Softball Hosts QTI Powers Invitational
2/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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| 2011 QTI Powers Invitational Feb. 25-27 | Waco, Texas | Getterman Stadium (1,230) TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | ||||||
| vs. Sam Houston FRI, FEB 25 | 5:30 P.M.  Watch |  Listen |  | | vs. ULM SAT, FEB 26 | 5:30 P.M. Watch | Listen | | vs. Houston SUN, FEB 27 | 3 P.M. Watch | Listen | |
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The Series
Baylor vs. Sam Houston State: Baylor leads, 42-28
Baylor vs. Central Arkansas: Baylor leads, 2-0
Baylor vs. Louisiana-Monroe: Baylor leads, 15-6
Baylor vs. Houston: Baylor leads, 12-6
Rankings (NFCA, ESPN.com)
Baylor RV, RV
Central Arkansas NR, NR
Houston 23, 23
Louisiana-Monroe NR, NR
Sam Houston State NR, NR
Scouting The Field
Central Arkansas (1-8) enters the tournament on a four-game losing streak after falling in all four games of the Quality Inn Classic in Troy, Ala.
No. 23 Houston (9-2) has won nine of its last 10 games after jumping into the rankings this week. The Cougars are coming off a split at Sam Houston State on Wednesday and have a staff ERA of 0.95.
Louisiana-Monroe (7-4) is coming off a 2-3 performance at the Troy Cox Classic hosted by New Mexico State last weekend where its two wins came against Sam Houston State. ULM suffered losses to Southern Utah, New Mexico State and No. 6 Oklahoma.
Sam Houston State (6-9) enters after a split of No. 23 Houston on Wednesday. The Bearkats have dropped five of their last six.
Best Start...Ever
The Lady Bears are off to their best start in program history, surpassing their 9-0 start in the 2007 season when they won the Big 12 title and made it to the Women's College World Series.
Look Out For Leal
Senior Dani Leal, currently on a four-game hitting streak, is off to a hot start, hitting .500 with five home runs, 11 RBI, a 1.107 slugging percentage and a .611 on-base percentage. Her batting average is tied for fifth in the conference. The shortstop from Mexico City, Mexico, set a new Getterman Classic for home runs in the tournament, smashing quatro.
First Time Bombs
Whitney Canion and Sydney Wilson each hit their first career home runs against Louisiana Tech on Tuesday, Feb. 22.
Armed And Ready
The Baylor pitching staff enters the weekend with a 0.95 ERA, leading the Big 12 Conference. Canion's 0.66 ERA is good for third in the league, while Courtney Repka is fourth with a 0.76 mark.
400
Head coach Glenn Moore, in his 11th season, won his 400th game on Feb. 18 with a 7-2 win over New Mexico, becoming the first coach in program history to reach the 400-win plateau. With a Baylor record of 405-207 (.661), Moore has averaged nearly 40 wins each of his 10 seasons at Baylor. Head baseball coach, Steve Smith, is the only other active head coach with more wins at Baylor.
Canion Climbing The Charts
Canion sits in fourth all-time in career strikeouts at Baylor with 553. With three seasons to play, she needs 265 to tie Cristin Vitek's career record 759 and sits 57 away from tying Stacy Allison and Lisa Ferguson for second with 610.
Tough Schedule
Just take one look at the 2011 schedule and you will see what a gauntlet it is. The Lady Bears will face 10 teams ranked in the top-25, including No. 2/3 UCLA and No. 3/1 Arizona. Additionally, BU will face four other teams that are receiving votes. The 54-game schedule features 27 home games and 24 games against 14 teams that were selected to the 2010 NCAA Championship, including six contests against 2010 Women's College World Series programs.
