Feb. 6, 2001
This Week in Baylor Baseball -- Baylor (2-1) returns home to host UT-Arlington (4-0) Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark. UT-Arlington enters the game on the heels of a pair of road wins over Arizona State and Texas.
The Bears continue their homestand with a three-game series against Cal State Fullerton (1-3) on the weekend. The Titans come to Waco with a 5-4 win over Stanford.
Baylor vs... -- Last season, Baylor defeated UT-Arlington, 9-8 at Baylor Ballpark. Freshman pitcher Paul Thorp got the win.
Baylor and Cal State Fullerton met for the first time last season, with the Titans taking the first two games of the series, 1-0, 16-4. Baylor came back on Sunday to notch a 9-1 win behind excellent pitching from Kyle Evans.
About Coach Smith -- Steve Smith is in his seventh season as head coach at Baylor and owns a 227-131-1 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 Shiraldi.
Almost two decades later, Smith is passing his pitching knowledge on to his players. In the past seven years, he has tutored five 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 five 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.
Jennings to Toss First Pitch -- Former Baylor pitcher and designated hitter Jason Jennings will throw out the first pitch at Tuesday's game versus UT-Arlington. Jennings, the consensus national player of the year and winner of the prestigious Golden Spikes award in 1999, is currently a pitcher in the Colorado Rockies organization.
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.
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.
