Feb. 22, 2001
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The Texas A&M Series -- Baylor (9-3), ranked 16th in this week's USA Today/Baseball Weekly poll, begins defense of the Big 12 title when conference play opens against Texas A&M (3-5). The Bears open the split series Friday at home against the Aggies, with the first pitch set for 7 p.m at Baylor Ballpark. The series moves to College Station for a 7 p.m. game Saturday and a 2 p.m. game on Sunday.
All games will be broadcast on KRZI 1580/1660 with Mark Rogers and Reagan Ratcliff calling the action. The broadcast can also be heard over the internet by visiting www.GoBaylorBears.com.
Baylor vs... -- Although the Bears swept Texas A&M last season (3-2, 10-4, 6-4), the Aggies lead the long-standing series 113-84.
The Last Time Out -- Jared Theodorakos (2-0) gave up just one hit and tossed six shutout innings to lead the Bears to a 13-2 win at UT-San Antonio Tuesday night. Sophomore OF Chris Durbin got the offense going early, blasting a two-run shot over the left field wall in the first inning.
Five Bears collected two hits apice and catcher Kelly Shoppach was two-for-three with a run scored and two RBI.
Texas A&M enters the series on heels of a tough, 2-1 loss at Sam Houston State.
About Coach Smith -- Steve Smith is in his seventh season as head coach at Baylor and owns a 234-133-1 career record. He led the Bears to a Big 12 regular season championship in 2000 and their first-ever 50-win season in 1999.
The 2000 Big 12 Coach of the Year, Smith came to Baylor from Mississippi State, where he was an assistant under Ron Polk for five seasons. Prior to that, he served as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M.
A former standout pitcher at Baylor from 1982-83, Smith led the Southwest Conference with a 1.72 ERA in 1982, bettering league foes and future major league pitchers Norm Charlton, Roger Clemens, Doug Drabek and Calvin Schiraldi.
Almost two decades later, Smith is passing his pitching knowledge on to his players. In the past seven years, he has tutored six pitchers who were selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft, including Jason Jennings, the 1999 consensus national player of the year and the 16th pick by the Colorado Rockies in 1999.
In Smith's six years as Baylor's head coach, he has produced six All-Americans, five GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-Americans and one GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year. Baylor has also had 18 first-team all-Big 12 performers, including the Big 12 Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999.
Huggins Named Big 12 Player of the Week -- Sophomore 1B Mike Huggins was named the Phillips 66/Big 12 Player of the Week (Feb. 19) for his performances against Southwest Texas and Nicholls State. He hit a sizzling .615 with a pair of doubles and five RBI.
On the Defensive -- With a .979 team fielding percentage, the Baylor defense sits atop the Big 12 rankings. The Bears have also turned a league-high 14 double plays.
In the Pitching Category -- Baylor also ranks first among conference teams with a 1.95 team ERA.
Streaking -- Senior 2B Trevor Mote began the 2001 season with a 10-game hitting streak, which ended on Feb. 18 against Nicholls State.
The longest hitting streak recorded last season was a nine-game run notched by Jaime Bubela from Feb. 20-March 18, 2000.
A First Time For Everything -- Back-up catcher Paul Richmond's grand slam against Southwest Texas was the first he's ever hit -- and that includes his time in Little League, high school and junior college baseball.
Lots of Runs -- Baylor's 22 runs scored against Southwest Texas marks the first time the Bears have scored 20 or more runs in a game since defeating Minnesota 22-6 in the 1999 Waco Regional.
All-Tournament Team -- Catcher Kelly Shoppach was named the Most Outstanding Player by a vote of the media at the inaugural Astros College Classic. The junior hit .316 over three games with three doubles, a home run and six RBI. 2B Trevor Mote and LHP Josh Scott were also named to the team.
Home Sweet Home -- Last year, in the first full season at Baylor Ballpark, the Bears posted an impressive 26-6 record at home. In 2001, the Bears are off to a 6-2 start on their home field.
In 2000, Baylor ranked 13th nationally in attendance, averaging more than 2,700 fans per game.
Setting New Records -- With his first save of the season and the 16th of his career against UT-Arlington (Feb. 6), sophomore closer Zane Carlson continues to set new Baylor records for career saves and saves in a season. Last season, he racked up 15 saves.
The NCAA record for saves in a career is 49, set by Jack Krawczyk of Southern Cal (1995-98).
Baylor on the Radio -- For the first time in school history, all of Baylor's baseball games will be broadcast during the 2001 season. Every game, except three in February that directly conflict with basketball, will be broadcast on the flagship station for Baylor Athletics, News/Talk Radio KRZI 1660/1580-AM.
John Morris will be joined by former Baylor pitcher Mark Rogers and Reagan Ratcliff in the broadcast booth.
Young Guns -- This season, Baylor is fielding a young and experienced team. In fact, 18 of the top 25 players on last season's Big 12 Championship team were freshmen and sophomores. Senior LHP Josh Scott is the only senior on a pitching staff dominated by sophomores.
New Faces -- There are 14 new faces on this year's Baylor squad, including 11 freshmen and three transfers. 2B Trevor Mote transferred to Baylor from Arizona, while C Paul Richmond came from Navarro JC and LHP Chris Deleenheer transferred in from Triton JC in Chicago.
Early Honors -- Sophomore relief pitcher Zane Carlson, the 2000 Big 12 Freshman Pitcher of the Year has been named to several preseason all-America lists. In addition, he has also been selected as the relief pitcher of the year in preseason rankings by the Dallas Morning News.
Community Service Honors -- Junior Tim Hartshorn was recently named a Bank of America/Big XII Conference Community Champion for his dedication to academic excellence and community service.
225 Wins -- With a 10-1 victory over Texas Tech at the 2000 Big 12 Tournament, Bears coach Steve Smith earned his 225th career win. Smith, 40, is one of the nation's winningest coaches under the age of 45.
Baylor in the Postseason -- The Bears made their third straight postseason appearance in 2000. Last season also marked the second consecutive year in which Baylor hosted an NCAA regional.
In the Record Books --
Senior 3B Matt Williams is currently tied for sixth place on the career home runs list with 31. He needs two home runs to move into fifth place. On the career runs scored chart, Williams ranks seventh.
LHP Josh Scott currently ranks fourth on the Baylor career strikeouts list with 253. The senior needs 35 strikeouts to move past Kip Wells into third place (288, 1996-98). Scott is also tied for fifth place with Glenn Nevil (1988-91) on the career games started list with 39.
Last season, Scott became just the seventh Baylor pitcher to strikeout 200 batters in his career.
White Named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week -- Sophomore righty Steven White was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 12) for his performance in the Bears' 5-0 win over Cal State Fullerton. White tossed seven shutout innings, giving up just two hits, while striking out five batters and issuing just four walks. The League City, Texas native also limited the Titans to a .087 batting average.
Up Next -- Baylor takes a break from conference action and plays host to Div. III Mary Hardin-Baylor Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark.
