Feb. 8, 2001
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The Cal State Fullerton Series -- Baylor (3-1), ranked 21st in this week's Baseball America poll, plays host to No. 18 Cal State Fullerton (1-4) Feb. 9-11 at Baylor Ballpark. First pitch for Friday's game is set for 7 p.m., while Saturday and Sunday's games will begin at 1 p.m.
The weekend will be highlighted by Saturday's dedication of the Baylor Ballpark. Baylor will dedicate the ballpark and recognize staduim contributors and seat option holders at 12:25 p.m.
All games will be broadcast on KRZI 1580/1660 with John Morris, Mark Rogers and Reagan Ratcliff calling the action. The broadcast can also be heard over the internet by accessing www.GoBaylorBears.com.
Baylor vs... -- Last season, Cal State Fullerton took 2-of-3 from Baylor in the first-ever meeting between the Bears and the Titans.
In Fullerton, Calif., the Titans won 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.
The Last Time Out -- With superb pitching from Josh Scott, Justin Taylor and Zane Carlson, the Bears beat UT-Arlington 5-2 Tuesday night. 3B Matt Williams went 3-for-4 with a run scored and three RBI.
Cal State Fullerton comes to Waco on the heels of a 13-inning, 6-5 loss to Southern Cal earlier in the week. The Titans, off to their first 1-4 start since 1997, got their lone win of the season in a 5-4 decision over national runner-up Stanford.
About Coach Smith -- Steve Smith is in his seventh season as head coach at Baylor and owns a 228-131-1 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 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.
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 1-0 record 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 30. He needs three home runs to move into fifth place. On the career runs scored chart, Williams ranks eighth, and needs just one run to move into seventh place.
LHP Josh Scott currently ranks fourth on the Baylor career strikeouts list with 240. The senior needs 48strikeouts to move past Kip Wells into third place (288, 1996-98). Scott also ranks fifth on the career games started list with 37. Last season, Scott became just the seventh Baylor pitcher to strikeout 200 batters.
Up Next -- Baylor plays host to Southwest Texas State Wednesday night at 6 p.m., at the Baylor Ballpark. The teams last met in the NCAA Waco Regional, with the Bobcats coming away with a 6-0 win.
