May 12, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Baylor opens post-season play when the fourth-seeded Lady Bears face fifth-seeded Oklahoma to open the Big 12 Conference tournament at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 13.
The Sooners will be looking for revenge, as Oklahoma dropped a pair of close contests to the Lady Bears earlier this season at Getterman Stadium.
Baylor will be looking to extend what has been a historic season. Finishing the regular season with a record of 44-13, the Lady Bears are only two wins shy of the 2002 squad for the most wins in school history. The Lady Bears finish of 44-13 already has topped the 2002 squad as the best regular-season finish in school history.
If Baylor defeats the Sooners, the Lady Bears will play at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, May 13. A loss would mean Baylor will play an elimination game at 2:30 p.m. on May 13.
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 159-82 (.661) in three-plus seasons at Baylor.
Moore has a career record of 298-124 (.708); he posted a 22-17 mark in his first year as a collegiate head coach at William Carey in Mississippi. Moore is 276-105 (.727) at the Division I level.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma features one of the nation's premiere players in catcher Heather Scaglione. In the conference ranks for the entire season, she leads the Big 12 in hits (65, tied with Norrelle Dickson), batting average (.417), home runs (15), RBI (45), total bases (120), on-base percentage (.531) and slugging percentage (.769), while she also ranks second in walks (38), third in runs scored (38) and fifth in doubles (10). She is the only player in conference hitting above .400, while also being the only player to eclipse .500 in on-base percentage and .700 in slugging percentage.
In conference only games she leads or is tied for the lead in batting average (.455), home runs (6), RBI (15), total bases (40), on-base percentage (.597), slugging percentage (.909) and walks (16).
In the circle, Oklahoma is led by Kami Keiter. Although the pitcher has battled through injury this season, Keiter still leads the Sooners with a 1.03 ERA in 170-plus innings pitched. So far this season, Keiter has compiled a record of 17-10 to help lead the Sooners to a fifth-place Big 12 Conference finish.
LAST TIME: BAYLOR COMPLETES SWEEP OF TEXAS
In front of a Getterman Stadium record crowd of 984, the No. 20 Baylor softball team completed its first-ever series sweep of Texas with a 7-2 victory over the Longhorns in the regular-season finale for both schools.
The Lady Bears jumped on the Longhorns early, scoring two runs in the second and five in the third to grab a seven-run lead.
With the bases loaded and no outs in the second, Baylor got on the board when Texas starting pitcher Christina Gwyn tossed a wild pitch to allow Amber Daniel to score. A second run scored on the play when Longhorns catcher Megan Willis' throw back home deflected off of Daniel's helmet down the first base line, allowing Melissa Maler to score to give Baylor a 2-0 lead.
The Lady Bears broke the game open in the next inning, as Baylor tallied five runs to take a 7-0 lead. Kelly Osburn gave Baylor a three-run lead when she singled up the middle to score Carrie Leerberg. Stephanie Pomes provided the fireworks in the inning, however, with her grand slam over the left field fence to give Baylor the seven run cushion.
On a 2-1 count, Pomes took the pitch and hit a line drive well over the left-field wall for her first career grand slam as Danelle Arnold, Kim Wilmoth and Osburn all scored on the play.
Texas mounted a small rally in the fifth, scoring two unearned runs to cut the lead to 7-2. Texas had a chance for more, loading the bases with two outs, however, Leerberg thwarted any chance of a Longhorn comeback with a diving-stop on a ground ball heading towards right field to end the inning.
Cristin Vitek (28-6) picked up her 28th win of the season, allowing two unearned runs on five hits in five innings of work. Lisa Ferguson came into the game in the sixth and shut down Texas the rest of the way, tossing two innings of hitless ball while striking out three.
Gwyn saw her record dip to 7-14 on the year with loss, allowing seven earned runs in 2.2 innings of work.
Wilmoth added two hits for the Lady Bears as Baylor finished the regular season 25-2 at home and ended conference play with a perfect 9-0 record at Getterman Stadium.
BAYLOR IN THE BIG 12 RANKINGS
With an 11-6 finish in conference play, it is no surprise the Lady Bears finished the season ranked near the top in several key conference categories. Baylor finshed the regular season third among Big 12 teams with a .276 team batting average and led the league with an ERA of 1.14 in 57 games this season.
In conference play, Baylor ranks fifth in the league with a .243 batting average and finished fourth in league play with an ERA of 1.11.
Harmony Schwethelm is the highest ranking Lady Bear in the conference in batting average, as she finished the season ranked second in the league with a .377 average. She has also made an impact on the base paths for Baylor, as she is tied for third in the league with 26 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 0.87 ERA while Ferguson finished the season ranked fifth in the conference with a 1.09 ERA on the season.
BAYLOR IN THE NATIONAL RANKINGS
Baylor's outstanding pitching duo of Cristin Vitek and Lisa Ferguson have also lifted the Lady Bears to the top of several NCAA pitching categories.
Behind the arms of Ferguson and Vitek, Baylor's team ERA of 1.14 currently ranks 11th in the country. Florida State leads the NCAA with an ERA of 0.52
Vitek has found her way into the top 20 in a pair of pitching categories as she ranks seventh in the country with 28 wins and is 18th in the nation with an ERA of 0.87.
Ferguson leads the nation in saves with eight as the standout freshman ranks 35th in the country with a 1.10 ERA.
Baylor's record of 44-13 this season ranks 13th in the country with a .772 winning percentage.
BAYLOR AT THE BIG 12 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
Baylor is 5-12 all-time at the Big 12 Conference Tournament; the Lady Bears are 3-2 in play-in games and 2-10 in the double-elimination portion of the tournament. Last season, tenth-seeded Baylor defeated Iowa State 3-0 to advance to the double-elimination tournament. Second-seeded Oklahoma State defeated the Lady Bears 8-0 as Baylor rebounded with a 5-4 win over Missouri to stay alive. The Sooners eliminated the Lady Bears, however, with a 1-0 victory.
BIG 12 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 1 Game 1: No. 9 Iowa State vs. No. 8 Texas, 5 p.m. Game 2: No. 7 Kansas vs. No. 10 Texas Tech, 5 p.m. (Field 2) Game 3: No. 1 Nebraska vs. Game 1 Winner, 7:30 p.m. Game 4: No. 2 Texas A&M vs. Game 2 Winner, 7:30 p.m. (Field 2)
Thursday, May 2 Game 5: No. 4 Baylor vs. No. 5 Oklahoma, 10 a.m. Game 6: No. 6 Oklahoma State vs. No. 3 Missouri, 10 a.m. (Field 2) Game 7: Game 3 Loser vs. Game 5 Loser, 2 p.m. Game 8: Game 4 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser, 2 p.m. (Field 2) Game 9: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 5:30 p.m. Game 10: Game 4 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 8 p.m.
Friday, May 3 Game 11: Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Loser, 11 a.m. Game 12: Game 7 Winner vs. Game 10 Loser, 1:30 p.m. Game 13: Game 10 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner, 5 p.m. (Fox Sports Net telecast) Game 14: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 12 Winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, May 4 Game 15: Game 10 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner, 8:30 a.m./10:45 a.m. (if necessary) Game 16: Game 9 Winner vs. Game 12 Winner, 10 a.m./10:45 a.m. (if necessary) Game 17: Championship Game, 2:30 p.m. (FOX Sports Net telecast)
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. Vitek's selection marks the first time in school history a Baylor player has been selected as a finalist for the award.
The award is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country.
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 November.
LADY BEARS ESTABLISH BIG 12 STEALS RECORD
With 10 stolen bases in the doubleheader sweep of North Texas, the Lady Bears established a new Big 12 record for stolen bases in a season, pushing their season total to 128. The total surpassed the 2002 Nebraska Cornhuskers, who previously held the record with 127 stolen bases. Last season, the Lady Bears established a new single-season school record for stolen bases with 119.
At the Getterman Classic, Baylor established a new Big 12 Conference record for most steals in a game, with 11 in an 8-4 victory over Wichita State. Kelly Osburn had three, April Luce had two as six others added a steal each. The 11 steals marked the 10th highest total in NCAA history.
Harmony Schwethelm and Carrie Leerberg currently lead the team in steals with 26 as 13 Lady Bears have stolen at least one base this season.
While Baylor has stolen 130 bases on 160 attempts this season, opponents have been much more timid. So far this season, opponents have only 22 steals on 35 attempts.
BAYLOR TO HOST NCAA REGIONAL
Baylor is one of eight regional sites selected for the 2004 NCAA Division I Softball Championship the NCAA Division I Softball Committee announced today. The selection marks the first time in school history Baylor will host a NCAA Division I Softball Championship regional.
With the selection, Getterman Stadium will play host to one of eight regional fields that will feature eight teams in a double-elimination tournament.
In addition to Baylor, the regional sites are as follows: Tucson, Arizona; Los Angeles; Tallahassee, Florida; Athens, Georgia; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Lincoln, Nebraska; and Stanford, California.
BAYLOR IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
Baylor remains in the national polls for the seventh consecutive week. The Lady Bears are currently ranked 21st in the latest NFCA poll and 22nd 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.
UP NEXT...
Baylor will play host to the NCAA Tournament at Getterman Stadium from Thursday, May 20 through Sunday, May 23. The Lady Bears will learn if they get a chance to play at home when the NCAA announces the field on Sunday, May 16, at 7:00 p.m.
