Bears Close Regular Season at Texas Tech
5/15/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 15, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
GAMES 53-55 • MAY 16-18 • DAN LAW FIELD •
BAYLOR (30-22, 10-14) at
FRIDAY: 6:05 p.m. CDT
SATURDAY: 2:00 p.m. CDT
SUNDAY: 1:00 p.m. CDT
Baylor concludes its regular season this weekend, traveling to
The Bears (30-22, 10-14) won a pair of midweek home games, defeating
The Red Raiders (23-29, 7-17) split a doubleheader at home Tuesday against Dallas Baptist, dropping the opener 8-4 and rebounding for a 9-8 victory in the nightcap. Tech dropped two of three at
Baylor and Texas Tech have played 13 common opponents this season -- Dallas Baptist, Oral Roberts, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Texas State, UTSA and the eight other Big 12 schools. The Bears are 14-19 against those teams, while the Red Raiders are 12-21.
All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY
Baylor: RHP Shawn Tolleson, Fr. (5-3, 4.71 ERA, 65.0 IP, 30 BB, 56 K)
SATURDAY
Baylor: RHP Craig Fritsch, Fr. (3-3, 3.72 ERA, 46.0 IP, 14 BB, 47 K)
SUNDAY
Baylor: TBA
THE SERIES
Overall:
Neutral Site: Baylor leads 4-2
Since Start of Big 12: Texas Tech leads 20-17
Regular Season:
Postseason: Baylor leads 3-1
Smith vs.
First Meeting: Baylor 14, at
Last Meeting: at Baylor 14,
COACHES
BAYLOR: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 520-333-1 [14th season]
Record at Baylor: 520-333-1 [14th season]
Alma Mater:
Career Record: 1,507-859-4 [38th season]
Record at Texas Tech: 812-478-3 [22nd season]
BAYLOR/ISP SPORTS NETWORK
1660 ESPN RADIO (
Tom Barfield, play-by-play
Lark Smith, color
INTERNET FEEDS
GameTracker: www.BaylorBears.com
Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Video: www.TexasTech.com
BAYLOR-TEXAS TECH SERIES
Baylor and Texas Tech meet for the 134th, 135th and 136th times this weekend. The Red Raiders hold a slim 68-65 advantage in the all-time series, the seventh most-played series in Baylor baseball history. The series dates back to a 14-1 Baylor victory at
The series is decidedly tilted toward the home team. While the Bears are 40-24 against the Raiders in
Tech holds a 19-14 advantage in regular-season meetings since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997. Baylor won the series in 1998, 1999 (sweep), 2003, 2005 and 2007. Tech has won each of the other six series. Baylor is 18-27 against Texas Tech during head coach Steve Smith's tenure. Tech and
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD NOT YET SETTLED
Entering the regular season's final weekend, all 10 programs are still alive for next week's Big 12 Conference Championship at Bricktown Ballpark in
While a win at Texas Tech would assure the Bears a spot in this year's Big 12 Championship, it is possible for Baylor to qualify without a win. If Baylor is swept at Texas Tech, the Bears could still finish in the league's top eight spots.
There are two scenarios in which this would happen. The Bears can finish no lower than eighth if
TEAM NOTES
Baylor was 28-24 overall and 9-15 in Big 12 play through 52 games last season. The Bears swept
PLAYER NOTES
• Ben Booker has reached safely in 12 of the last 13 games. He is hitting .300 (15-for-50) in that time with five multiple-hit games. Booker has seven home runs this season after hitting only four home runs in his first two seasons combined. He has posted a .220 batting average (18-for-82) in the leadoff spot; he is hitting .313 (31-for-99) elsewhere in the lineup.
• Raynor Campbell has hit safely in 10 of the last 11 games; he is hitting .366 (15-for-41) in that time with five multiple-hit games.
• Dustin Dickerson leads the team with a .367 average (29-for-79) in road games, joining Campbell (.311) as the only Baylor players hitting over .300 in such games. Dickcerson is tied for the team lead in games with at least three hits with seven.
• Craig Fritsch has allowed two earned runs over 15.0 innings in his last three outings. He has tallied 18 strikeouts against only two walks in that time. In the first of those three appearances, Fritsch established a Baylor Ballpark record with 10 strikeouts in relief April 30 against
• Gregg Glime has reached safely in 11 consecutive games. He has collected 10 hits and eight walks and has been hit three times in that span, reaching base safely in 21 of 45 plate appearances for a .467 on base percentage. Glime has scored 10 of his 21 runs on the season during the last 11 games.
• Shaver Hansen has gone hitless in consecutive games only twice this season with no three-game droughts. He is hitting .388 (26-for-67) over the last 17 games with a home run, eight doubles, a triple, 13 RBI and 21 runs scored. Hansen is hitting .328 (38-for-116) in the leadoff spot this season; the other six players who have hit in that position have a collective .215 average (20-for-93). He leads the team with a .385 average (15-for-39) over the last 10 games and ranks third on the team with a .333 average (27-for-81) over the last 20 games. Hansen has reached safely in 18 consecutive games, a career-long streak; he has posted .477 on base percentage (41-for-86) in that time. He also has reached safely in 30 of the last 32 games, failing to reach only in first two games of the
• Adam Hornung has reached safely in 25 of the last 28 games and has not gone consecutive games without reaching safely this season. He has hit safely in the last seven road games, going 12-for-31 (.387) in those games.
• Willie Kempf is 6-1 in 10 starts; he left with the lead in all three of his no-decisions. Baylor is 8-2 in his starts. However, three of his last four appearances have been in relief. Kempf has allowed fewer than four earned runs in 12 of his 13 appearances.
• Randall Linebaugh has averaged 9.23 strikeouts per 9.0 innings in his last 10 appearances (27 strikeouts in 26.1 innings). He made his first start of the season Tuesday against
• Tim Matthews has posted a 2.57 ERA in 17.1 innings over 10 relief appearances. He has 13 strikeouts against one walk in those relief outings. Matthews recorded the first complete game and the first shutout of his career Wednesday in the Bears' 11-0, seven-inning victory over Stephen F. Austin. Matthews allowed three hits and one walk with six strikeouts. He retired 14 consecutive batters between a leadoff single in the third and a two-out walk in the seventh. Matthews has allowed fewer than three earned runs in 14 of 16 appearances. His 6.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio (39-6) would be a Baylor single-season record.
• Baylor is 18-5 in the 23 games in which Paul Miles has started in center field. He was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI in Wednesday's game against Stephen F. Austin, producing his first multiple-hit game since the Bears' second game of the year.
• Aaron Miller is the first Baylor player with at least 10 home runs since 2004 when Josh Ford had 14 and Michael Griffin had 10. Miller would be the first underclassman to lead Baylor in home runs since Chris Durbin did so with 14 in 2001. Miller has reached safely in 17 of the last 18 games, producing a .422 on base percentage (35-for-83) in that time. After suffering 14 multiple-strikeout outings in the season's first 39 games, Miller has not struck out more than once in any of the last 13 games. He averaged 1.23 strikeouts per game in the first 39 contests but has trimmed that to 0.54 per game over the last 13 contests, striking out only seven times in that span.
• Jon Ringenberg leads the team with five pinch hits this season, the most by a Baylor player since 2003 when Zach Dillon had seven and Reid Brees had five.
• Mace Thurman has allowed a staff-low 1.27 extra-base hits per 9.0 innings this season, surrendering four doubles and one home run in 35.1 innings. He has tallied 13 strikeouts in 8.0 innings over his last three appearances.
• Shawn Tolleson's first-inning ERA is 11.57 (15 earned runs in 11.2 innings) with an opponents' batting average of .383 (18-for-47); his ERA is 3.21 after the first inning with a .228 opponents' batting average. Tolleson is the only Baylor starter to pitch into the ninth inning this season; he has done so three times with two complete games. Tolleson has been Baylor's best pitcher on the road by far, posting a 3-1 record with a 1.86 ERA in such games. He has allowed 10 runs, eight earned, on 33 hits and 15 walks with 34 strikeouts over 38.2 innings in six appearances, all starts. Opponents are hitting .239 against Tolleson on the road. He has completed at least 7.0 innings in four of the six road starts; the others were a 5.0-inning effort for a win at
• Kendal Volz has posted a 2.37 ERA (eight earned runs in 30.1 innings) over his last five starts, but he is 0-3 and Baylor is 1-4 in those games. He has been given 11 total runs of support in those games, including one run three times. Volz has 41 strikeouts against 12 walks in his last five starts.
• Beamer Weems hit .172 (11-for-64) with three extra-base hits, eight RBI and five errors in the season's first 19 games. Since then, he is hitting .325 (39-for-120) with 14 extra-base hits, 20 RBI and four errors in 32 games. Weems has committed one error in his last 16 games. He is hitting .351 (13-for-37) in the last 10 games and .342 (25-for-73) in the last 20 games.
EIGHT BEARS EARN ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 HONORS
Eight Baylor baseball student-athletes were named 2008 Academic All-Big 12 Conference, the league office announced Thursday. All eight earned first-team status. Baylor, which led all schools in first-team honorees, tied
The eight Baylor student-athletes honored were senior pitcher Erik Forestiere (political science), 3B Shaver Hansen (business), RHP Willie Kempf (business), RHP Wade Mackey (speech communication), RHP Tim Matthews (political science), RF Aaron Miller (business), RHP Shawn Tolleson (health science studies) and RHP Kendal Volz (business).
Baylor baseball student-athletes have earned first-team Academic All-Big 12 honors 64 times in the league's 12-year history, 14 more than any other school in the conference.
Mackey and Matthews were first-team honorees for the second consecutive season; the other six were all first-time selections in their first year of eligibility.
MILLER, HANSEN NAMED ESPN THE MAGAZINE ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT VI
Two Baylor baseball student-athletes earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI honors, the College Sports Information Directors of America announced Thursday. RF Aaron Miller was a first-team selection, while 3B Shaver Hansen earned second-team honors. Both were first-time honorees, and both are business majors.
At least one Baylor baseball student-athlete has earned academic all-district honors every year since 1998. In that time, 17 Bears have been so honored 24 times. Jason Jennings (1998, 1999), Jon Topolski (1998, 1999), Ross Bennett (2002, 2003), Michael Griffin (2004, 2005, 2006), Zach Dillon (2005, 2006) and Jeff Mandel (2006, 2007) all earned academic all-district honors multiple times.
In order to be eligible for academic all-district honors, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a 4.00 scale and participate in at least 50 percent of his team's games. Freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible. By virtue of earning first-team honors, Miller is eligible for Academic All-America honors; that team will be announced May 27.
BAYLOR IN BIG 12 CONFERENCE STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Baylor ranks eighth in batting average (.286), seventh in ERA (4.99) and second in fielding percentage (.971) through games of May 14. In league games, the Bears rank 10th in batting average (.253), fourth in ERA (5.30) and sixth in fielding percentage (.972).
Individually in all games: 3B Shaver Hansen ranks 20th in batting average (.327), third in triples (5) and tied for eighth in doubles (16). RF Aaron Miller is tied for seventh in home runs (11) and tied for fourth in doubles (18). LF Ben Booker is tied for sixth in triples (3). RHP Willie Kempf is 15th in ERA (3.79), while RHP Kendal Volz is 18th (4.13). Kempf also is tied for seventh in victories (6). Volz also ranks fourth in strikeouts (79) and second in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (10.89). RHP Shawn Tolleson and RHP Tim Matthews are tied for 14th in victories (5). Tolleson also ranks second in shutouts (2) and tied for third in complete games (2). Matthews also is tied for third in shutouts (1) and tied eighth in complete games (1). RHP Nick Cassavechia is tied for sixth in saves (5).
Individually in league games: 2B Raynor Campbell is 15th in batting average (.345). SS Beamer Weems is tied for fourth in triples (2). Tolleson ranks 11th in ERA (4.17), while Kempf is 14th (4.29); they are tied for fifth in victories (4). Tolleson also ranks ninth in strikeouts (43), eighth in innings pitched (49.2), tied for first in shutouts (2), tied for second in complete games (2) and ninth in opponents' batting average (.243). Volz ranks second in strikeouts (58), and Matthews is tied for eighth in saves (2).
NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Through games of May 11, Baylor ranked 22nd in double plays turned (22), 24th in double plays turned per game (1.02), 37th in fielding percentage (.970), 41st in strikeouts per 9.0 innings pitched (8.0), 41st in walks (233) and 53rd in triples (16).
Individually, 3B Shaver Hansen was 69th in triples (5) and 60th in triples per game (0.10), while RHP Kendal Volz was 51st in strikeouts (79) and 18th in strikeouts per 9.0 innings (10.89).
CARDIAC KIDS
After going 4-5 in one-run games last season, Baylor is 10-7 in such games this season. However, the Bears are 3-7 in one-run games after winning their first seven. The 10 one-run wins and the 17 one-run games are the most by a Baylor team since the 2005 squad was 15-8, establishing a school record for one-run wins. In 2004, Baylor established a school record for one-run losses with a 7-16 mark.
Baylor has won two games in its final at bat -- the season-opener against Purdue and the series opener against
EXTRA-INNING SUCCESS HAS TURNED IN 2008
Baylor is 15-7 in extra-inning games since the start of the 2003 season but 1-3 in such games this season. The Bears were 2-1 in extra-inning games last season, 0-1 in 2006, 6-1 in 2005, 1-0 in 2004 and 5-1 in 2003. 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 during mid-May.
Five of the 15 wins over the past six seasons have come on an opponent's home field (
NEXT UP ...
Should Baylor qualify for next week's Big 12 Conference Championship at Bricktown Ballpark in
