May 19, 2004
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Baylor makes its first appearance in the NCAA Softball Championships in school history when the third-seeded Lady Bears face sixth-seeded North Carolina at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 20, at Getterman Stadium.
Baylor enters the contest with a record of 46-15 on the season after reaching the Big 12 Conference Tournament semi-finals for the first time in school history. The Lady Bears own the advantage of playing in front of their own home crowd throughout the tournament, as Baylor is 25-2 at Getterman Stadium this season.
North Carolina is making its third appearance at the NCAA Softball Championships. The Tar Heels are 2-4 all-time in the tournament, and come into Getterman Stadium with a record of 43-20 on the season.
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 161-84 (.661) in three-plus seasons at Baylor.
He recently picked up his 300th career win with a win over Texas A&M in the Big 12 Conference Tournament. Moore has a career record of 300-126 (.708); he posted a 22-17 mark in his first year as a collegiate head coach at William Carey in Mississippi. Moore is 278-107 (.727) at the Division I level.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA
North Carolina enters the NCAA tournament after receiving an at-large bid out of the Atlantic Coast Conference. After finishing in second-place in the ACC, the Tar Heels stand at 43-20 on the season and are making their third appearance in the NCAA Softball Championships.
The Tar Heels are led by senior shortstop Emily Price. Price leads the team this season with a .401 batting average, 16 home runs and 48 RBI. She has also added 11 doubles on the season as the senior has collected 73 hits in 182 at bats this year.
On the mound, the Tar Heels turn to Crystal Cox. In 27 appearances this season, Cox has compiled a record of 23-13 with a 1.77 ERA. In 233.2 innings of work, the sophomore right-hander has struck out 278 batters while holding opponents to an average of .186 on the season.
LAST TIME: BAYLOR AT THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT
Baylor went 2-2 this past week at the Big 12 Conference Tournament this past week, falling to Oklahoma and Nebraska while eliminating Texas and Texas A&M in action at Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City, Okla. The Lady Bears advanced to the semi-finals for the first time in school history before being eliminated by the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Baylor placed two on the all-tournament squad, as Carrie Leerberg and Stephanie Pomes earned all-tournament honors. Quick recaps of the tournament action follows.
#5 Oklahoma 5, #4 Baylor 2
On the strength of a three-run third-inning, the No. 21 Oklahoma Sooners defeated No. 19 Baylor 5-2 in the first round of the Big 12 Conference Tournament at Hall of Fame Stadium.
After a Baylor run, the Sooners responded with three runs in the top of the third inning. Following a leadoff triple by April Valdez, Norrelle Dickson singled to left-center field to tie the score at 1-1. A pair of sacrifice flies gave the Sooners the lead for good, as Jessica Leslie and Jamie Fox each knocked in runs with fly outs to right field.
Baylor starting pitcher Cristin Vitek saw her record drop to 28-7 on the year, allowing four runs on five hits in three-plus innings of work.
#4 Baylor 2, #8 Texas 1
No. 19 Baylor defeated Texas for the third time this season, defeating the Longhorns 2-1 in an elimination game at the Big 12 Conference Tournament.
Baylor grabbed the early lead on the Longhorns with two runs in the first inning. With two outs and runners on first and third, Carrie Leerberg gave the Lady Bears the lead as she scored on a wild pitch from Texas starter Christina Gwyn for the first run of the game.
Following a walk to Danelle Arnold, a two-out single from Stephanie Pomes gave the Lady Bears a two-run lead as Chelsi Lake came around from second to score.
Texas cut the lead in half in the third on a two-out single off the bat of Longhorns left fielder Sarah Wieszczak.
Baylor's Cristin Vitek relieved starter Lisa Ferguson in the fourth inning and tossed four scoreless innings of relief to record the win. Vitek improved to 29-7 on the season; and, with her strikeout of Tina Boutelle in the fifth inning, became only the second Baylor pitcher to record 600 strikeouts on the season as she now has 600 for her career.
The win marked the third time this season the Lady Bears have defeated the Longhorns. Heading into this season, Baylor was 1-11 all-time against Texas.
#4 Baylor 2, #2 Texas A&M 1
Stephanie Pomes' two-run blast turned out to be enough for the No. 19 Baylor softball team as Cristin Vitek tossed a complete game to defeat No. 23 Texas A&M 2-1 in an elimination game at the Big 12 Conference Tournament.
Texas A&M grabbed the early lead with a single run in the bottom of the first inning when Wilhelmson lined out to left field to score McDonald and give the Aggies a 1-0 lead.
Baylor grabbed the lead for good in the next half-inning as Pomes took a 2-0 pitch from Texas A&M starter and Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year Kapchinski and hit a blast well over the left center-field wall with Kelly Osburn aboard to give the Lady Bears a 2-1 lead.
For the game, Vitek tossed a complete game, allowing seven hits while striking out six as she moved to 30-7 on the year.
Pomes was perfect at the plate for the Lady Bears, going three for three on the night with two RBI and a run scored. Kim Wilmoth added a double for the Lady Bears and Kelly Osburn contributed with a single and two stolen bases.
#1 Nebraska 10, #4 Baylor 1 (5)
Three errors in the fourth inning led to nine unearned runs for top-seeded Nebraska, as the Huskers scored ten runs in the inning to defeat the No. 19 Baylor softball team 10-1 in the semi-finals of the Big 12 Conference Tournament at the ASA Softball Complex.
Baylor struck first in the contest, as a single by Carrie Leerberg scored Harmony Schwethelm to give Baylor a 1-0 lead in the third inning.
After Nebraska was held scoreless in the bottom of the inning, the Huskers struck for 10 runs in the fourth on eight hits and three Baylor errors. Nine of the runs were unearned as the Huskers sent 15 batters to the plate in the inning.
Lisa Ferguson saw her record drop to 15-6 on the season, allowing only one earned run in four innings of work.
MOORE WINS 300th CAREER GAME
With a win over Texas A&M at the Big 12 Conference Tournament, head coach Glenn Moore reached a milestone with his 300th career victory. Moore has a career record of 300-126 and is 161-84 in his three-plus seasons at Baylor.
Moore has led the Lady Bears to several firsts this year, as Baylor earned its first-ever berth into the NCAA Softball Championships. In addition, Baylor established new school highs for season winning percentage, conference winning percentage and conference tournament finish. Baylor needs only one win in the NCAA tournament to eastablish a new school record for most victories in a season.
Cristin Vitek SECURES 600th CAREER STRIKEOUT
Junior left-handed pitcher Cristin Vitek continues to climb up the career charts, as she became only the second player in school history to record 600 strikeouts in her career when she struck out Tina Boutelle of Texas in the sixth inning at the Big 12 Conference Tournament.
Entering the NCAA Softball Championships, Vitek has 607 strikeouts for her career, only three behind Baylor's Stacey Allison (610) for the most in school history. The junior left-hander became the fastest to reach the 600-strikeout plateau, pulling the feat in her 577th inning of work.
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. Heading into the NCAA Tournament, Baylor is ranked second among Big 12 teams with a .274 team batting average and is second in the league with an ERA of 1.18 in 61 games this season.
In conference play, Baylor ranked fifth in the league with a .243 batting average and finished fourth in league play with an ERA of 1.11.
Carrie Leerberg is the highest ranking Lady Bear in the conference in batting average, as she is currently ranked second in the league with a .382 average. She has also made an impact on the base paths for Baylor, as she is tied for third in the league with 27 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 0.94 ERA while Ferguson is ranked fourth in the conference with a 1.10 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 1.18 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 30 wins and is 18th in the nation with an ERA of 0.94.
Ferguson leads the nation in saves with eight as the standout freshman ranks 35th in the country with a 1.10 ERA.
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 27 as 13 Lady Bears have stolen at least one base this season.
While Baylor has stolen 137 bases on 170 attempts this season, opponents have been much more timid. So far this season, opponents have only 24 steals on 40 attempts.
BAYLOR IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
Baylor remains in the national polls for the ninth consecutive week. The Lady Bears are currently ranked 19th in the latest NFCA poll and 22nd in the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings. The No. 19 ranking this week and 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 continue its run through the NCAA Tournament. Should the Lady Bears defeat the Tar Heels, Baylor will take on the winner of Illinois and UT-San Antonio at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, May 21. If the Lady Bears fall to the Tar Heels in the opening round, Baylor will play an elimination game against the loser of Illinois and UT-San Antonio at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 20.
