No. 2 Baseball Heads to Texas State
5/8/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 8, 2012
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No. 2 Baylor (38-8) at Texas State (27-18) Baylor: RHP Tyler Bremer, Sr. (4-0, 2.55 ERA, 24.2 IP, 20 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 11 BB, 24 SO) Texas State: RHP Taylor Black, RFr. (2-1, 2.59 ERA, 24.1 IP, 23 H, 9 R, 7 ER, 13 BB, 19 SO) | |
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Baylor's No. 2-ranked baseball team returns to action from a 10-day break when the Bears take on Texas State at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Bobcat Baseball Stadium in San Marcos.
The Bears are expected to send senior right-handed pitcher Tyler Bremer to the mound against Texas State. Bremer turned in career highs with 7.0 innings pitched and nine strikeouts in his last outing on April 25 against UT Arlington. Baylor has won 27 of its last 28 games, including nine of its last 10 road contests.
All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on Waco's 1660 ESPN Radio. Live streaming audio and GameTracker 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.
Following Wednesday's game, Baylor stays on the road for a three-game series at Oklahoma starting at 6 p.m. Friday. The Bears and Sooners meet again at 2 p.m. Saturday and at 1 p.m. Sunday. All three games of the series are scheduled to be televised, with Friday's game on Cox Sports channel 3, Saturday's game on FSN and Sunday's game on FCS.
SERIES INFORMATION
TEXAS STATE BOBCATS
Overall: Baylor leads 46-18
Waco: Baylor leads 34-14
San Marcos: Baylor leads 11-4
Neutral Site: Baylor leads 1-0 Steve Smith vs. TSU: 32-13
COACHES
BAYLOR: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 657-423-1 (18th season)
Record at Baylor: 657-423-1 (18th season)
TEXAS STATE: Ty Harrington
Career Record: 443-315 (13th season)
Record at TSU: 443-315 (13th season)
BAYLOR-IMG COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK
Online at www.BaylorBears.com
1660 ESPN Radio in Waco
Tom Barfield (pxp) and Lark Smith (color)
BAYLOR VS. TEXAS STATE SERIES HISTORY
Baylor is 46-18 in the all-time series against Texas State, including an 11-4 mark in games played in €ˆSan Marcos and a 32-13 record during the Steve Smith era. The teams met earlier this season on €ˆFeb. 22, a game Baylor won 5-1 at The Dell €ˆDiamond in Round Rock, and a game scheduled for April 3 in Waco was cancelled due to rain.
Baylor and Texas State split a pair of games in 2011. The Bears won 6-4 in San Marcos on March 8 to avenge a 13-2 home loss on March 1.
BEARS CLINCH THIRD BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP
Despite having played only 75 percent of the Big 12 Conference schedule, Baylor has already clinched the regular season Big 12 Championship outright. With six games remaining on their conference slate, the worst the Bears could finish is 18-6, while the best any other team can finish is 16-8.
The Bears clinched the outright title when €ˆTexas lost at Missouri on May 5, marking the earliest in the year a team has ever clinched the Big 12 regular season championship. Baylor also won the Big 12 title in 2000 (outright) and 2005 (shared).
BAYLOR'S SECOND OUTRIGHT CONFERENCE TITLE IN LAST 89 YEARS
Baylor's 2012 regular season €ˆBig 12 Championship is its fifth all-time league title, its third outright league championship, and its third Big 12 championship. It marks the second time in the last 89 years the Bears have won an outright conference title (also in 2000).
Baylor's Conference Championships (* - shared titles)
1923 - 13-5 in Southwest Conference
1966 - 9-6 in Southwest Conference*
2000 - 23-7 in Big 12 Conference
2005 - 19-8 in Big 12 Conference*
2012 - 18-0 in Big 12 Conference with six games remaining
CHASE FOR BIG 12 HISTORY
Baylor has a chance to have the greatest conference season by any team in the Big 12's 16-year history. The Bears have already clinched the sixth-best regular-season winning percentage in league history, but with one win in their final six league games they would have the third-best single-season winning percentage, while two wins would move them to No. 2, and with four wins in their final six games, the Bears would pass Texas (24-3 in 2010) for the Big 12 single-season winning percentage record.
All-Time Best Big 12 Regular Season Records
1. 24-3 (.889) - Texas, 2010
2. 23-6 (.793) - Texas A&M, 1999
3. 21-6 (.778) - Texas, 2007
t4. 23-7 (.767) - Baylor, 2000
t4. 23-7 (.767) - Texas Tech, 1997
18-0 (1.000) - BAYLOR, 2012 (six games remaining)
BEARS RANKED No. 1 FOR FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Baylor's No. 1 ranking in the April 23 and April 30 Collegiate Baseball Newspaper polls marked the first times Baylor has ever been ranked as the nation's top team. The Bears shared the top spot with Kentucky in the April 23 CBN €ˆpoll, took over sole possession of the top spot on April 30, and dropped to No. 2 despite not playing any games the week of May 6.
RECORD-SETTING START TO BIG 12 PLAY
Baylor's 18-0 start to Big 12 play is the best by any team in the league's 16-year history. Texas held the previous record with a 7-0 start in 1999. The Bears are the only Big 12 team ever to sweep six consecutive Big 12 series, and Baylor had never swept three straight Big 12 series prior to this season. The Bears broke Texas' record for longest winning streak in conference play by winning the series finale vs. then-No. 2 Texas A&M €ˆon April 22.
- 18 games -- Baylor 2012
- 17 games -- Texas 2000
- 16 games -- Texas A&M 2008
- 14 games -- Nebraska 2000
- 10 games -- Oklahoma 2006
RECORD-SETTING STREAK
Baylor's 24-game winning streak lasted from March 16-April 22 and ended as the longest in school history and the longest by any Big 12 Conference team since the league began playing baseball in 1997. The Bears passed Texas' 21 straight wins in 2010 for the conference record, and the previous school record was a 20-game winning streak in 1985.
The Bears' streak was even more impressive considering 18 of the 24 games were against Big 12 Conference opponents. Baylor's longest previous Big 12 winning streak was nine games in 1999, and Baylor had never swept more than two consecutive Big 12 series prior to this season. The Bears opened the 2012 season of Big 12 play with six consecutive series sweeps (vs. Texas Tech, vs. Kansas, vs. Oklahoma State, at Missouri, at Kansas State and vs. Texas A&M).
SMITH BREAKS ALL-TIME WINS RECORD
With a win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on April 17, head coach €ˆSteve Smith broke Baylor's all-time wins record for any sport with his 650th career victory. Smith is 657-423-1 in 18 seasons leading the Bears. He passed his predecessor, the late Mickey Sullivan (649-428-4), for the Baylor coaching wins record. Sullivan recorded his 649 wins in 1,081 games, while Smith sits on 657 wins through the same number of games.
BLANK-ING OPPONENTS
Baylor senior RHP €ˆTrent Blank ranks second nationally with nine wins (9-0) and has won 11 straight decisions dating back to his last two decisions in 2011.
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 11-0 with a 2.86 ERA over 85.0 innings pitched. 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.
Blank won his 11th straight decision when the Bears defeated then-No. 2 Texas A&M, 1-0, on April 21. 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 | 11-0 |
| ERA | 6.15 | 2.86 |
| IP | 98.0 | 85.0 |
| H | 124 | 74 |
| R/ER | 73/67 | 30/27 |
| WHIP | 1.643 | 1.165 |
BRACKETOLOGISTS LIKE BEARS
Baylor is projected by numerous outlets to be a top-8 national seed in the 2012 NCAA €ˆBaseball Championship. Earning a top-8 national seed means the Bears would host a regional, and if they won the Waco Regional, they would host a Super Regional. The Bears wouldn't have to leave the friendly confines of Baylor Ballpark (where they have a 27-3 record this season) until a trip to Omaha for the College World Series. Here are the latest projections:
ESPN Bracketology (5/7): No. 3 national seed, Waco Regional -paired with Houston (Rice) Regional
(Waco Regional - No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 Dallas Baptist, No. 3 Sam €ˆHouston State, No. 4 Oral €ˆRoberts)
Baseball €ˆAmerica Stock €ˆReport (5/1): 1 of 3 "secure teams" for top-8 national seeds
SEBaseball.com (5/1): No. 1 national seed, Waco Regional - paired with Houston (Rice) Regional
(Waco Regional - No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 Mississippi State, No. 3 TCU, No. 4 Wright State)
Perfect Game (5/8): €ˆNo. 2 national seed, Waco Regional - paired with Stanford Regional
(Waco Regional - No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 TCU, No. 3 Dallas Baptist, No. 4 Wright State)
CollegeBaseballDaily.com (5/2): No. 3 national seed, Waco Regional - paired with Houston (Rice) Regional
(Waco Regional - No. 1 Baylor, No. 2 Ole Miss, No. 3 Dallas Baptist, No. 4 Texas State)
BAYLOR'S BIG FOUR
Baylor athletics has a chance at history with its "big four" sports during the 2011-12 academic year. Football (10), men's basketball (30) and women's basketball (40) combined for 80 wins, and with baseball's 38 wins to this point, the Bears are only five wins shy of tying the national record for the most combined wins in one year by the big four sports.
Texas holds the record with 123 wins during the 2003-04 academic year. UT football (10-3), men's basketball (25-8), women's basketball (30-5) and baseball (58-15) combined for a 123-31 overall record. Entering the Texas State game, Baylor has combined for a 118-19 in the big four sports: football (10-3), men's basketball (30-8), women's basketball (40-0) and baseball (38-8).
PILING €ˆUP €ˆBIG €ˆ12 PLAYER €ˆOF €ˆTHE €ˆWEEK HONORS ...
Baylor has had the Big 12 Conference's Player of the Week six times this season, passing Texas Tech (5 in 2004) for the most by any team in a single season in conference history. Logan Vick (Feb. 27 & March 19), Max Muncy (March 26), Jake Miller (April 2) and Josh Ludy (April 16 & €ˆApril 23) have all been honored. Vick, Muncy and Miller combined to give the Bears Big 12 Players of the Week in three consecutive weeks, and with Ludy's awards the Bears won in five out of six weeks.
... AND BIG €ˆ12 PITCHER AND NEWCOMER WEEKLY AWARDS
Baylor has also had two players earn Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors and three more players earn the Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award. Josh Turley was honored as Pitcher of the Week on April 9, while Trent Blank earned the same award on Feb. 27. Freshman Adam €ˆToth picked up the Bears' first-ever Big 12 Newcomer of the Week honor on April 9 -- the award was created in 2011 -- Michael Howard was named Newcomer of the Week on April 16, and Nathan Orf gave Baylor three straight Newcomer of the Week winners when he was honored on April 23.
Baylor's 11 Big 12 weekly honors this season are the most in a single-season in program history, and the eight combined Pitcher and Player of the Week awards are the most Big 12 weekly honors in program history without the addition of the two-year-old Newcomer award. Baylor's previous high was six weekly honors in both 2004 and 2005.
CONSISTENCY IS KEY
Six Baylor players have started at least 43 of the team's 46 games this season, including four who have played the same position in every game: Max Muncy (all 46 at 1B), Cal Towey (all 46 at 3B), Logan €ˆVick (45 of 46 in CF) and Jake Miller (44 of 46 at SS). Lawton Langford (2B) has started 38 of the last 42 games since starting only one of the first four to begin the season.
Nathan €ˆOrf (LF/DH) has been out of the starting lineup only one time this season, and Josh €ˆLudy has been the Bears' starting catcher in 42 of 46 games and started once as DH.
Adam Toth started 7 of the first 8 games in right field before breaking his wrist, and Logan Brown (13 games) and Michael Howard (11 games) split time in right field when Toth wasn't in the lineup. Toth has started in the outfield in 15 of 18 games since returning in the Oklahoma State series finale on April 1.
QUICK HITS
• Baylor clinched the regular season Big 12 Championship on €ˆMay 5, the earliest by any team in league history.
• Baylor's Big 12 title is its third overall (2000, 2005, 2012). The Bears also won the league outright in 2000.
• Baylor's outright Big 12 title is its second outright conference championship in the last 89 years.
• Baylor is ranked No. 2 nationally in all four national college baseball polls this week.
• The Bears were No. 1 for two straight weeks in the Collegiate Baseball poll - the first time being ranked No. 1 in program history - before dropping to No. 2 on Monday despite not playing any games last week.
• Baylor wasn't ranked in the top 25 of any national poll on March 19, but six weeks later the Bears were No. 1 or No. 2 in every poll (April 30).
• Baylor's school-record 24-game winning streak (3/16-4/22) is the 2nd-longest streak in Division I €ˆthis season.
• Baylor's 38 wins tie Florida State (38-8) and UCF (38-11) for the most by any Division I team this season.
• Baylor's 18-game winning streak in Big 12 €ˆConference play is the longest by any team in the league's 16-year history. The Bears' broke Texas' record of 17 straight conference wins set in 2010.
• Baylor has won 20 consecutive games at Baylor Ballpark, giving it the nation's longest active home winning streak.
• Baylor's 20-game home winning streak broke the previous school record of 15 straight home wins in 2000.
• Baylor has won 9 consecutive Big 12 series dating back to last season. The Bears are 24-3 in those series.
• Baylor's 18-0 start in Big 12 play is the best by any team in the conference's 16-year history - 11 games better than the previous longest winning streak to start a Big 12 season (Texas started 7-0 in 1999).
• Head coach Steve Smith broke Baylor's all-time wins record with his 650th career victory on April 17. He passed his predecessor Mickey €ˆSullivan for the most wins by any coach in Baylor Athletics history.
• Seven Baylor starters have on-base percentages at .426 or better, nine Baylor regulars have batting averages at .305 or higher, and six different Bears have at least 6 stolen bases.
• Baylor has won 12 of its last 19 games by 1 or 2 runs, and the Bears are 18-3 in games decided by 1 or 2 runs.
• Baylor has swept six straight Big 12 series for the first time in program history. €ˆThe Bears had never swept three straight Big 12 series prior to this season.
• Baylor has set a conference record with six Big 12 Player of the Week awards this season. Josh €ˆLudy and Logan Vick have each been honored twice, and Jake Miller and Max Muncy have each picked up one award.
• Baylor has homered in 14 of the last 23 games after going without a home run in 28 of its previous 29 games.
• Six Baylor players have started at least 43 of the team's 46 games this season.
• Baylor is 27-0 this year in games started by Josh Turley (11-0), Trent Blank (11-0) or Joey €ˆHainsfurther (5-0).
• Baylor's 17 wins in the month of April (17-1) tied the most in a single month of the 18-year Steve Smith era. The Bears also won 17 games in April of 2000 (17-3).
• Baylor has 7 of the 27 double-digit hitting streaks by Big 12 players this season - Nathan Orf (12), Lawton Langford (12), Jake Miller (10), Max Muncy (10 & 10), Dan Evatt (10) and Josh €ˆLudy (10).
• Senior RHP €ˆTrent Blank ranks 3rd nationally with 9 wins and has won 11 straight decisions dating back to 2011.
• Baylor has swept 7 series in a season for the first time in program history. The Bears have 3-game sweeps vs. Oral Roberts, vs. Texas Tech, vs. Kansas, vs. Oklahoma State, at Missouri, at Kansas State and vs. Texas A&M.
• Junior 1B Muncy has started 128 consecutive games at 1B for Baylor. He has missed one start in 165 team games since joining the Baylor program before the 2010 season.
• Baylor is 16-2 in its last 18 Big 12 series finales when playing for a series sweep. The Bears have swept 6 Big 12 series in a season for the first time since sweeping 6 of 10 Big 12 series in 2000.
• Baylor is 27-3 at home in 2012, and BU is 65-21 in its last 86 home games (33-9 in non-conference games).
• Baylor is 6-4 this season when scoring three or fewer runs. The Bears were 3-22 in such games last season.
• Junior C/OF Nathan €ˆOrf ranks 8th nationally after being hit by a pitch 21 times this season.
• Baylor is currently 20th nationally in average home attendance (2,943) and total home attendance (85,353).
INDIVIDUAL BIG 12 RANKINGS (ALL GAMES)
TRENT €ˆBLANK
1st - Wins (9)
6th - ERA €ˆ(2.43)
7th - Opponents' Batting Average (.224)
DAN €ˆEVATT
6th - Home Runs (7)
MAX €ˆGARNER
1st - Saves (9)
Lawton Langford
4th - On-Base Percentage (.465)
7th - Batting Average (.352)
9th - Walks (27)
10th - Multi-Hit Games (17)
JOSH €ˆLUDY
1st - RBI €ˆ(51)
1st - Multi-RBI €ˆGames (16)
2nd - Slugging Percentage (.579)
4th - Batting Average (.371)
6th - Total Bases (92)
6th - Home Runs (7)
6th - On-Base Percentage (.450)
8th - Multi-Hit Games (19)
9th - Doubles (12)
10th - Hits (59)
MAX €ˆMUNCY
4th - Walks (32)
5th - RBI €ˆ(43)
5th - Multi-RBI €ˆGames (12)
6th - Runs (42)
9th - Home Runs (5)
11th - Doubles (11)
DILLON €ˆNEWMAN
10th - Saves (2)
NATHAN €ˆORF
1st - HBP (21)
2nd - €ˆLongest Active Hitting Streak (12)
4th - Runs (44)
10th - On-Base Percentage (.443)
CAL €ˆTOWEY
8th - Triples (3)
8th - On-Base Percentage (.447)
9th - Walks (27)
10th - RBI (37)
16th - Home Runs (4)
JOSH €ˆTURLEY
4th - ERA €ˆ(1.74)
4th - Wins (7)
LOGAN €ˆVICK
1st - Doubles (18)
7th - Walks (30)
8th - Batting Average (.346)
9th - On-Base Percentage (.443)
INDIVIDUAL BIG 12 RANKINGS (CONFERENCE GAMES)
TRENT €ˆBLANK
3rd - Wins (4)
10th - Opponents' Batting Average (.221)
10th - ERA €ˆ(2.68)
DAN €ˆEVATT
6th - Home Runs (3)
8th - Slugging Percentage (.500)
MAX €ˆGARNER
1st - Saves (7)
2nd - Opponents' Batting Average (.198)
3rd - ERA €ˆ(1.85)
9th - Appearances (10)
BRAD €ˆKUNTZ
13th - Wins (2)
Lawton Langford
1st - Walks (15)
1st - On-Base Percentage (.512)
2nd - Batting Average (.403)
7th - Hits (27)
JOSH €ˆLUDY
1st - Home Runs (6)
1st - RBI €ˆ(26)
2nd - Slugging Percentage (.722)
2nd - Total Bases (52)
3rd - On-Base Percentage (.463)
3rd - Batting Average (.389)
5th - Hits (28)
6th - Doubles (6)
17th - Walks (9)
JAKE €ˆMILLER
3rd - Triples (2)
MAX €ˆMUNCY
4th - Runs (19)
6th - Doubles (6)
6th - Home Runs (3)
7th - RBI €ˆ(14)
7th - Slugging Percentage (.513)
7th - Total €ˆBases (39)
17th - Walks (9)
DILLON €ˆNEWMAN
13th - Wins (2)
NATHAN €ˆORF
4th - Runs (19)
11th - Home Runs (2)
13th - Batting Average (.329)
15th - Stolen Bases (4)
CAL €ˆTOWEY
3rd - Home Runs (4)
3rd - Slugging Percentage (.625)
4th - On-Base Percentage (.462)
6th - Total Bases (40)
7th - Batting Average (.359)
13th - RBI €ˆ(13)
JOSH €ˆTURLEY
1st - Wins (5)
4th - ERA €ˆ(2.13)
9th - Innings Pitched (42.1)
LOGAN €ˆVICK
1st - Doubles (8)
7th - Walks (11)
7th - Runs (16)
9th - On-Base Percentage (.432)
11th - Batting Average (.343)
UP NEXT
Baylor travels north on I-35 for a three-game series against Oklahoma in Norman, with all three games scheduled to be televised. The Bears will be returning to Big 12 play for the first time since completing a sweep of then-No. 2 Texas A&M on April 22. Friday's opener will be televised on Cox Cable channel 3/703 €ˆHD (6 p.m.), while Saturday's game will be shown on FSN (2 p.m.) and Sunday's series finale will be televised on FCS €ˆ(1 p.m.).
