April 1, 2002
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# 17 Baylor (20-11, 9-6 Big 12) at TCU (15-15, 6-3 Conference USA)
Tuesday, April 2 * 2:30 p.m.
TCU Diamond * Ft. Worth, Texas
this week in baylor baseball
17th-ranked Baylor will look to break out of a funk Tuesday on the road against TCU. The Bears lost to the Horned Frogs last Tuesday in Waco, 5-3, that loss is part of a stretch that has seen Baylor lose five of the team's last seven games.
After dropping two of three games on the road against then-No. 17 Oklahoma, Baylor finds itself in third place in the Big 12 Conference. With back-to-back series losses at Missouri and at Oklahoma, the Bears lost consecutive Big 12 series for the first time since 1997.
TCU, meanwhile, comes into Tuesday's game having won six of the team's last seven games. The Frogs swept East Carolina on the road in their first weekend of conference play, beat Baylor in Waco last week, and took the first two games from Charlotte last weekend before dropping a 5-4 decision on Sunday.
Lefty Trey Taylor returns to the rotation this week for Baylor. The freshman has made two starts this season and has lost both his decisions.
baylor vs. tcu
Tuesday's game is Baylor's third match-up this season against TCU, the Horned Frogs won the first two meetings earlier this year.
Baylor and TCU met in the Bears' third game at the Astros College Classic in February. After a pair of last-at-bat losses to Rice and Houston in the first two games of the season, Baylor tried to come back once more on Saturday against TCU, and once more, the Bears suffered defeat. The Frogs topped the Bears 6-5 despite a valiant late-inning comeback powered by Michael Griffin's first collegiate homer, a two-run shot in the ninth that cut the lead to one. Jared Theodorakos took the loss for Baylor despite striking out eight batters in six innngs.
A week ago, TCU scored four runs in the fourth and hung on to beat Baylor 5-3 in Waco. The Frogs scored once in the first, then added three more runs in the second 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.
Baylor is 123-99 all-time against TCU, a former SWC rival. TCU is Baylor's third-most-played opponent in program history (212 games), behind Texas (303) and Texas A&M (237). The series began April 21, 1904 (result unknown).
baylor-oklahoma state slated for tv
Saturday's Baylor-Oklahoma State game is one of four Big 12 Conference games to be televised by Fox Sports Southwest this season, the league announced late Thursday. With the game being selected for airing, the start time Saturday has been moved up to 2 p.m.
Longtime college play-by-play man Bill Land and Greg Lucas are scheduled to be the anchors for the telecasts with expert analysis from former major leaguer Jack Lazorko. The other three games are Nebraska at Texas (May 4), Texas at Texas A&M (May 19), and the Big 12 Tournament Championship Game (May 26).
last time out
Baylor won the series opener but dropped the final two games of a weekend series at No. 17 Oklahoma. Friday night, Baylor first baseman Mike Huggins came through with his fourth game-winning hit of the year as the Bears came from behind to beat the Sooners 5-4. The Bears scored two in the top of the ninth inning for their seventh last at-bat win of the year.
After Saturday's game was postponed due to rain, the two teams scheduled a doubleheader for Easter Sunday. Baylor out-hit Oklahoma 9-8 in game one of the twinbill, but the Sooners still came away with a 4-1 win. The Bears pounded out nine hits in the first seven innings, but left six men on base, grounded into two double plays and had two runners caught stealing. Jared Theodorakos went the distance (eight innings) but took the loss.
In game two, Oklahoma scored once in the bottom of the ninth, then claimed the doubleheader sweep and series win with a run in the 11th to win, 6-5. Baylor took a one-run lead into the bottom of the ninth with closer Kyle Edens on the mound, but wild pitches from Edens in both the ninth and 11th innings contributed to rallies by the Sooners.
baylor in the rankings
A slumping Baylor dropped in the polls for the second straight week. The Bears, having lost five of their last seven games, fell to 17th in the Baseball America poll, 17th in the USA Today Baseball Weekly ranking and 18th in the Collegiate Baseball listing.
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 March 26 against TCU but has hit in 19 of his last 23 games, during which time he has batted .402 (37-for-92) with 11 doubles, three home runs, 15 RBI and 22 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, .341)
Career Doubles: Mike Huggins (t-9th, 43), Chris Durbin (t-9th, 43)
Career Slugging Pct: Chris Durbin (9th, .562)
Career Games Pitched: Justin Taylor (6th, 70), Kyle Edens (8th, 66)
Career Wins: Justin Taylor (t-4th, 22)
Career Saves: Zane Carlson (1st, 23), Kyle Edens (3rd, 11)
Career Strikeouts: Justin Taylor (9th, 188)
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 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 9-6 105-52 .669Texas Tech 23-7 18-11 18-8 18-12 19-10-1 7-8 103-56-1 .647Texas 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 6-3 90-60 .600Oklahoma 18-11 17-11 12-18 20-10 13-16-1 6-3 86-69-1 .551Nebraska 7-23 10-13 16-9 21-9 20-8 7-5 81-67 .547Texas 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 3-9 73-81 .474Kansas State 10-20 9-19 11-18 5-24 10-17 3-3 48-101 .322Kansas 12-18 7-20 4-26 10-20 7-23 1-8 41-115 .263Iowa State 6-21 10-18 2-28 7-23 11-15 -- 36-105 .255
totals through games of April 1
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.
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 16 games, converting seven of nine save opportunities and picking up three wins along the way. His seven saves already this year are the fourth-best single-season total in school history, and he has moved into third-place all-time in career saves with 11.
Edens, whose fastball tops out at a lofty 96 MPH, has struck out 29 batters in 27.2 innings with just two walks. Opponents are hitting a mere .192 against him with only three extra base hits. In his 16 appearances, he has retired the first batter 10 times and has allowed only five of 16 inherited runners to score.
cardiac kids
The Bears have won seven 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 five 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.
At the end of the month, Baylor came from behind to take game one of the series from Oklahoma. Trailing 4-3 going to the ninth inning, the Bears put together three hits and a hit batsman to push across two runs. With two outs, Mike Huggins came through with a first-pitch single through the right side that skipped under the diving OU first baseman and into right field to drive in Tim Hartshorn with the winning run.
rpi stays sky high
Baylor ranks 21st in the nation in the pseudo-RPI from BoydsWorld.com, through games of March 31. Among Big 12 foes, the Bears stand behind only Texas (19th) and Texas Tech (20th) and ahead of Nebraska (25th), Texas A&M (29th) and Oklahoma (31st) among the top 50. Other 2002 opponents near the top of the charts include Houston (7th) and Rice (12th).
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 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.
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.
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 season 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 283-165-1 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.
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 April 1. Kyle Edens led the league in saves with seven and in appearances with 16, Chris Durbin topped the conference with 12 doubles, and Tim Hartshorn's five triples were the most in the Big 12. Others:
Ross Bennett: 11th in hitting (.375)
Zane Carlson: t-7th in wins (4)
Chris Durbin: 1st in doubles (12), t-6th in walks (20), 9th in hits (42), t-10th in runs (30), 19th in hitting (.350)
Kyle Edens: 1st in saves (7), 1st in appearances (16)
Michael Griffin: 5th in RBI (31)
Tim Hartshorn: t-1st in triples (5)
Mike Huggins: 6th in hits (44), t-6th in triples (3), 12th in hitting (.373)
Justin Taylor: t-2nd in wins (5), 2nd in innings pitched (60.2), t-2nd in starts (10), 4th in strikeouts (44), 19th in ERA (4.60)
Jared Theodorakos: t-3rd in complete games (2), t-5th in strikeouts (43)
Paul Thorp: t-6th in appearances (12)
Trey Webb: t-9th in steals (9), 10th in hits (41)
Steven White: 4th in innings pitched (56.1), t-4th in starts (8), 7th in strikeouts (41), 9th in opponents BA (.227), 10th in ERA (3.04)
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.
