April 23, 2002
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#15 Baylor Baseball (29-14, 12-8 Big 12) vs. Texas-Arlington (20-21, 9-8 Southland)
Wednesday, April 24 * 6 p.m. Baylor Ballpark * Waco, Texas
this week in baylor baseball
Rounding the last turn and heading for home, 15th-ranked Baylor hosts Texas-Arlington Wednesday at 6 p.m. before heading to Manhattan, Kan. for a three-game set against Kansas State as the end of the regular season nears.
The Bears, coming off an exciting weekend against Texas A&M that saw all three games decided by two or fewer runs, begin the week in second place in the Big 12 Conference after taking two of three from the Aggies. Baylor will face UTA in the second of three meetings between the two teams on Wednesday, the Bears and Mavericks will square off one final time next Tuesday (also in Waco).
UTA trips across town for a game at TCU on Tuesday before heading to Waco Wednesday night. The Mavs began the week with a 20-21 mark, including a 9-8 record in Southland Conference play.
Either freshman RHP Sean Walker or freshman LHP Trey Taylor will start for Baylor against UTA. Both Walker and Taylor will likely see time in the game, regardless of which pitcher starts.
baylor vs. texas-arlington
Earlier this season, Baylor jumped on UTA early and hung on for dear life for an 8-7 win in Arlington (March 13). The Bears led 8-2 after 3 1/2 innings, but the Mavericks refused to fold. Sean Walker lasted 4.1 innings and allowed five runs (only two earned) in his first collegiate start. Zane Carlson followed Walker and picked up the win, as he pitched 1.2 shutout innings. Trey Taylor and closer Kyle Edens followed Carlson, with Edens earning his sixth save of the season.
Baylor split the season series with UT-Arlington in 2001, winning two and losing two. In the first game, played in Waco, Matt Williams was 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI powering the Bears to a 5-2 win. UTA evened the score with a 7-3 win in Arlington a month later, defeated Scott Lehnhoff.
In late April, the Mavericks hosted Baylor for a rare mid-week doubleheader. UTA took the first game, 7-6, but the Bears bounced back to win the nightcap 11-5 as Chris Durbin hit his third homer in as many days.
Baylor is 60-23 all-time against UTA. The series began with a 3-2 Baylor victory on Feb. 26, 1973.
baylor in the rankings
A 2-2 record last week left the Bears basically in the same spot they were a week ago with regard to the polls. As of April 22, the Bears stood at 15th in the USA Today Baseball Weekly ranking (no movement), 16th in the Baseball America poll (no movement) and 18th in the Collegiate Baseball listing (down one).
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).
last time out
The three games were decided by a total of four runs, and in the end, it was Baylor who claimed two of three games from Texas A&M over the weekend. Every game was won by the home team.
A trio of Baylor mistakes led to a five-run fifth inning for Texas A&M, and the Aggies were able to hold on to the lead to defeat Baylor 8-7 Friday night at Olsen Field. Starter Steven White and the Bears imploded in the bottom of the fifth, as Texas A&M plated five runs on just two hits. All five runs in the inning (and the first eight in the game) were attributed to White, who lasted just four-plus innings and gave up nine hits and six earned runs. Paul Thorp relieved White and threw four shutout innings in relief. TAMU starter Justin Moore went the distance for his fifth win.
Ross Bennett's bouncer up the middle drove home Tim Hartshorn with the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the 15th-ranked Bears defeated 16th-ranked Texas A&M 6-5 Saturday night at Baylor Ballpark. After starter Jared Theodorakos struck out eight and gave up just four hits in eight innings of work, Kyle Edens came into a 4-4 tie in the ninth. Edens shut out the Aggies in the final frame, then picked up the win on Bennett's grounder. With one out and the bases loaded, Bennett hit a high hopper up the middle. The A&M second baseman fielded the ball and flipped to the shortstop for the second out of the inning, but the relay throw to first was not in time to get Bennett as Hartshorn raced across the plate with the winning run.
Sunday, a near-flawless performance from senior Justin Taylor propelled Baylor over Texas A&M, 4-2. Taylor threw seven shutout innings while striking out six, giving up two walks and scattering just three hits, he improved his record to 7-1 on the year. Chris Durbin led the Baylor attack with three hits and two RBI, but it was the combined pitching of Taylor and Kyle Edens (who picked up his ninth save) that won the game for Baylor.
Southwest Texas slugged three home runs Tuesday night to snap Baylor's six-game winning streak, handing the Bears a 6-3 loss at Bobcat Field. Baylor threatened in the ninth, scoring once and putting two more men on base before Southwest Texas finished things off. Michael Griffin saw his 16-game hitting streak come to an end after an 0-for-4 evening, the 16-game streak is the longest on the club this season and the eighth-longest streak in club history. David Murphy homered in the ninth and led Baylor with three hits on the night.
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 22 games, converting nine of 12 save opportunities and picking up five wins along the way. Through games of April 14, his eight saves were tied for eighth-best in the nation.
The nine saves lead the Big 12 Conference and are the third-best single-season total in school history. The senior also has moved into a tie for second place all-time at Baylor in career saves with 13 (tied with all-time Baylor great and current Colorado Rockies starter Jason Jennings).
Edens, whose fastball tops out at a lofty 96 MPH, has struck out 41 batters in 36.0 innings with just four walks. Opponents are hitting a mere .203 against him with only four extra base hits.
rpi stays sky high
Baylor ranks 17th in the nation in the pseudo-RPI from BoydsWorld.com, through games of April 21. As reflected in the conference standings, the Bears have the second-best RPI in the Big 12, just behind Texas (16th) but ahead of Nebraska (30th), Oklahoma (32nd), Texas Tech (34th) and Texas A&M (48th) among the top 50. Other 2002 opponents near the top of the charts include Houston (4th), Rice (9th) and Southern California (24th).
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 10-7 108-54 .667Texas Tech 23-7 18-11 18-8 18-12 19-10-1 10-11 106-59-1 .642Oklahoma St. 21-9 15-12 18-9 14-13 16-14 7-4 92-63 .594Texas A&M 19-11 21-9 23-6 11-19 15-15 9-6 99-68 .593Texas 12-15 11-18 17-13 19-10 19-11 9-6 90-73 .552Nebraska 7-23 10-13 16-9 21-9 20-8 10-8 86-71 .548Oklahoma 18-11 17-11 12-18 20-10 13-16-1 8-7 88-73-1 .546Missouri 15-14 17-12 14-13 13-14 11-19 5-10 77-82 .484Kansas State 10-20 9-19 11-18 5-24 10-17 6-6 51-107 .323Kansas 12-18 7-20 4-26 10-20 7-23 3-12 43-121 .262Iowa State 6-21 10-18 2-28 7-23 11-15 -- 36-105 .255
totals through games of April 22
like mike, if i could be like mike
Third baseman Michael Griffin has quickly matured into one of the team's best hitters in just his first year as a Bear. The freshman leads the team in RBI with 45, that total ranks second in the Big 12 Conference. He also leads the team in home runs with six.
Griffin saw a 16-game hitting streak snapped April 16 against Southwest Texas. That streak is tops on the squad this season and the eighth-longest streak in program history. In those 16 games, he hit .385 (25-for-65) with three homers and 20 RBI.
keep your eyes on the charts
Several current Bears are making their ways up the leaderboards in the Baylor recordbook this season. Most impressively, junior Chris Durbin's career average ranks third all-time (.349), while Justin Taylor's 24 wins are just four shy of the school record for career victories. Other notable records:
Career Average: Chris Durbin (3rd, .349)
Career Doubles: Chris Durbin (7th, 50), Mike Huggins (9th, 46)
Career Slugging Pct: Chris Durbin (8th, .573)
Career Games Pitched: Justin Taylor (t-5th, 73), Kyle Edens (7th, 72)
Career Wins: Justin Taylor (3rd, 24)
Career Saves: Zane Carlson (1st, 23), Kyle Edens (t-2nd, 13)
Career Strikeouts: Justin Taylor (9th, 203)
Single Season Doubles: Chris Durbin (t-10th, 19)
Single Season Saves: Kyle Edens (3rd, 9)
Hitting Streak: Michael Griffin (8th, 16 games)
cardiac kids
The Bears have won 10 games already this season in their last at-bat, including six 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 (March 29). 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.
In game one against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Ross Bennett singled to left-center to score Chris Durbin in the bottom of the ninth as Baylor edged the Islanders, 6-5 (April 12). With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Durbin hit a screamer towards third base that ricocheted off the fielder and let Durbin take second base with a double. After an intentional walk to Mike Huggins, Bennett hit a rope over the shortstop's head. When the Islander left fielder bobbled the ball, Durbin scored easily with the winning run.
Two days later, it took a six-run eighth inning to break a 7-7 tie as the Bears defeated TAMU-CC 13-9 (April 14). After Tim Hartshorn and Paul Witt each reached base to start the inning, Trey Webb beat out a bunt for an infield single. When the third baseman's throw sailed past first base, Webb moved all the way to third as both Hartshorn and Witt scored to break the tie. Three more hits and another error added up to six runs (only three earned) off the Islanders in the frame.
Ross Bennett's bouncer up the middle drove home Tim Hartshorn with the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning as the Bears defeated Texas A&M 6-5 (April 20). Hartshorn led off the ninth with a pinch-hit, six-pitch walk. Hartshorn advanced to third after Trey Webb showed bunt, then swung away and slashed the ball over the third baseman's head for a double, putting two men in scoring position with nobody out. After a strikeout and an intentional walk, the stage was set for Bennett. The junior hit a high hopper up the middle, where the A&M second baseman fielded the ball and flipped to the shortstop for the second out of the inning. The relay throw to first was not in time to get Bennett as Hartshorn raced across the plate with the winning run.
carlson out for the season
Reliever Zane Carlson is out for the year after surgery on his right (throwing) arm. After pitching in pain for much of the last two years, doctors discovered the problem was caused by an entrapment of Carlson's median nerve in the bicep area, which caused a tenderness in one particular spot in his arm when he releases the ball on a pitch. The pain was not caused by any other normal action. Carlson underwent exploratory surgery on April 12 with hopes of correcting the problem. Rehab following the surgery will keep the reliever out of action for the year.
Carlson, a junior from Dallas, set the Baylor career saves record as a freshman in 2000 with 15. He saved eight more games last season but struggled at times as the pain began sporadically early in the year. Despite resting all fall, the pain returned in January, and after multiple diagnostic tests revealed nothing, surgery was decided upon as the course of action. Baylor will apply for a medical redshirt for Carlson.
smith approaching milestone win
In just his eighth season at the helm of the Baylor program, head coach Steve Smith is approaching his 300th win. At 291-168-1, Smith needs just nine more wins to reach the mark this season.
He is already the second-winningest coach in school history in terms of total wins, behind Baylor legend Mickey Sullivan. Smith's career winning percentage is the highest in program history of any manager with at least five seasons under his belt.
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.
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.
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.
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), plus one additional player during the spring 2002 signing period.
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)Blake Womble* OF/2B 5-8 160 R/R Tyler, Texas (Robert E. Lee HS)* indicates spring 2002 signee
Twelve of the Bears' 13 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 signees qualified for academic merit scholarship as a part of their overall aid package.
baylor alums 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 year.
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 began 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.
See the listing in the sidebar of these notes for a complete list of former Baylor players active in the professional ranks.
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.
big 12 tv schedule announced
Baylor's game against Oklahoma State April 6 was one of four Big 12 Conference games to be televised by Fox Sports Southwest this season.
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).
o captain, my captain
Seniors Tim Hartshorn and Ron Zboril and junior Mike Huggins were elected co-captains by their teammates for the 2002 season. Combined, the triumvirate has been with the team for 10 years and played in 320 games entering the season.
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 291-168-1 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
As a team, Baylor ranks second in the Big 12 Conference in batting average (.318) and fourth in ERA (4.27) -- the only team to rank among the top four in the league in each category, through games of April 22. For conference games only, the Bears lead the Big 12 in hitting at .301 -- the only team to be batting over .300.
A number of Bears ranked among the Big 12 individual leaders in a variety of statistics, through games of April 22. Kyle Edens led the league in saves with nine and in appearances with 22, Chris Durbin topped the conference in doubles with 19, and Mike Huggins and Tim Hartshorn's were tied for the Big 12 lead with five triples each. Others:
Ross Bennett: 4th in hitting (.387)
Chris Durbin: 1st in doubles (19), t-5th in runs (44), t-5th in hits (64), t-8th in walks (25), 10th in on-base pct. (.456), t-8th in total bases (98), 8th in hitting (.372)
Kyle Edens: 1st in saves (9), t-1st in appearances (22), t-8th in wins (5)
Michael Griffin: 2nd in RBI (45)
Tim Hartshorn: t-1st in triples (5)
Mike Huggins: t-1st in triples (5), t-8th in hits (58), 12th in hitting (.354)
Justin Taylor: 2nd in wins (7), t-2nd in starts (13), 2nd in innings pitched (82.0), 5th in strikeouts (59), 15th in ERA (4.06)
Jared Theodorakos: 1st in strikeouts (73), t-6th in complete games (2), t-8th in opp. batting average (.242), t-10th in starts (10), 16th in ERA (4.10)
Paul Thorp: t-4th in appearances (19)
Trey Webb: t-5th in runs (44), t-8th in steals (12), t-8th in hits (58)
Steven White: t-4th in starts (11), 9th in innings pitched (69.1), 7th in strikeouts (55), 19th in ERA (4.28)
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.
