March 28, 2002
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
#10 Baylor (19-9, 8-4 Big 12) at #17 Oklahoma (16-8, 4-2 Big 12)
Friday, March 29 (6:30 p.m.) * Saturday, March 30 (2 p.m.) * Sunday, March 31 (1 p.m.)
L. Dale Mitchell Park * Norman, Okla.
this week in baylor baseball
After seeing an eight-game winning streak come to an end last Friday, the 10th-ranked Bears now look to break out of a funk that has seen them drop three of their last four games. Baylor will have its work cut out this weekend, as the team travels to Norman, Okla. to face the No. 17 Oklahoma Sooners.
Last weekend, the Bears lost just their fifth conference series in the last three-and-a-half years, dropping two of three games at Missouri. They followed that up with a lackluster performance at home Tuesday night in a 5-3 loss to TCU.
The Sooners, too, have lost three of their last four games. Oklahoma lost twice on the road against then-No. 17 Texas A&M last weekend and was pounded by No. 5 Alabama Tuesday night, 17-3.
The series begins Friday night at 6:30 p.m., as Baylor's Steven White squares off against OU's Mark Roberts. On Saturday, it is the Bears' Jared Theodorakos vs. the Sooners' Rocky Cherry at 2 p.m. Sunday, the series concludes with BU's Justin Taylor taking on OU's Austin Mix at 1 p.m.
baylor vs. oklahoma
Baylor took two of three from Oklahoma in Waco last season. Mike Huggins was 2-for-3 with four RBI and Steven White earned his fifth win of the season as the Bears took game one a year ago, 5-3. White pitched 7.1 innings, giving up three runs and striking out seven. Paul Thorp relieved White in the eighth with the tying run at the plate and struck out the two batters he faced to get out of the jam. Zane Carlson came in and struck out the side in the ninth to earn his third save of the season.
On Saturday, Oklahoma evened the series with a 3-2 win. Baylor collected nine hits, including a Matt Williams home run, but the Sooners made three runs off Josh Scott stand up for the victory. Scott went the distance in the loss, while Oklahoma's Rocky Cherry gave up two runs on nine hits in 7.1 innings for the win.
Chris Durbin was 2-for-3 with a solo home run to lead Baylor to a 5-3 win Sunday as the Bears clinched the series. Thorp came on in relief and gave up just one run on one hit in 3.1 innings to get his first win of the season. Bears starter Justin Taylor worked five innings, scattering six hits and giving up one run while striking out eight batters. Sooners' starter Austin Mix took the loss, giving up five runs on seven hits in seven innings of work.
Baylor is 20-17 all-time against Oklahoma, but just 4-9 in Norman. The two teams first met in 1936 (exact date unknown), as the Bears came away with an 8-5 win.
last time out
TCU scored four runs in the fourth and hung on Tuesday night to beat Baylor 5-3 in Waco. The Horned Frogs scored once in the first, then added three more runs in the second inning off freshman pitcher Sean Walker. Paul Thorp started the third inning on the mound for Baylor and completely shut down the TCU offense, allowing only one hit in seven innings. The Baylor offense hit the ball well but left nine men on base and grounded into three double plays, including a twin killing in the ninth with the tying runs on base to end the game.
A rough weekend saw the Bears drop two of three on the road at Missouri. Baylor's bullpen faltered Friday night as the Tigers came from behind for a 7-5 win. Baylor held a 4-2 lead through 6 1/2 innings before Missouri batted around and put up a five spot in the bottom of the seventh. A strong start by Steven White was wasted when White tired in the seventh and two Baylor relievers couldn't stop the bleeding.
The woes continued Saturday. A late Baylor comeback was nullified when Missouri scored a single run in the eighth inning to take game two, 7-6. The Bears trailed 6-1 after five innings, but scored two in the sixth, one in the seventh and two in the eighth to tie things up. Missouri, however, pushed across a run in the bottom of the eighth against Kyle Edens for the one-run win.
Baylor's bats came alive Sunday, pounding out 13 hits for an 11-8 win over Missouri. Starter Justin Taylor was the recipient of Baylor's offensive output. Taylor went seven innings, allowing four runs (none earned) on five hits for his fifth win of the year. Michael Griffin had three hits, including a double and a triple, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
baylor in the rankings
Splitting four games last week against McNeese State and Missouri did little to impress the nation's voters, who dropped the Bears in all three polls. Baylor fell two spots to 10th in the Baseball America poll, three places to 12th in the USA Today Baseball Weekly listing and two places to 12th in the Collegiate Baseball poll.
The No. 8 ranking by Baseball America on March 18 was Baylor's top ranking so far this season and was the Bears' highest seat since they checked in at No. 8 in the Baseball Weekly coaches' poll April 9, 2001.
The highest preseason ranking in Baylor history came in 2000 (No. 10, Baseball America). The best final ranking in program history is No. 6 (Collegiate Baseball, 1978), while the highest ranking at any point was No. 3 (Baseball America, May 8, 2000).
durbin doing it right
After a slow start in 2002, Chris Durbin has returned to his all-Big 12 form of a year ago. The junior centerfielder saw a 10-game hitting streak snapped Tuesday night but has hit in 17 of his last 20 games, during which time he has batted .405 (32-for-79) with nine doubles, three home runs, 14 RBI and 19 runs scored.
keep your eyes on the charts
Several current Bears are making their ways up the career leaderboards in the Baylor recordbook this season. Among the notable records:
Career Average: Chris Durbin (8th, .340)
Career Doubles: Mike Huggins (9th, 42), Chris Durbin (t-10th, 41)
Career Slugging Pct: Chris Durbin (9th, .563)
Career Games Pitched: Justin Taylor (t-6th, 69), Kyle Edens (t-8th, 64)
Career Wins: Justin Taylor (t-4th, 22)
Career Saves: Zane Carlson (1st, 23), Kyle Edens (3rd, 10)
Career Strikeouts: Justin Taylor (t-10th, 184)
bears best in the big 12
Now in its sixth season as a member of the Big 12 Conference, the Bears have the best conference record of any program in the league since the conference's inception. Earlier this season, Baylor became the first school in the Big 12 to record 100 conference wins.
Through five full seasons, Baylor leads all schools in both first team All-Big 12 selections (15) and first team Academic All-Big 12 selections (25).
Big 12 conference records, year-by-year and cumulative
Team 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 Totals Pct.Baylor 18-12 18-10 20-7 23-7 17-10 8-4 104-50 .675Texas Tech 23-7 18-11 18-8 18-12 19-10-1 5-7 101-55-1 .643Texas A&M 19-11 21-9 23-6 11-19 15-15 7-5 96-65 .596Oklahoma St. 21-9 15-12 18-9 14-13 16-14 3-3 87-60 .592Oklahoma 18-11 17-11 12-18 20-10 13-16-1 4-2 84-68-1 .552Nebraska 7-23 10-13 16-9 21-9 20-8 6-3 80-65 .552Texas 12-15 11-18 17-13 19-10 19-11 5-4 83-71 .539Missouri 15-14 17-12 14-13 13-14 11-19 2-7 72-79 .477Kansas State 10-20 9-19 11-18 5-24 10-17 1-2 46-100 .315Kansas 12-18 7-20 4-26 10-20 7-23 1-5 41-112 .268Iowa State 6-21 10-18 2-28 7-23 11-15 -- 36-105 .255
totals through games of March 27
simply the best
As has become the norm for teams under head coach Steve Smith, the Bears are facing yet another tough schedule in 2002. Baylor opened the season playing 17 of the team's first 20 games against teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament a year ago.
Ten of the Bears' 2002 opponents qualified for the NCAA Tournament a year ago: Rice, Houston, USC, Oral Roberts, UT-Arlington, Texas, Winthrop, Nebraska, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech. USC and Nebraska were two of the eight College World Series participants last year.
bears earn quartet of big 12 weekly honors
In the first five weeks of the season, Baylor had four players honored by the Big 12 for their weekly performances. Senior Tim Hartshorn was named Big 12 Player of the Week (Jan. 25-Feb. 10) after earning Most Outstanding Player honors at the Astros College Classic. Junior LHP Jared Theodorakos was named National and Big 12 Pitcher of the Week (Feb. 11-17) after he carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning Feb. 16 in an 8-1 Baylor win over No. 6 USC at Dodger Stadium.
After a week "off", first baseman Mike Huggins added his name to the list in week four (Feb. 25-March 3) as he helped the Bears take two of three from No. 9 Texas. Steven White became the latest Bear to be honored when he was named Pitcher of the Week (March 4-10) after holding No. 8 Nebraska to one run in eight innings in a 2-1 Baylor win. The four weekly honors ties the Baylor record for most players/pitchers of the week in a season, a mark set in 1996 and matched in 1998 and 2000.
bring in 'da funk, bring in 'da heat
Hard-throwing reliever Kyle Edens has laid a strong claim on the closers' role this season. A four-year lettermen who has spent most of that time in middle relief, Edens has matured into a solid closer this season. Edens has appeared in 14 games, converting six of seven save opportunities and picking up three wins along the way. His six saves already this year are the fifth-best single-season total in school history, and he has moved into third-place all-time in career saves with 10.
Edens, whose fastball tops out at a lofty 96 MPH, has struck out 24 batters in 23.0 innings with just two walks. Opponents are hitting a mere .173 against him with only two extra base hits. In his 14 appearances, he has retired the first batter nine times and has allowed only five of 15 inherited runners to score.
theo throwing it
Junior LHP Jared Theodorakos was named National Player of the Week (Feb. 11-17) by Collegiate Baseball/Louisville Slugger (one of three), the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association and CollegeBaseballInsider.com after he carried a no-hitter into the eighth inning and finished with a one-hitter Saturday in an 8-1 Baylor win over #6 USC at Dodger Stadium.
The lefty held USC hitless for seven-and-a-third innings before allowing the first hit. Theodorakos recorded his first career complete game and struck out a career-high 11 batters. Theodorakos also earned Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors for his performance.
hartshorn starts season with bang
Senior co-captain Tim Hartshorn opened the season with a bang at the Astros College Classic (Feb. 7-9). Batting in the leadoff spot all three games, Hartshorn went 10-for-15 with a double, two triples, a home run, four runs scored and four RBI.
For his efforts, the senior was named Most Outstanding Player for the tournament. Hartshorn followed in the steps of former Bear Kelly Shoppach, who earned the same honor last season in the inaugural Astros College Classic. Hartshorn also was named Big 12 Player of the Week for games played Jan. 25-Feb. 10.
cardiac kids
The Bears have won six games already this season in their last at-bat, including four exhilarating walk-off wins. Baylor has six wins when trailing after six innings and four when trailing after seven innings.
The heroics began Feb. 23 against Oral Roberts, when Paul Richmond singled in the winning run for a 9-8 win. The next afternoon, Richmond hit a three-run home run for a 4-2, come-from-behind Baylor victory.
In March, a pair of walk-off hits led to a three-game sweep of Kansas. In the Friday game (March 15), Chris Durbin's bases-loaded blast in the bottom of the 9th first appeared to be a game-winning grand slam. Durbin passed the runner on first base, however, and the play was sorted out as a three-RBI single. Durbin was called out for passing the runner, but since the out was only the second of the inning, three runs scored and Baylor came away with the victory. The Sunday game against Kansas (March 17) was much simpler, Paul Witt singled up the middle in the 11th inning, plating Trey Webb for a 5-4 win.
rpi stays sky high
Baylor ranks 17th in the nation in the pseudo-RPI from BoydsWorld.com, through games of March 24. Among Big 12 foes, the Bears stand behind only Nebraska (8th) and ahead of Texas Tech (19th), Texas (24th), Texas A&M (26th) and Oklahoma (40th) among the top 50. Other 2002 opponents near the top of the charts include Houston (6th) and Rice (13th).
baylor among elite programs
The recent success of the Baylor baseball program is reflected in the Three-Year ISRs (a mock-RPI rating) compiled at BoydsWorld.com. Baylor ranked fifth in the nation in that listing, which measures a program's success over the past three years (1999-2001). The top 10: Stanford, Cal State Fullerton, USC, Florida State, Baylor, Miami, LSU, Rice, Nebraska and South Carolina.
bears among big 12 statistical leaders
A number of Bears ranked among the Big 12 Conference leaders in a variety of statistics, through games of March 24. Kyle Edens led the league in saves with six and in appearances with 14, while Tim Hartshorn's five triples were tops in the Big 12. Top performers were:
Ross Bennett: 7th in hitting (.408)
Zane Carlson: t-5th in wins (4)
Chris Durbin: t-2nd in doubles (10), t-6th in walks (18), 19th in hitting (.359)
Kyle Edens: 1st in saves (6), t-1st in appearances (14)
Michael Griffin: t-3rd in RBI (30)
Tim Hartshorn: t-1st in triples (5), 8th in walks (16)
Mike Huggins: t-4th in triples (3), t-10th in hits (37), 15th in hitting (.370)
Justin Taylor: t-2nd in wins (5), 2nd in innings pitched (55.0), t-2nd in starts (9), 4th in strikeouts (40)
Jared Theodorakos: 5th in strikeouts (39)
Trey Webb: t-6th in hits (38), t-7th in steals (9)
Steven White: 4th in innings pitched (48.1), 10th in opponents BA (.221), 12th in ERA (2.98)
three mlb parks in one season
If Baylor qualifies for the Big 12 Tournament in 2002, they will become what is believed to be the first NCAA team to play in three major league stadiums in one season. The Bears' first two weekends were spent at Enron Field in Houston for the Astros College Classic and at Dodger Stadium (three-game series vs. USC). The Big 12 Tournament will be played at the Ballpark in Arlington for the first time in 2002, previous Big 12 Tournaments were played at the minor league park in Oklahoma City.
recruits roll in
Baylor head coach Steve Smith announced the signing of 12 players for the 2003 season during the early signing period (fall 2001).
Name Pos. Ht. Wt. B/T Hometown (School)Tyler Bullock C/1B 6-2 220 R/R Fort Worth, Texas (R.L. Paschal)Clint Everts RHP/SS 6-2 170 S/R Houston, Texas (Cy-Falls)Brad Ferguson RHP 6-2 170 R/R West, Texas (West HS)Seth Fortenberry OF/LHP 6-2 175 L/L Waco, Texas (Midway HS)Zach Golden RHP 6-2 183 R/R Pearland, Texas (Pearland HS)Ryan LaMotta RHP/IF 5-11 170 R/R Sugar Land, Texas (Clements HS)James Loney LHP/1B 6-2 190 L/L Missouri City, Texas (Elkins HS)Mark McCormick RHP 6-2 190 R/R Clear Creek, Texas (Clear Creek HS)Andy Pape RHP 6-4 235 R/R San Antonio, Texas (Ronald Reagan HS)Kyle Reynolds SS/2B 6-2 160 L/R Houston, Texas (Second Baptist HS)Jake Rippee IF 6-0 165 S/R Kerrville, Texas (Tivy HS)Kevin Sevigny OF 6-0 180 S/R Springvale, Maine (Sanford HS)
Eleven of the Bears' 12 signees come from the state of Texas, the lone exception is outfielder Kevin Sevigny, who was ranked by Baseball America/Perfect Game as the top prospect in the state of Maine. Of the 11 Texas natives to sign with Baylor, eight were named to the Baseball America/Perfect Game Top 400 Prospects for the Class of 2002. Five of those players were ranked among the 25 best prospects in the state by Texas Baseball News: RHP Mark McCormick, RHP/SS Clint Everts, RHP Zach Golden, LHP/1B James Loney and RHP Ryan LaMotta. In addition to having put up excellent numbers on the field, the class as a whole also has an exceptional academic background. Six of the 12 signees qualified for academic merit scholarship as a part of their overall aid package.
bears in the pros
Catcher Kelly Shoppach topped a list of five Baylor players taken in the 2001 MLB First-Year Player Draft. Shoppach was taken in the second round by the Boston Red Sox (48th overall), and was actually Boston's first pick of the draft.
Trevor Mote (15th round, Houston Astros), Matt Williams (15th round, St. Louis Cardinals) and Josh Scott (25th round, Philadelphia Phillies) each signed after completing their careers at Baylor. First baseman Mike Huggins was taken in the 25th round by the Colorado Rockies, but elected to return for his junior season.
Three Baylor signees were also taken. Outfielder Alan Moye (3rd round, Cincinnati Reds) and infielder Josh Barfield (4th round, San Diego Padres) each chose to go pro, while LHP Trey Taylor turned down the Colorado Rockies, who used a supplemental pick before the third round on him.
Baylor alums and former first-round draft picks Jason Jennings and Kip Wells begin the 2002 in major league rotations -- Jennings with the Rockies, and Wells with the Pittsburgh Pirates (after an offseason trade). In all, 15 former Bears are active at some level of professional baseball.
head coach steve smith
Head coach Steve Smith is in his eighth season as head coach at Baylor, in that time, he has compiled a 282-163-1 record. Smith led the Bears to their first-ever 50 win season in 1999 and a Big 12 Championship in 2000, and has piloted the team to four straight NCAA appearances. Through the 2001 season, Smith ranked 40th among active coaches in winning percentage with a .629 mark.
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 in 1982-1983, Smith led the Southwest Conference with a 1.72 ERA as a junior, bettering league foes and future major leaguers Norm Charlton, Roger Clemens, Doug Drabek and Calvin Schiraldi.
An accomplished pitching coach, Smith has tutored six pitchers in the last 10 years who were selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. He has also had at least one pitcher named to the all-conference first team in each of the last 10 years. In 1999, right-hander/designated hitter Jason Jennings won the Golden Spikes Award and was the 16th overall pick by the Colorado Rockies.
In Smith's seven full seasons as head coach, the Bears have produced three first-round draft picks, eight all-Americans, five GTE/CoSIDA Academic all-Americans, one GTE/CoSIDA Academic all-American of the Year, 21 first-team all-conference performers, three freshman all-Americans, and three conference players of the year. Baylor has also placed 25 players on the Academic All-Big 12 first team in the past five seasons.
baylor on the air
Catch every inning of Baylor baseball in 2002 on the flagship station for Baylor athletics, News/Talk Radio KRZI 1660/1580-AM.
John Morris, Baylor's Director of Broadcasting, heads up the team as he begins his seventh season as the "Voice of the Bears." Morris is also the signature voice for Baylor's football and men's basketball broadcasts and serves as co-host of the weekly TV show "Inside Baylor Sports." Mark Rogers, a former Baylor pitcher and currently a sports reporter for KCEN-TV in Central Texas, enters his third season providing color commentary for the baseball broadcasts.
Pete Kenworthy, Sports Director and weekday sports anchor for KWTX-TV, Tom Barfield, Program Director and on-air personality for flagship station KRZI, and Trent Weaver, a Baylor baseball letterman in 1988-89, will also be a part of the broadcast team for several games. All Baylor Baseball games in 2002 will be available world-wide on the internet at www.GoBaylorBears.com. Baylor baseball is also a staple of the daily "Baylor SportsBeat" hosted by John Morris and airing weekdays at 7:25am and 5:25pm on KRZI 1660/1580-AM.
