball NR
NCAA
1 RICE OWLS
No. 1 Seed • 49-12 • 22-2 C-
HEAD COACH: Wayne Graham
Alma Mater:
Career Record: 1,308-395 (27th season)
Record at Rice: 733-282 (16th season)
BAYLOR-RICE SERIES: Baylor leads 126-86-1
Neutral Site: Rice leads 4-1
Unknown Sites: Baylor leads 10-2
NCAA Tournament: Rice leads 4-1
Smith vs. Rice: 12-20
First Meeting: 4/25/1919
Last Meeting: at Rice 15, Baylor 0 [5/15/2007]
16 TCU HORNED FROGS
No. 2 Seed • 46-12 • 20-3 MWC (1st)
HEAD COACH: Jim Schlossnagle
Alma Mater: Elon, 1992
Career Record: 242-128 (6th season)
Record at TCU: 165-81 (4th season)
BAYLOR-TCU SERIES: Baylor leads 133-101
Neutral Site: TCU leads 5-1
Unknown Sites: Baylor leads 16-7
NCAA Tournament: Baylor leads 1-0
Smith vs. TCU: 14-13
2007 Series: L 6-3 at Baylor; W 3-0 at TCU
First Meeting: 1904
Last Meeting: Baylor 3, at TCU 0 [5/1/2007]
BAYLOR BEARS
No. 3 Seed • 34-25 • 12-15 Big 12 (6th)
HEAD COACH: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 488-309-1 (13th season)
Record at Baylor: 488-309-1 (13th season)
PRAIRIE VIEW A&M PANTHERS
No. 4 Seed • 34-23 • 17-7 SWAC (1st)
HEAD COACH: Michael Robertson
Alma Mater: Houston-Tillotson, 1989
Career Record: 138-140 (5th season)
Record at PVAM: 138-140 (5th season)
BAYLOR-PVAM SERIES: Baylor leads 3-0
Prairie View: Never Met
Neutral Site: Never Met
NCAA Tournament: Never Met
Smith vs. PVAM: 3-0
2007 Series: W 4-2 at Baylor
First Meeting: at Baylor 4, PVAM 3 [4/20/2005]
Last Meeting: at Baylor 4, PVAM 2 [4/25/2007]
Baylor baseball continues postseason play Friday, June 1, at the 2007 NCAA Houston Regional at
Rice (Conference
Baylor (34-25) is 6-4 in its last 10 games and 13-6 since April 22. The Bears enjoyed a six-game winning streak before losing to 17th-ranked Texas A&M in Sunday's title game of the Big 12 Conference Championship. Baylor is 10-4 in its last 14 games, a run that started when the Bears erased a three-run deficit in the top of the ninth inning for a 16-12 victory in the series finale April 29 at Texas A&M.
TCU (46-12) is 9-1 in its last 10 games. The lone loss in that span was a 9-8 decision at home against
Rice (49-12) also is 9-1 in its last 10 games. The lone loss in that span was a 2-1 decision against
Prairie View A&M (34-23) has not played since winning four consecutive games May 16-19 at the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament in
All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on
QUICK HITS
• Baylor joins Arizona State (9), Cal State Fullerton (10), Clemson (10), Florida State (10), Miami, Fla. (10), Mississippi State (9), North Carolina (9), Oral Roberts (10), Rice (10), South Carolina (9), Stanford (9), Texas (9), Tulane (9) and Wichita State (9) as the only Division I programs with at least nine NCAA Tournament appearances over the last 10 years. Of that list, only Tulane is absent from this year's tournament.
• Baylor is 32-28 all-time in NCAA Tournament action, including a 26-17 mark in regional play.
• Baylor has won five consecutive NCAA Regional first round games.
• Baylor has reached the championship game in each of its last five NCAA Regional appearances.
• Since the start of the 2003 season, Baylor is:
- 140-55 (.718) when its starting pitcher lasts at least 5.0 innings
- 37-9 (.804) when its pitching staff records at least 10 strikeouts
- 133-40 (.769) when scoring first
- 153-29 (.841) when out-hitting its opponent
- 145-38 (.792) when holding its opponent to fewer than five runs
- 130-28 (.823) when scoring at least six runs
- 117-19 (.860) when scoring at least seven runs
• Since the start of the 2002 season, Baylor is 183-8 (.958) when leading after eight innings, winning 16 straight, 43 of the last 44, 77 of the last 79 and 112 of the last 115 such games. The Bears are 25-1 when leading after eight innings this season; the lone loss was the middle game of the Texas Tech series.
• Baylor has won 28 of its last 31 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 have out-scored their opponents 95-60 in the first two innings and 51-27 in the eighth inning this season. However, opponents have out-scored Baylor 44-24 in the third inning.
• Baylor is 24-9 this season when scoring first (10-16 when the opponent scores first).
• Baylor is 5-10 on Saturday this season, going 29-15 elsewhere in the week.
• 20 of Baylor's 25 losses were to opponents who have been ranked nationally at some point this season.
• 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.
BAYLOR NCAA REGIONAL HISTORY
Baylor makes its 14th NCAA Regional appearance this weekend, the program's ninth regional in the past 10 seasons. The Bears are 32-28 all-time in NCAA postseason play, going 26-17 all-time in regional play, 4-5 in Super Regional play and 2-6 at the College World Series.
This marks the second consecutive year and the third time since 2001 that Baylor has traveled to
In 2001, second-seeded Baylor defeated
Last season, Ryan LaMotta led the third-seeded Bears to a 3-2, first-round victory over 16th-ranked
This is Baylor's 10th regional played within the Lone Star state. Along with the two Houston Regionals, Baylor hosted regionals in 1999, 2000 and 2005. The Bears also played at the 2002
Baylor has won five consecutive regional first-round games. The Bears also have reached the championship round in each of their last five regional appearances.
BAYLOR AMONG NCAA REGIONAL REGULARS
Baylor is one of only 15 Division I programs with at least nine NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 10 years. The Bears missed only the 2004 event during that stretch; that season, Baylor led the nation with 16 one-run losses and finished the season two games below .500.
The other teams that have made at least nine NCAA appearances since 1998 are: Arizona State (9), Cal State Fullerton (10), Clemson (10), Florida State (10), Miami, Fla. (10), Mississippi State (9), North Carolina (9), Oral Roberts (10), Rice (10), South Carolina (9), Stanford (9), Texas (9), Tulane (9) and Wichita State (9). Of that list, only Tulane is absent from this year's tournament.
THE RICE SERIES
Baylor and Rice have met 212 times on the baseball diamond, making this the fourth most-played series in Baylor baseball history behind only
The Owls hold a 50-44-1 advantage in the series in games played on the Rice campus. Baylor has not won at Rice since the comeback in the 2001 Houston Regional. The Owls have won 12 straight meetings since that game, including seven straight at
Baylor is 12-20 against Rice during head coach Steve Smith's tenure.
THE TCU SERIES
Baylor and TCU meet for the 235th time Friday. This is the third most-played series in Baylor baseball history behind only
TCU holds a 5-1 advantage in games played at neutral sites. The Bears and the Horned Frogs have met in NCAA Tournament play only once before -- an 8-3 Baylor victory in the second round of the 2005 NCAA Waco Regional at Baylor Ballpark.
Baylor is 14-13 against TCU during head coach Steve Smith's tenure.
THE PRAIRIE VIEW A&M SERIES
Baylor and Prairie View A&M have met just three times in baseball action. All three meetings have come since the start of the 2005 season and all were schedule additions as replacement for other games that were cancelled due to inclement weather. The Bears defeated the Panthers 4-3 in 2005 and 14-2 last season. Earlier this season, Baylor needed Matt Sodolak's two-run, seventh-inning home run to erase a 2-1 deficit en route to a 4-2 victory. All previous meetings were at Baylor Ballpark.
BAYLOR STARTER
RHP Jeff Mandel will start Friday's game against TCU. The Bears have not announced starters for the remainder of the regional.
Mandel, one of only two seniors on the 25-man roster for the Big 12 Championship who have spent their entire collegiate careers at Baylor, is 7-7 with a 4.57 ERA in 16 appearances (15 starts) this season. He has allowed 102 hits and 26 walks against 74 strikeouts over 90.2 innings with a .286 opponents' batting average.
Last Wednesday, Mandel held the Big 12 Conference's most potent offense at bay in the Bears' 3-1 victory over 21st-ranked
Mandel is 3-4 this season away from Baylor Ballpark, but he has won his last three 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 in February.
Wednesday will be Mandel's first career start in NCAA Tournament play; however, he is well-seasoned in postseason play. He has made three appearances, all in relief, and is the Bears' lone remaining pitcher who saw action at the 2005 College World Series. Mandel is 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and one save in NCAA Tournament play. He has allowed seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts over 11.0 innings.
Mandel tossed 3.0 innings of two-hit, scoreless relief to earn the victory against Stanford in Baylor's 4-3 victory over the Cardinal in the championship game of the 2005 NCAA Waco Regional. He also hit the eventual game-winning home run in that game, a solo shot in the top of the 12th inning. After not pitching in the super regional, Mandel held second-ranked
Last season, Mandel held
MANDEL'S CAREER NCAA TOURNAMENT PITCHING LINES
DATE OPPONENT IP H R ER BB K NP DEC.
6/6/05 Stanford 3.0 2 0 0 0 0 37 W 4-3
6/20/05 vs.
6/4/06 vs.
CZIMSKEY CONTINUES TEAR
C Matt Czimskey saw his career-long 19-game hitting streak end Sunday with an 0-for-4 afternoon against Texas A&M in the Big 12 Conference Championship title game. Czimskey's streak was the seventh-longest in Baylor history and the longest since David Murphy's 21-game run in 2003. It also was 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 hit .478 (33-for-69) during the 19-game streak with 11 multiple-hit games, 19 runs, six home runs and 26 RBI. He recorded at least one RBI in 14 of the 19 games, including each of the last five.
An all-championship selection at last week's event, Czimskey homered in each of Baylor's first three games at the Big 12 Championship. He became the first Bear and only the second player in the event's 11-year history to homer in three straight games. Czimskey joined Beamer Weems (2006) as the only Baylor players to hit three home runs in a single Big 12 Championship. In fact, Czimskey, Weems, Murphy and Seth Fortenberry are the only Baylor players with at least three career home runs in Big 12 Championship play. Czimskey was the first Baylor player to homer in three consecutive games of any kind since Josh Ford accomplished the feat twice during the 2004 season. Ford also had a two-homer game in each of those streaks.
An honorable mention All-Big 12 selection by the league's coaches, 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.
ALL-TIME LONGEST BAYLOR HITTING STREAKS
1. James Blair, 3/23/97-2/5/98 31
2. Kelly Shoppach, 2/18-4/10/01 28
3. Charley Carter, 2/5-3/15/98 22
4. Jason Jennings, 2/21-3/31/98 21
Jon Topolski, 4/4-5/16/99 21
David Murphy, 4/4-5/13/03 21
7. Matt Czimskey, 4/15-5/26/03 19
8. Mark Saccomanno, 4/22-5/31/03 18
9. Eric Nelson, 4/9-5/4/97 17
Chris Durbin, 4/21-5/27/01 17
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 (60) and fifth in runs scored (36). He also has committed just 12 errors on the season. He also enjoyed a 13-game hitting streak that was the longest by a Baylor freshman since Michael Griffin's 16-game run in 2002.
However,
VOLZ AMONG BAYLOR FRESHMAN GREATS
RHP Kendal Volz is the first Baylor freshman to earn five victories in a season since Ryan LaMotta (seven) and Abe Woody (six) in 2003. In fact, Volz is only the 14th Baylor freshman since 1968 to earn five or more wins. Aaron Lineweaver established Baylor's record for wins by a freshman with nine in 1993. Volz is only the ninth freshman in school history to win six games. The only Big 12 freshman to start at least five Big 12 games, Volz entered Baylor's weekend rotation the weekend prior to the start of Big 12 play and did not exit.
Volz two best outings were against
Last Saturday, Volz established a Big 12 Championship record with 13 strikeouts against
SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST
Baylor's 2007 schedule is rated as the nation's 12th-toughest through games of May 29, 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, who joins
Cassavechia, who arrived at Baylor as a pitcher/catcher, has tallied 19 career saves in just one-and-half seasons as the Bears' closer. He already is tied for second on Baylor's all-time career saves list with Abe Woody. Cassavechia has eight career saves in Big 12 play, also tied with 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 NCAA Houston Regional, Cassavechia is two saves behind Wood for the Big 12 saves lead. He is second on the team with 69 strikeouts over 49.1 innings, averaging 12.59 strikeouts per nine innings, against only 17 walks (three of which have been intentional).
Cassavechia established a Baylor record with three saves in last week's Big 12 Championship, becoming only the second pitcher in the event's 11-year history to accomplish that feat. He has four career saves in Big 12 Championship play, twice as many as any other Baylor pitcher.
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 seven of his last 10 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 26 triples this season, trailing only
Through games of May 20, Baylor ranked ninth nationally in triples per game with 0.45. Brigham Young was the national leader at 0.64. Baylor was one of only 28 teams nationally with at least 20 triples this season. Only Brigham Young (34),
Individually, LF Ben Booker leads the Big 12 with seven triples, two more than any other player in the league. Through games of May 20, he ranked 19th 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 eighth 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.
THREE BEARS NAMED BIG 12 ALL-CHAMPIONSHIP
C Matt Czimskey, RHP Kendal Volz and SS Beamer Weems all earned Big 12 Conference All-Championship honors after leading Baylor to the event's title game with a 3-0 record in pool play.
Czimskey hit .429 (6-for-14) with four runs, one double, three home runs, seven RBI, 16 total bases, a 1.143 slugging percentage, three walks and a .529 on base percentage. He led all players with three home runs at the championship, becoming the first Baylor player and only the second player in the event's 11-year history to homer in three consecutive games.
Volz clinched Baylor's spot in the championship game with a 13-strikeout performance against
Weems hit .400 (6-for-15) with four runs, three doubles, five RBI, a .600 slugging percentage, four walks and a .526 on base percentage.
RHP Nick Cassavechia was dominant at the championship, posting a 2.84 ERA with six strikeouts and a .174 opponents' batting average in 6.1 innings over three appearances. He became the first Baylor player and only the second player in the event's 11-year history to record at least three saves in a single championship, saving each of Baylor's pool play games. However, there was no spot for relief pitcher of the Big 12 All-Championship ballot.
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.
TRIO NAMED CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Three Baylor baseball student-athletes earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI honors, the College Sports Information Directors of America announced in early May. C Matt Czimskey, DH Tim Jackson and RHP Jeff Mandel all were selected to the second team. This marks the second consecutive season in which Mandel has earned second-team honors; Czimskey and Jackson were first-time honorees.
At least one Baylor baseball student-athlete has earned academic all-district honors every year since 1998. In that time, 15 Bears have been so honored 22 times. Mandel joined Jason Jennings (1998, 1999), Jon Topolski (1998, 1999), Ross Bennett (2002, 2003), Michael Griffin (2004, 2005, 2006) and Zach Dillon (2005, 2006) as the only Baylor baseball student-athletes to earn academic all-district honors multiple times.
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 ...
Winner of the NCAA Houston Regional will meet the winner of the NCAA College Station Regional in the super regional round. Teams participating the College Station Regional are host Texas A&M,
