April 13, 2004
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Two of the top three teams in the Big 12 Conference standings will face each other this week when No. 20 Baylor visits Texas A&M for a single game on Wednesday, April 14, at 6:30 p.m. The game can be heard in the Waco area on KRZI-1660 or via the world wide web at www.BaylorBears.com. The game marks the first of a key four-game road swing for the Lady Bears in Big 12 Conference action.
No. 20 Baylor enters the contest riding a two-game winning streak after sweeping Texas Tech in a conference series at Getterman Stadium last weekend. The Lady Bears currently stand in third place in the Big 12 with a 7-2 conference record and are 37-9 on the season overall.
The Aggies stand at 25-16 overall and are in second place in the Big 12 with a record of 7-1. Texas A&M has won five straight after losing to Baylor 1-0 on March 31 in Waco. In the first meeting, the Lady Bears won while riding the arm of freshman pitcher Lisa Ferguson. Ferguson tossed a complete game shutout against the Aggies, allowing only one hit on the way to the Lady Bears victory.
THE SERIES
Baylor vs. Texas A&M: Texas A&M leads 35-11-1
Waco, Texas: Texas A&M leads 13-7
College Station, Texas: Texas A&M leads 14-3-1
Neutral: Texas A&M leads 8-1
Streak: Baylor won 1
Last Meeting: Baylor 1, Texas A&M 0 (3/31/2004)
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: KLRK-FM 92.9
Live Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Live Stats: None
Television: None
HEAD COACH Glenn Moore
Glenn Moore is in his fourth season as Baylor's head coach, coming to Waco after a stellar three-year stint 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. The following season, he guided the Lady Bears to even greater successes with more than 50 team and individual, single-game and single-season school records. Baylor finished 46-18 overall and 10-8 in the Big 12 Conference, establishing school marks for victories in a season, conference victories in a season and highest conference finish (fourth).
Moore led Baylor to a third straight 30-win season in 2003, and the Lady Bears cracked the NFCA Top 25 for the third consecutive year. During the 2003 season, Moore claimed his 100th victory as Baylor's head coach with the Lady Bears 3-0 triumph against Texas Tech. He is now 152-78 (.661) in three-plus seasons at Baylor.
Moore has a career record of 291-120 (.708); he posted a 22-17 mark in his first year as a collegiate head coach at William Carey in Mississippi. Moore is 269-101 (.727) at the Division I level.
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
Texas A&M enters the contest on a hot streak, having won five in a row after losing to Baylor 1-0 on March 31, in Waco, Texas. Since the loss to the Lady Bears, the Aggies have reeled off victories over Texas, Iowa State and Kansas and currently stand at 7-1 and in second place in the Big 12 conference.
The Aggies will look to avenge their only conference loss of the season when Baylor visits on Wednesday. Behind the arm of Lisa Ferguson, the Lady Bears claimed a 1-0 win as Ferguson tossed a complete-game one-hitter. Baylor won the game when pinch-hitter Chelsi Lake drove in the winning in the Lady Bears final at-bat.
The Lady Bears will likely face Texas A&M starting pitcher Jessi Kapchinski. Kapchinski, the reining Big 12 pitcher of the week, has been outstanding in conference play. She has yet to allow an earned run in conference action while posting a 6-1 record and holding opponents to an average of .106. In 39.2 innings of work since the start of the conference season, the Aggies ace has recorded 43 strikeouts while only walking 11.
At the plate, the Aggies are led by outfielder Sharonda McDonald. McDonald, who was named Big 12 player of the week last week, is second on the team with a .308 batting average and leads the team with 36 runs scored. The leadoff hitter has also swiped a Big 12 leading 33 bases so far this season.
LAST TIME: BAYLOR SWEEPS TEXAS TECH
The Lady Bears ended a two-game losing skid with a pair of victories over Texas Tech last weekend at Getterman Stadium. In the series opener, the Lady Bears defeated the Red Raiders 4-0 behind timely hitting and the pitching of Baylor starter Cristin Vitek. The Lady Bears completed the sweep with a 7-3 victory in soggy conditions as a five-run fourth inning put the game away for Baylor.
Vitek's sixth shutout of the season guided the Lady Bears to the game one victory. Vitek was provided with all the run support she would need with a single run in the third inning. Following a Kelly Osburn double to right-center field, Kim Wilmoth singled up the middle with two outs to score Osburn and give Baylor the early 1-0 lead.
Baylor extended the lead to two runs with another run in the fourth. With two outs, Stephanie Pomes reached on a throwing error by Texas Tech shortstop Heather Parker, allowing Amber Daniel to score to give the Lady Bears a 2-0 lead.
Baylor added two insurance runs in the sixth to end the scoring. With runners on second and third and two outs, a wild pitch by Texas Tech starter Erin Crawford allowed Carrie Leerberg to score as April Luce followed with a single to left to score Kylie Conroy for the Lady Bears final run.
Vitek struck out 10-plus batters for the tenth time in her career, striking out 11 Texas Tech batters on her way to her 12th complete game of the season.
A five-run fourth inning helped seal the victory for the Lady Bears in game two of the series, as the victory pushed Baylor's record against the Red Raiders to 25-7 all time. Baylor was aided by two Texas Tech errors in the deciding inning, as the Lady Bears scored three unearned runs in the frame.
Pomes drove in the Lady Bears first run in the inning, lacing a double to left-center to score Leerberg from first for a 3-2 lead. Harmony Schwethelm managed to drive in the game-winning run for Baylor with a single deep in the hole at shortstop, allowing pinch-runner Daniel to score for a 4-2 lead.
The final three runs of the inning were unearned, as Osburn, Schwethelm and Wilmoth scored on consecutive fielding errors to give Baylor a 7-2 lead.
Schwethelm had three of the six Lady Bear hits on the day, going a perfect three for three at the plate with a RBI and two runs scored.
Vitek improved to 22-4 on the season, tossing two innings of relief while allowing only one unearned run.
BAYLOR IN THE BIG 12 RANKINGS
Off to a 7-2 start in conference play, it is no surprise the Lady Bears rank near the top in several key conference categories. Baylor is currently third among Big 12 teams with a .278 team batting average and leads the league with an ERA of 1.16 in 46 games this season.
In conference play, Baylor ranks fifth in the league with a .242 batting average and is fourth in league play with an ERA of 0.90.
Carrie Leerberg is the highest ranking Lady Bear in the conference in batting average, as she currently ranks third in the league with a .393 average. Leerberg also has made an impact on the base paths, as she is second in the league with 22 stolen bases.
On the mound, Baylor's high ranking is due to the season's Lisa Ferguson and Cristin Vitek are having on the mound. Vitek is second in the league with a 0.86 ERA while Ferguson currently stands at fourth in the conference with a 1.04 ERA on the season.
VITEK NAMED FINALIST FOR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Baylor's Cristin Vitek is one of 25 finalists for the 2004 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award the Amateur Softball Association and USA Softball announced today. Vitek's selection marks the first time in school history a Baylor player has been selected as a finalist for the award.
The award, which is considered the Heisman Trophy in women's collegiate softball and is the only national player of the year award, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country.
The list will be reduced to ten players on April 28 and three finalists will be announced May 11. The winner of the 2004 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced May 26 at the opening ceremonies of the NCAA College World Series in Oklahoma City, Okla. The winner will be recognized and presented with the Player of the Year trophy during the ASA National Council Meeting in Mobile, Alabama, in November.
BAYLOR IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
Baylor remains in the national polls after entering the top 25 two weeks ago. The Lady Bears are currently ranked 20th in the latest NFCA poll and 21st in the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings. The No. 19 ranking earlier in the season marks the highest ranking for the Lady Bears in school history, surpassing the 2002 version of the Lady Bears, who were ranked as high as 20th during the year.
Baylor began the 2003 season as the second team out of the NFCA Preseason Coaches Poll and eventually cracked the rankings at No. 25 for two weeks in March. The Lady Bears have been ranked nationally during each of the past three seasons.
BAYLOR SOFTBALL RADIO NETWORK
For the third straight season, the Baylor Radio Network provides live play-by-play broadcast for selected Baylor softball games. Larry Little handles play-by-play duties, while Lady Bear Katie Decker provides color analysis.
Broadcasts can be heard on KRZI-AM 1660/1580AM in Waco, the flagship station of the Baylor Radio Network. Broadcasts also are available worldwide on the Internet at www.BaylorBears.com and Yahoo!Broadcast.com.
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 continues a four-game road swing in Big 12 Conference play when the Lady Bears travel to Columbia, Mo., to face Missouri. The two-game series with the Tigers begins with a single game on Saturday, April 17, and ends with a single game on Sunday, April 18.
