Softball Readies For Maryland Regional
5/19/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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| No. 11 Baylor (40-12) vs. Lehigh (33-21) Friday, May 20, 2011 | 4 p.m. CT College Park, Md.| Robert E. Taylor Stadium (1,600)  |  |  Notes |  Championship Central | ||
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Scouting Lehigh
Lehigh, making its eighth NCAA Tournament appearance overall and sixth in the last eight years, earned the Patriot League's automatic bid with a 14-0 win over top-seeded Colgate. The Mountain Hawks are led by junior first baseman Julie Fernandez (.374, 10 homers, 48 RBI) and sophomore pitcher Rebecca Bliss (16-6, 2.76 ERA, 4 saves), who were joined on the all-conference first team by junior shortstop Jen Colquhoun and sophomore catcher Liz Lucas.
Scouting Maryland
Maryland is hosting for the second straight year after earning an at-large bid as the third-place team from the ACC. The Terrapin pitching staff of ACC Pitcher of the Year Kerry Hickey, junior Kendra Knight and freshman Ashley Czechner proved to be a strong point for the team throughout the season. The trio combined for an ERA of 1.82, which was the best in the Atlantic Coast Conference and top 20 in the NCAA.
Scouting East Carolina
East Carolina, making its third regional appearance in four years, earned Conference USA's automatic bid by defeating Tulsa, 4-1, in the tournament championship game. The Pirates are led by 2010 third-team All-American and 2011 Co-Conference USA Pitcher of the Year, Toni Pailsey's 30-11 mark, 1.08 ERA and 365 strikeouts in 285.1 innings.
First Time For Everything
Baylor has never met any of the teams in the regional. In addition, these games will mark the first of the season in the eastern time zone and first since playing at Michigan on May 22-23, 2009.
RPI
Baylor comes into the week with an RPI of 11, while Maryland is 31st, East Carolina is 33rd and Lehigh is 147th.
Baylor In The NCAA's
Baylor owns a 16-12 mark all-time at the NCAA €ˆSoftball Championship with a three regional titles (2005, 2007, 2009), one super regional championship (2007) and a Women's College World Series berth (2007).
Five Make All-Big 12
The team had five players named to the All-Big 12 team, the conference office announced Tuesday. Whitney Canion, Kathy Shelton and Dani Leal were named to the first team, while Kayce Walker and Megan Turk earned second-team honors. Canion and Shelton were unanimous choices and Walker was named all-conference for the third time.
Stealing The Century Mark
Baylor eclipsed the century mark for stolen bases (105) during its weekend series with Iowa State, making it the ninth time in the last 10 years that the Lady Bears have had at least 100 steals. The program record is 155 set by the 2005 squad.
5 And Under
Baylor is 40-5 when holding its opponents to five runs or less, including a 35-1 mark when allowing two runs or less. That percentage is the second-lowest in the country, behind Louisiana-Lafayette's 43-1 mark. On the flip side, BU is 0-6 when allowing six or more runs.
Score First, Score A Win
The Lady Bears are 12-1 this season when scoring in the first inning and 31-3 when scoring first. When leading after four innings, Baylor is 32-2, and when having a lead after six, it is 28-1. The lone loss came on a walk-off, two-run homer at Texas A&M on March 27.
Top 25 Terrorizers
The Lady Bears enter the NCAA Championship with a 15-7 record (9-3 on the road) against ranked opponents and a 10-9 mark against the top-25 RPI teams, including 6-4 away from home.
Best Start Since 2007
The 40-12 start is the best record since the 2007 WCWS squad went 41-11 through 52 games.
Rare Losing Streaks
Until a pair of losses to No. 17 Oklahoma State on April 22-23, Baylor had not lost back-to-back games all season. The win over Iowa State on May 1 snapped only its second string of two-straight losses.
Turk Doesn't Walk
Junior Megan Turk has yet to draw a walk this season. In fact, her last walk was on April 17, 2010 at Nebraska, 213 at-bats ago.
Shelton Studly In Big 12
Kathy Shelton was a stud in Big 12 play, finished second in conference-only batting average with a .400 mark, while leading the Big 12 in hits (26) and stolen bases (10).
Walk-Off Wins
Baylor has had a knack for walk-off wins in Big 12 play, all at home. The Lady Bears won four games at home during conference play, all by walk-off. BU never had a lead heading into the seventh inning at home during Big 12 play.
All Acquaintance Be Forgot
It's a new year, and nothing makes that more clear than looking at the Lady Bears' record. After going 28-25 in 2010, they have 40 wins entering this weekend. The difference? At this time last season, BU had a 3.00 ERA, while it enters the weekend with a 1.52 ERA. But in Big 12 play, the 2010 Lady Bears had a 4.17 ERA. In 2011, they totaled a 1.81 ERA. Offensively in 2010 conference games, BU was hitting .233, while it amassed a .296 clip in 2011.
Armed And Ready
The Baylor pitching staff has been nothing short of stellar, entering the weekend with a 1.52 ERA, third in the Big 12 Conference and eighth nationally. Canion's 1.28 ERA is good for 18th in the country and third in the league, while Liz Paul (1.51) is sixth and Courtney Repka is 11th with a 2.27 mark.
Home Runs = Good Omen
BU (39 home runs) has homered in 25 games this season and are 21-4 when blasting at least one over the fence.
Look Out For Leal
Senior Dani Leal, has been stellar in her second year in green and gold, leading the team and 10th in conference in batting average (.364), home runs (14), RBI (38) and slugging percentage (.742). Her 14 home runs put her in sixth on the single-season home run mark and sixth on the career home run list with 23. The shortstop from Mexico City, Mexico, set a new Getterman Classic for home runs in the tournament, smashing quatro.
Canion Grand Against The Best
Canion was her best against the best, going 13-7 with a 1.33 ERA and two saves against NCAA Tournament teams.
Canion Tied For Baylor Record
With 10 strikeouts at Texas on May 15, Canion now sits in a tie with Cristin Vitek for the all-time record in career strikeouts at Baylor with 759.
Shelton's Speed
Kathy Shelton was a perfect 37-for-37 on the base paths in her career until she was thrown out for the first time in her career at Texas Tech on April 6. She is now 47-51 in her career and 30-34 this season. As a team, Baylor is second in the Big 12 with 105 stolen bases on the year.
Holl And Squad Heating Up
Holly Holl is 8-of-14 (.571) in her last four games, leading a group of six players who are hitting over .330 during the four-game stretch. The list includes: Kathy Shelton (.467), Whitney Canion (.444), Megan Turk (.429), Kayce Walker (.357) and Dani Leal (.333).
Freeland's Final Stand
KJ Freeland is having an outstanding senior season. She entered 2011 with a career average of .252 and career totals of one double, 11 RBI and 16 stolen bases. This year she is fifth on the team with a .304 mark to go with career high marks of two doubles, nine RBI and 11 stolen bases. In addition, she has been stellar at second with a .974 fielding percentage, 58 assists and helping turn seven of Baylor's 17 double plays.
Hosack's Hose
Teams are thinking twice before stealing on freshman catcher, Clare Hosack. The North Palm Beach, Fla., native has thrown out 13-of-29 runners this season while adding four pickoffs.
