May 7, 2002
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# 16 Baylor Baseball (34-17, 13-10 Big 12) vs. Southwest Texas (30-19, 11-10 Southland)
Tuesday, May 7 * 7 p.m.
Baylor Ballpark * Waco, Texas
this week in baylor baseball
With final exams starting Thursday, 16th-ranked Baylor will play only one game this week. The Bears face Southwest Texas for the fourth time this season on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark. The game was added to the schedule to make up for a rainout suffered April 7 against Oklahoma State. NCAA regulations allow teams to play a maximum of 56 regular season games; Tuesday's added game brings Baylor's total up to that limit.
With one conference series to go, Baylor begins the week in third place in the Big 12, behind Texas and Nebraska. The Huskers took two of three from Texas over the weekend; if Baylor can sweep Texas Tech May 17-19 and Texas A&M can sweep UT the same weekend, the Bears could win the Big 12.
Southwest Texas beat then-No. 8 Texas in Austin last week, 2-0, but then dropped two of three on the road at Nicholls State. The Bobcats carry in a 30-19 overall record (11-10 in Southland Conference play).
baylor vs. southwest texas
The Bears and Bobcats square off for the fourth time this season on Tuesday. Baylor won the first two games in Waco before dropping the last meeting in San Marcos.
The Bears beat Southwest Texas 9-6 at Baylor Ballpark in March as Ross Bennett knocked out four hits and Michael Griffin drove in four runs in the victory. Starter Justin Taylor gave up nine hits in 5.1 innings but struck out six and walked none to earn his fourth win of the year. Paul Thorp relieved Taylor in the sixth and closed out the game, hurling 3.2 innings for his first save of the year.
In April, Baylor produced an evening of firsts as the 17th-ranked Bears beat SWT 12-4 at Baylor Ballpark. Freshman catcher Josh Ford connected on his first collegiate home run as part of a six-run Baylor fourth inning that put the Bears safely in the driver's seat. Justin Taylor made his second start against the Bobcats and went 7.2 innings for the win, while relievers Justin Spooner and Ryan Bennett made their first appearances of the season.
A week later, Southwest Texas slugged three home runs 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.
Baylor is 30-10 all-time against Southwest Texas. The series began with a Baylor win (score unknown) on March 26, 1916.
last time out
Dallas Baptist's 11 hits and three costly Baylor errors combined to lead the Patriots past Baylor 9-7 Friday night. Baylor starter Justin Spooner, making just his fifth career appearance and his first career start, gave up three runs in the first frame. Jared Theodorakos pitched the middle innings and suffered the loss, as he gave up four runs in 4.1 innings. Baylor managed just six hits off DBU, though five of those were of the extra-base variety (two triples and three homers, including two long balls by Chris Durbin). The Bears' loss snapped a 10-game winning streak at Baylor Ballpark.
Saturday, Baylor bounced back to sweep a doubleheader, winning 4-1 and 14-4. In the first game, starter Steven White picked up his first win in over a month, allowing five hits and one run in 5.2 innings. Single runs in the second, third, fifth and eighth innings proved to be enough as White, Justin Taylor and Kyle Edens combined to hold hard-hitting DBU to just six hits. Taylor threw 2.1 shutout innings, and Edens pitched a scoreless ninth for his Big 12-leading 12th save.
In game two, Baylor beat the Patriots 14-4 in a seven-inning run-rule game. The Bears pounded out 18 hits, led by Mike Huggins' 4-for-5 day. The junior first baseman drove in five runs, scored three times, and notched his seventh triple and ninth home run of the year in the game. Freshman Trey Taylor struck out a career-best 10 batters in just five innings, allowing only one hit and one unearned run for the win. Trey Webb had three hits and scored four times from the leadoff spot. Eight of the nine starters and 11 of the 14 position players who appeared in the game had at least one hit.
Paul Richmond's pinch-hit, two-run homer in the seventh broke a 6-6 tie, and Baylor held on to beat Texas-Arlington Tuesday night in a battle of long balls, 8-7. After three early runs put the Bears up 3-0, UTA scored once in the fourth and three times in the sixth to take a 4-3 lead. That lasted only half an inning, as Trey Webb and Chris Durbin each homered in the bottom of the sixth as Baylor reclaimed the lead. UTA tied the game in the seventh with two runs, but Richmond's pinch-hit home run gave the Bears the lead for good. Paul Thorp earned his fourth straight win, while Kyle Edens picked up his 11th save of the year. The save moved Edens into second place alone in school history for saves in a season.
baylor in the rankings
A 3-1 week, all in non-conference play, kept the Bears pretty much in place in the national rankings this week. Baylor held at 25th in the Baseball America poll, moved up one spot in the Collegiate Baseball listing to 17th and fell one place to 16th in the USA Today Baseball Weekly ranking.
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.
postseason prediction
In its Midseason Update (April 12), Baseball America pegged Baylor as one of 16 NCAA Regional hosts. The magazine projected the Bears as the No. 1 seed in the Waco Regional, joined by Georgia, San Diego and Oral Roberts.
hot dates
Important dates to remember as the postseason nears: * May 26 -- Big 12 Tournament championship game * May 26 -- NCAA announced regional site hosts, 2:30 p.m. CT * May 27 -- NCAA Tournament Selection Show, ESPN2, 11:30 a.m. CT
home sweet home
Baylor's home record of 25-4 is the best in school history, dating back to 1977, when the Bears moved into Ferrell Field. Baylor is 101-28 at home since the opening of Baylor Ballpark in 1999.
1. 25-4 .862 2002 2. 31-5 .861 1985 3. 26-5 .839 1998 4. 31-6 .838 1999 5. 23-5 .821 1977
an eye on the watch list
Chris Durbin, Kyle Edens and Steven White were included on the preliminary Rotary Smith Award Watch List, released in late April. Voting to determine the list of 12 semifinalists will begin in mid-May, and the list will be announced after the conclusion of regular season play. Three finalists will be announced before the start of NCAA Super Regional Action, the week of June 7-9. Jason Jennings won the award in 1999 en route to sweeping all six major national player of the year honors.
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 27 games, converting 12 of 15 save opportunities and picking up five wins along the way. Through games of April 28, his 10 saves were tied for seventh-best in the nation.
His 12 saves lead the Big 12 Conference and are the second-best single-season total in school history, three behind teammate Zane Carlson's school record of 15. The senior also has moved into second place all-time at Baylor in career saves with 16, seven shy of Carlson's record of 25.
Edens, whose fastball tops out at a lofty 96 MPH, has struck out 47 batters in 41.1 innings with just six walks. Opponents are hitting a mere .215 against him with only five extra base hits.
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 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 13-10 109-56 .661Texas Tech 23-7 18-11 18-8 18-12 19-10-1 13-11 109-59-1 .648Oklahoma St. 21-9 15-12 18-9 14-13 16-14 11-9 96-66 .593Texas A&M 19-11 21-9 23-6 11-19 15-15 11-10 100-70 .588Texas 12-15 11-18 17-13 19-10 19-11 16-8 94-75 .556Nebraska 7-23 10-13 16-9 21-9 20-8 16-11 90-73 .552Oklahoma 18-11 17-11 12-18 20-10 13-16-1 11-10 91-76-1 .545Missouri 15-14 17-12 14-13 13-14 11-19 9-14 79-86 .479Kansas State 10-20 9-19 11-18 5-24 10-17 8-13 53-111 .323Kansas 12-18 7-20 4-26 10-20 7-23 4-16 44-123 .263Iowa State 6-21 10-18 2-28 7-23 11-15 -- 36-105 .255
totals through games of May 6
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.
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.
rpi stays sky high
Baylor ranks 20th in the nation in the pseudo-RPI from BoydsWorld.com, through games of April 28. Though sitting in third in the conference standings, the Bears have the second-best RPI in the Big 12, behind only Texas (13th) and ahead of Texas Tech (28th), Nebraska (33rd) and Oklahoma (39th) among the top 50. Other 2002 opponents near the top of the charts include Houston (4th), Rice (9th), Southern California (22nd) and TCU (50th).
The same site ranked Baylor 12th in the country in its Iterative Strength Ratings (ISR), a formula that includes a more accurate strength-of-schedule ranking than the usual RPI. Rice (2nd), Houston (6th) and Texas (7th) are the only teams in the state ahead of Baylor.
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 296-171-1, Smith needs just four 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.
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 seventh all-time (.344), while Justin Taylor's 25 wins are just three shy of the school record for career victories.
Other notable records:
Career Average: Chris Durbin (7th, .343)
Career Doubles: Chris Durbin (7th, 50), Mike Huggins (t-8th, 48)
Career Home Runs: Chris Durbin (t-9th, 23)
Career Slugging Pct: Chris Durbin (8th, .572)
Career Games Pitched: Kyle Edens (5th, 77), Justin Taylor (6th, 75), Paul Thorp (10th, 62)
Career Wins: Justin Taylor (3rd, 25)
Career Saves: Zane Carlson (1st, 23); Kyle Edens (2nd, 16)
Career Strikeouts: Justin Taylor (t-7th, 214)
Single Season Doubles: Chris Durbin (t-10th, 19)
Single Season Triples: Mike Huggins (t-4th, 7)
Single Season Games Pitched: Kyle Edens (t-3rd, 27)
Single Season Saves: Kyle Edens (2nd, 12)
Single Season Strikeouts: Jared Theodorakos (t-10th, 86)
Hitting Streak: Michael Griffin (8th, 16 games)
bears earn quintet 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.
Six weeks later, Huggins earned his second weekly honor and the team's fifth selection after blasting four homers in four games and slugging 1.357 for the week (games played April 22-28).
The five weekly honors is a new team record for most players/pitchers of the week in a season, besting the previous high of four set in 1996 and matched in 1998 and 2000.
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. BU baseball is also a staple of the daily "Baylor SportsBeat" hosted by Morris and airing weekdays at 7:25am and 5:25pm on KRZI 1660/1580-AM.
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.
Of note: Trevor Mote was named Midwest League Player of the Week in the season's first week... Former all-Big12 outfielder Jeremy Dodson is being switched to the mound to take advantage of his plus-arm.
See the listing in the sidebar of these notes for a complete list of former Baylor players active in the professional ranks.
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 296-171-1 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 leads the Big 12 Conference in batting average (.322) and ranks sixth in ERA (4.54), through games of May 6. For conference games only, the Bears lead the Big 12 in hitting at .307; Baylor is the only squad to have a team average over .300. The Bears rank fifth in ERA at 5.39 in conference.
A number of Bears ranked among the Big 12 individual leaders in a variety of statistics, through games of May 9. Kyle Edens led the league in saves with 12 and in appearances with 27, Jared Theodorakos led all hurlers with 86 strikeouts and Chris Durbin topped the conference in doubles with 19. Others:
Ross Bennett: 9th in hitting (.362)
Chris Durbin: t-1st in doubles (19), t-5th in walks (32), 6th in total bases (114), t-6th in runs (53), t-7th in hits (71), 10th in on-base percentage (.446), 15th in average (.353)
Kyle Edens: 1st in saves (12), 1st in appearances (27)
Michael Griffin: t-5th in RBI (48)
Tim Hartshorn: t-5th in triples (5)
Mike Huggins: t-1st in triples (7), 3rd in RBI (54), 3rd in total bases (125), 4th in slugging (.644), t-5th in hits (72), t-6th in average (.371), t-8th in home runs (9)
Justin Taylor: 2nd in wins (8), 2nd in starts (14), 2nd in innings pitched (91.1), 3rd in strikeouts (70), 9th in opponents average (.246), 10th in ERA (3.74)
Trey Taylor: t-6th in strikeouts (63)
Jared Theodorakos: 1st in strikeouts (86), t-8th in complete games (2)
Paul Thorp: t-2nd in appearances (24), 13th in ERA (3.98)
Trey Webb: 4th in hits (73), t-4th in runs (54), t-8th in steals (14)
Steven White: t-3rd in starts (13), 8th in innings pitched (79.1)
