Feb. 27, 2002
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BAYLOR
AT
FROST
CLASSIC
MARCH 1-3, 2002
FROST STADIUM &
HARGRAVES FIELD
CHATTANOOGA, TENN.
Baylor begins an 11-day, 13-game road trip this weekend at the Frost Invitational, hosted by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The Lady Bears (23-2) face Wisonsin at 3:45 p.m. CST Friday, followed by a showdown with the host Mocs that night at 6. Saturday, Baylor faces Marshall at 9 a.m. and Middle Tennessee at 6 p.m. The round-robin tournament concludes Sunday as the Lady Bears face Illinois at 9 a.m. and Virginia Tech at 1:30 p.m.
HEAD COACH GLENN MOORE
Glenn Moore is in his second season as head coach at Baylor, coming to Waco after a stellar three-year tenure at Louisiana State. In his first season at Baylor, Moore led the Lady Bears to a 38-22 overall record and a sixth-place, 7-9 mark in the Big 12 Conference. Along the way, Baylor established school season records for wins, home runs (24), fielding percentage (.963), on base percentage (.329), shutouts (17) and saves (7). The Lady Bears also enjoyed a school-record 11-game winning streak in February. While at LSU, Moore amassed a 117-25 (.820) record in two-plus seasons as the head coach. In that time, he led the Tigers to consecutive Southeastern Conference titles and back-to-back appearances in the NCAA Regionals. He was named head coach at LSU just prior to the 1998 Regionals, giving him three NCAA postseason appearances as a head coach. The Tigers went 56-10 in 1999 en route to the SEC regular season title and the conference tournament championship. Last season, the Tigers finished 59-13, one game shy of the College World Series. LSU finished eighth nationally in team batting average (.310) and ninth in team ERA (1.11). Moore has a career record of 200-66 (.752), he posted a 22-17 mark in his first year as a collegiate head coach at William Carey in Mississippi.
MOORE CLAIMS CAREER WIN No. 200
Baylor head coach Glenn Moore claimed his 200th career victory as a collegiate head coach Sunday when the Lady Bears defeated San Diego State 5-1. Moore, who is 200-66 (.752) in his career, holds a 178-49 record (.784) at the Division I level.
THE FROST CLASSIC FIELD
Baylor has very little history with the six teams it will face at this weekend's Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Lady Bears hold a 2-2 all-time record against the field, having faced only Chattanooga (1-1), Illinois and Wisconsin (0-1). Both Baylor-Chattanooga meetings came last season at the University Centre Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., UTC won the first game with Baylor defeating the Lady Mocs in the championship game. Wisconsin defeated BU 2-1 at the 2000 NIST Tournament in San Jose, Calif. This will be Baylor's first game against Illinois since the 1984 season.
MOORE vs. THE FROST CLASSIC FIELD
Baylor head coach Glenn Moore is 1-1 during his career against the teams in the Frost Classic field. The only team he has ever faced is Chattanooga, both meetings came last season.
LAST TIME OUT ... BAYLOR 5, SAN DIEGO STATE 1
Joni Miller picked up her 10th victory of the season, and Carrie Leerberg had a two-run single as Baylor defeated San Diego State 5-1 here Sunday in final-day action of the Compass Bank Invitational. With their 13th consecutive victory, the Lady Bears move to 23-2 on the season. SDSU falls to 9-9-1. Baylor head coach Glenn Moore also picked up career victory No. 200. He is now 200-66 overall, 61-24 in two seasons at Baylor. The Lady Bears made use of four Aztec errors for four unearned runs. After allowing an unearned run in the top of the first, Baylor answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame when Leerberg singled in Kelly Levesque and Sarah Caudle. Baylor tacked on two more in the second, capped by a Kristen Lancaster RBI single. Danelle Arnold plated Baylor's final run in the fifth when Leerberg reached on a SDSU error. Miller (10-1) went the distance and allowed one unearned run on five hits with no walks and six strikeouts.
BAYLOR RECEIVES VOTES IN NFCA TOP 25
On the strength of the best start in school history, Baylor received votes in this weeks USA Today/NFCA Top 25. The Lady Bears are three spots out of the national rankings with 17 total points. Baylor spent seven weeks in the Top 25 last season, reaching as high as No. 19.
LADY BEARS OFF TO BEST 25-GAME START EVER
At 23-2, Baylor is off to the best 25-game start in the program's history. The Lady Bears opened the season at 7-0, matching the 1997 team for the most consecutive victories to start a season in school history. Baylor is also riding a 13-game winning streak, the longest in school history. The Lady Bears are now 42-6 in the month of February under Glenn Moore.
LONG ROAD AHEAD FOR LADY BEARS
Baylor begins an 11-day, 13-game road trip this weekend, playing at the Frost Classic in Chattanooga, Tenn. The Lady Bears will leave Chattanooga the morning of March 4, flying to Fresno, Calif. Baylor plays at No. 3 Stanford March 5 before returning to Fresno that weekend for the Hallowell Classic, hosted by No. 13 Fresno State. Baylor is 8-2 away from Waco this season, 7-2 at neutral sites and 1-0 on opponents' home fields.
BAYLOR FOUR-FOR-FOUR IN TOURNAMENTS
Baylor claimed the team title at the Compass Bank Invitational with its 5-1 victory Sunday against San Diego State. This season, the Lady Bears have done no worse than a share of the championship at all four tournaments in which they have played. Along with winning the Getterman Classic title outright, the Lady Bears were quad-champions at the UTA College Classic along with Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas-Arlington, and co-champions at the Houston Invitational with Ohio State. In two seasons under Glenn Moore, Baylor has won four in-season tournaments and shared the team title at three others.
FOUR LADY BEARS EARN COMPASS BANK HONORS
Junior RHP Joni Miller led a group of four Baylor players earning all-tournament honors at the Compass Bank Invitational. Miller earned three victories in the three-day, five-game event, including a complete-game win over San Diego State in what proved to be the championship game. Sophomore C Danelle Arnold, junior 2B Stacey Hundley and freshman LHP Cristin Vitek joined Miller on the all-tournament team.
CAUDLE TIES BOTH TRIPLES MARKS
With four triples on the season, junior OF Sarah Caudle is tied with Lyn Hill (1996-1999) for first all-time at Baylor with seven career triples. Furthermore, Caudle has alread tied the school mark for three-baggers in a season, matching Kristin Barton's 1996 total. Caudle currently ranks in the top 10 on 11 career offensive lists at Baylor.
LEVESQUE, WILMOTH ALREADY IN STEALS TOP 10
Head coach Glenn Moore focused on increasing team speed with his 2001 signing class, and through 25 games that emphasis is apparent. Sophomore OF Kelly Levesque, who transfered to Baylor from Louisiana State, leads the team with 12 stolen bases, that figure already ranks as the seventh-best season total in school history. Meanwhile, freshman SS Kim Wilmoth is second on the team with 10 steals, tied for ninth all-time at Baylor. As a team, the Lady Bears have swiped 56 bases this season, third in school history.
LADY BEARS GO NO-NO CRAZY
Entering the 2002 season, there had been just four no-hitters thrown by Baylor pitchers in the program's history. The Lady Bears have now thrown four in their last 13 games. Katie Decker got things started with a complete-game no-hitter Feb. 15 against Stephen F. Austin. One week later, Joni Miller combined with Cristin Vitek and Decker to no-hit SFA in a five-inning 8-0 victory. The next day, Baylor tossed a pair of no-hitters. Miller pulled the feat in a seven-inning, 3-0 win over Creighton, Vitek and Decker then combined to no-hit SFA again, this time 10-0 in five innings. Baylor pushed its streak of consecutive innings without allowing a hit to 22 innings before Joni Miller surrendered a leadoff home run in the fourth inning of the Feb. 23 Akron game.
VITEK WORKING ON SCORELESS INNING STREAK
Freshman left-hander Cristin Vitek has not allowed a run since the fourth inning of Baylor's Feb. 17 game against McNeese State. She has now pitched 26 consecutive scoreless innings streak, a personal best and the longest such streak since Joni Miller went 33.1 innings last season.
FIRST-INNING SUCCESS
Through the first 25 games, Baylor has scored 21 first-inning runs this season. The Lady Bears are 10-0 this season when scoring in the first inning.
STUCK IN THE MIDDLE
While first-inning runs lead to Baylor victories, the Lady Bears have been most potent this season in the middle innings - third, fourth and fifth. Baylor is hitting .339 in the middle innings with 75 runs, 16 doubles, six triples, eight home runs and 67 RBI. The third inning has produced the most runs this season for the Lady Bears (29), while BU has hit eight third-inning doubles. As for a pick-to-click inning, fifth innings have been the most fruitful as the Lady Bears have hit four fifth-frame homers this season.
LANCASTER MATCHES CAREER HOMER TOTAL
It took just 14 games for senior IF Kristen Lancaster to match her career home run total entering this season. The Pflugerville, Texas, native has smashed a team-best four home runs this season, including an eventual game-winning, two-run shot Feb. 16 against McNeeese State. Lancaster, who did not hit a home run as a freshman, had two long balls as a sophomore and two more last season. With eight homers in her career, she is currently tied for fifth all-time at Baylor.
LADY BEARS CLAIM 500TH ALL-TIME WIN
Baylor's 2-1 victory over Northwestern State in game two of Monday's doubleheader was the 500th victory in the program's history, including games played from 1974 to 1988. The Lady Bears' program currently has an all-time record of 500-488-3 (.506), meaning Baylor will play its 1,000th game in the nightcap of the Feb. 26 doubleheader against Sam Houston State. Since the program's reinstatement in 1996, the Lady Bears are 204-163 (.556). ... Statistically, Baylor is 409 at bats shy of No. 10,000 since 1996.
RECORDS FALL AS BU SLAMS SU
Several records were rewritten last Friday afternoon when Baylor pounded Southern 21-1, however, some of them fell again two days later when the Lady Bears upended the Lady Jaguars 18-1. The 20-run winning margin in the first game is the largest in the program's history. It was also a school record for runs in a season-opener, shattering the previous mark of eight established last season against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Lady Bears tallied a school-record 27 total bases Friday against Southern, that record stood for less than 48 hours as Baylor racked up 38 total bases with a school-record eight extra base hits in the Sunday meeting. The Lady Bears also tied the school record for home runs in a game as SS Stephanie Pomes, C Danelle Arnold and OF Nan Wilkins all went deep.
BIG 12 COACHES TAB BAYLOR SIXTH
Baylor was picked to finished sixth in the Big 12 Conference this season, according to the preseason coaches' poll. The Lady Bears were 38-22 overall last season, finishing sixth in the Big 12 with a 7-9 league mark. Defending champion Nebraska was the overwhelming favorite in the preseason poll, garnering 78 total points and seven of 10 first-place votes. Oklahoma, which claimed the Big 12 Tournament title last year, was picked second with 72 total points and two first-place nods. Texas was third with 65 points and the final first-place selection. Kansas (52 points) was picked fourth, followed by Texas A&M (49), Baylor (42), Oklahoma State (32), Texas Tech (28), Missouri (23) and Iowa State (9).
TRANSFERS FIND HOME AT BAYLOR
Four members of the 2002 Lady Bears' squad transferred to Baylor from other schools, three coming in this season and all three from four-year schools. Last season, Kourtny Westerfeld joined the Baylor program after spending one season at nearby McLennan Community College. This season, the Lady Bears welcome sophomores Danelle Arnold and Katie Decker from fellow Big 12 Conference institution Nebraska, and sophomore Kelly Levesque from Southeastern Conference power Louisiana State.
Player Prev. School StatusDanelle Arnold Nebraska sophomore CKatie Decker Nebraska sophomore RHPKelly Levesque Louisiana State sophomore SSKourtny Westerfeld McLennan CC junior 1B
BAYLOR ADDS 3 EARLY SIGNEES
Head coach Glenn Moore signed four players to National Letters of Intent last fall during the early signing period. Joining the Lady Bears' program next year will be 3B/C Amber Daniel, SS Kelly Osburn and SS/OF Harmony Schwethelm. Daniel, a 1999 graduate of Vanguard High School in Waco, Texas, will come to Baylor from Temple (Texas) College. Osburn preps at Elkins High School in Missouri City, Texas, and Schwethelm attends Smithson Valley High School in San Antonio, Texas.
GOBAYLORBEARS.COM
Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.GoBaylorBears.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches and audio broadcasts, is part of the FANSonly Network. FANSonly currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including eight Big 12 schools.
OVER THE AIR
Selected Baylor softball games can be heard live on KRZI-AM (1660/1580) in Waco this season. John Morris, "Voice of the Bears" and a veteran broadcaster of all sports, will handle play-by-play duties, while Baylor assistant director of media relations Larry Little, a veteran broadcaster of baseball, softball, basketball and soccer, will provide color analysis. Baylor's broadcast schedule for the 2002 season is as follows:
Date Day Opponent TimeMarch 20 Wed. at Texas Tech (DH) 2:00 p.m.March 27 Wed. TEXAS 6:30 p.m.April 6 Sat. at Missouri 7:00 p.m.April 14 Sun. IOWA STATE NoonApril 20 Sat. at Oklahoma State 2:00 p.m.May 1-3 Wed.-Fri. at Big 12 Tournament TBAMay 16-20 Thurs.-Mon. at NCAA Regionals TBA
BAYLOR GAMES ON THE NET
Live stats for all Baylor home games can be accessed by visiting www.GoBaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor athletics.
INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW
Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, airs weekly throughout Central Texas and the region. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Net Southwest and the College Channel (Waco cable channel 18). KCEN carries the show at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, and it airs at 1 p.m. Wednesdays on FSN Southwest.
UP NEXT...
Baylor travels from Chattanooga, Tenn., to Fresno, Calif., where the Lady Bears will set up camp for the following week. Tuesday, March 5, No. 3 Stanford hosts Baylor for a 7 p.m. CST game. The Lady Bears will spend the weekend at the Hallowell Classic, hosted by No. 13 Fresno State.
