Baseball Hosts Tech to Open Big 12 Play
3/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 15, 2012
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| Baylor (11-7) vs. Texas Tech (11-5) March 16-18 | Waco, Texas | Baylor Ballpark (5,000) GAME NOTES  | ||||||
| FRI. | 6:35 P.M. Probable Starters:BU - LHP Josh Turley 1-0, 1.59 ERA, 22.2 IP, 23 K TTU - RHP Duke von Schamann2-2, 1.23 ERA, 29.1 IP, 24 K |  | SAT. | 3:05 P.M. Probable Starters:BU - RHP Trent Blank 5-0, 1.55 ERA, 29.0 IP, 14 K TTU - RHP John Neely2-1, 4.32 ERA, 8.1 IP, 7 K | | SUN. | 1:05 P.M. Probable Starters:BU - TBA TTU - TBA | ||
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Baylor opens Big 12 Conference play at 6:35 p.m. Friday when the Bears take on Texas Tech in the first game of a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark. The series is Baylor's first of three consecutive series at home to begin conference play.
The Bears are hosting Texas Tech for the second straight season. Baylor looks to average a series loss to open conference play last year, when the Red Raiders took the series opener on a game-saving diving catch and won the series finale in 10 innings.
All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live in Waco, typically on 1660 ESPN Radio, but Friday's and Sunday's games will air on 1590 AM/101.3 FM due to conflicts with Baylor basketball games. Tom Barfield provides the play-by-play with Lark Smith adding color commentary. Live streaming audio and GameTracker also are available for all Baylor baseball games online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the CBS College Sports Network.
Live streaming video is available for most weekend home games, and all three games of the Texas Tech series will be available. For more information, follow the Baylor All-Access link at www.BaylorBears.com.
SERIES INFORMATION
TEXAS TECH RED RAIDERS
Overall: Texas Tech leads 74-71
Waco: Baylor leads 44-27
Lubbock: Texas Tech leads 45-23
Neutral Site: Baylor leads 4-2
Smith vs. TTU: 24-33
First Meeting: 1928
Last Meeting: 3/20/2011
COACHES
BAYLOR: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 630-422-1 (18th season)
Record at Baylor: 630-422-1 (18th season)
TEXAS TECH: Dan Spencer
Alma Mater: Portland State, 1990
Career Record: 97-91 (4th season)
Record at TTU: 97-91 (4th season)
BAYLOR-IMG COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK
1660 ESPN RADIO or 1590 AM/101.3 FM (Waco)
Tom Barfield (pxp) and Lark Smith (color)
BAYLOR - TEXAS TECH SERIES HISTORY
Baylor is 71-74 all-time against Texas Tech, including a 44-27 mark in games played in Waco and a 24-33 record during the Steve Smith era. The Bears are 23-45 in games played in Lubbock and 4-2 against the Red Raiders in neutral-site games.
Since the Big 12's first season in 1997, Baylor has won seven of 15 conference series against the Red Raiders. The Bears have won five of the seven Big 12 series at Baylor Ballpark against Texas Tech , with the only series losses coming in 2001 and 2011. Baylor is 13-8 all-time against Texas Tech in games played at Baylor Ballpark, which opened in 1999.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY
Six Baylor players have started all 18 games in 2012, including four who have started at the same position in every game. Max Muncy (1B), Cal Towey (3B), Logan €ˆVick (CF) and Jake Miller (SS) have started every game at the same position, while Lawton Langford (2B) has started 13 of the last 14 games, giving the Bears the same infield starters in 13 of 14 games since Feb. 21.
Nathan €ˆOrf (LF/DH) and Josh €ˆLudy (C/DH) have also started every game. The consistency carries over to the batting order, as Orf (leadoff), Muncy (3rd), Ludy (cleanup) and Vick (5th) have batted in the same spot in the lineup in every game. Towey has batted 2nd in the lineup in all but 2 games, and Miller has hit either 7th (14 games) or 8th (4 games) in every contest.
Adam Toth started 7 of the first 8 games in right field before breaking his wrist, and Logan Brown (8 games) and Michael Howard (3 games) have split time with Toth out.
BLANK-ING OPPONENTS
Baylor senior RHP €ˆTrent Blank leads the Big 12 Conference with five wins this season -- more victories than 76 Division I €ˆteams had through last Sunday's games.
Combined with 28 teams sitting on five wins, Blank has as many victories as 104 Division I teams, including Vanderbilt (5), Long Beach State (5), Utah €ˆ(4), New Mexico (5) and St. John's (5). He has one less win than Texas (6), Clemson (6), TCU €ˆ(6) and Alabama (6).
Blank's success can be attributed to a drop in his arm slot, which was done during a bullpen session at the recommendation of pitching coach Trevor Mote. Blank's first outing with the lower arm slot was May 10, 2011 at TCU, when he went 3.1 scoreless innings.
With the lower arm slot, Blank has combined to go 7-0 with a 2.68 ERA over 43.2 innings pitched. If one bad outing in the 2011 Houston €ˆRegional against California is removed from the record, he's gone 7-0 with a 1.67 ERA €ˆover 43.0 innings of work. Prior to changing his arm slot, Blank had gone 6-4 with a 6.15 ERA €ˆover 98.0 innings in his first two-and-a-half seasons at Baylor. Here's a before and after comparison of his numbers:
| BEFORE Feb. 9, 2009 - April 30, 2011 | AFTER May 10, 2011 - present | |
| W-L | 6-4 | 7-0 |
| ERA | 6.15 | 2.68 |
| IP | 98.0 | 43.2 |
| H | 124 | 34 |
| R/ER | 73/67 | 13/13 |
| WHIP | 1.643 | 1.122 |
QUICK NOTES
• SERIES: Baylor trails in the all-time series, 71-74, but the Bears have a 44-27 record against Texas Tech in games played in €ˆWaco. The Bears are 24-33 against Texas Tech during the Steve Smith era.
• Baylor is 227-179 in Big 12 play since the conference's first season in 1997 -- the Bears' .551 winning percentage in Big 12 games is second in the league behind only Texas (.647).
• Baylor is 8th among teams receiving votes (No. 33) in the latest USATODAY/ESPN Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
• Baylor has been ranked in at least one in-season Baseball €ˆAmerica Top 25 poll in 14 of the last 16 seasons.
• Baylor's staff ERA €ˆof 3.64 ranks 5th in the Big 12, while its .230 opponents' batting average ranks 3rd.
• The Bears play all five weekends at home in the month of March. €ˆThis is the 3rd of 5 straight weekends.
• Baylor's 2-1 win last Sunday was its first victory with 3 hits or less since March 15, 2005 against TCU.
• 16 Baylor relievers have combined for 60 strikeouts, 55 hits and a .205 opponents' batting average over 75.2 IP.
• Baylor went 6-2 in its first 8 games of the season -- all against 2011 NCAA €ˆTournament teams.
• Baylor's 8-2 start tied the second-best 10-game start of the 18-year Steve Smith era (9-1 in 2008).
• Baylor's bullpen went 18.0 innings before allowing its first run this season (9th inning vs. TCU).
• Seven Baylor starters have on-base percentages of .395 or higher, including three at .449 or above.
• Baylor tied an NCAA €ˆrecord with 10 batters hit by pitch on March 6 at TCU. The teams combined to hit 13 batters in the game, breaking the previous NCAA €ˆrecord of 12 combined hit batsmen.
• Baylor has 4 of the top 10 players in the Big 12 in walks drawn: Cal €ˆTowey (13) and Michael Howard (13) are tied for 4th, and Max Muncy (12) and Logan €ˆVick (12) are tied for 9th.
• Baylor is 9-3 at home in 2012, and the Bears are 47-21 in their last 68 home games (19-12 in Big 12 games).
• Baylor opens Big 12 play by hosting Texas Tech this weekend. For the first time in Big 12 history, Baylor plays its first 9 Big 12 games at home. Baylor's longest previous league-opening homestand was 7 games in 2003.
• According to WarrenNolan.com, Baylor has played the nation's 21st-toughest schedule to this point, which ranks No. 1 in the Big 12. Texas (No. 34) is the next closest, while Texas Tech (No. 163) is 4th in the league.
• Baylor has played two doubleheaders this season and has won both games both times.
• Baylor is 3-3 this season when scoring three or fewer runs. The Bears were 3-22 in such games last season.
• Senior RHP €ˆTrent Blank leads the Big 12 with 5 wins -- more wins than 76 Division I €ˆteams entering this week.
• Blank leads the Big 12 in wins (5), ranks 4th in IP (29.0), 6th in opp. batting average (.175) and 6th in ERA €ˆ(1.55).
• Junior 1B Max Muncy has started 100 consecutive games at 1B for Baylor. He has missed one start in 137 team games since joining the Baylor program before the 2010 season.
• Baylor is currently 17th nationally in total home attendance (29,598) and 21st in average (2,690).
• Baylor has ranked in the nation's top 25 in attendance in all 13 years since Baylor Ballpark opened in 1999.
• Baylor's 2012 schedule is rated the 13th-toughest nationally (No. 1 in Big 12) by Boyd's World.
• Baylor's 56-game 2012 schedule features 28 games against 2011 NCAA €ˆTournament teams.
• Baylor's 3-game sweep of Oral €ˆRoberts was its first series sweep since May 21-23, 2010.
• Since the start of the 2003 season, Baylor is 25-16 in extra-inning games.
• Baylor returned 20 of 25 letterwinners from last season's 31-28 Houston Regional runner-up team.
• The Bears were picked fourth in the Big 12 preseason coaches' poll, behind Texas A&M, Texas and Oklahoma.
• Eight players on Baylor's roster have been selected in previous MLB €ˆDrafts.
• Baylor is 1 of 14 programs nationally to play in 12+ NCAA Tournaments since 1998.
• Baylor snapped a 13-game homerless drought with three home runs in the first three innings of the series finale at UCLA (Feb. 26), but since then the Bears have gone 324 at-bats without a homer, including 10 straight games.
• Three Baylor pitchers combined to carry a no-hitter through 7.2 IP in a 7-1 win vs. No. 15 TCU on Feb. 21.
UP NEXT
Baylor heads back out of the road for its third of four consecutive Tuesday road games. The Bears play four Tuesday games in the month of March on the road. The Bears travel to Huntsville, Texas to play Sam Houston €ˆState at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
After taking on the Bearkats, Baylor returns to Waco for its fourth of five consecutive home weekends. The Bears host Kansas for a three-game Big 12 series in the second of three straight Big 12 series at Baylor Ballpark. Baylor's nine straight home games to open the Big 12 season are its most ever, topping the longest previous conference-opening homestand of seven games in 2003.
