May 4, 2004
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Baylor closes out the regular-season with a meeting against in-state rival Texas. A win over the Longhorns would give the Lady Bears a fourth-place finish in the Big 12 Conference, tying the 2002 squad for the best conference finish in school history. A win over Texas would also give Baylor its first series sweep of the Longhorns in school history.
Texas enters the contest with a record 23-22 and will be the eight-seed in the upcoming Big 12 Conference Tournament. The Longhorns are currently on a three-game losing skid after falling to Texas A&M and Kansas last week.
In the first meeting this season, Baylor captured its first victory in school history in Austin, Texas, defeating the Longhorns 4-2 with the help of a three-run first inning.
THE SERIES
Baylor vs. Texas: Texas leads 11-2
Waco, Texas: Texas leads 5-1
Austin, Texas: Texas leads 6-1
Neutral: Never met
Streak: Baylor won 1
Last Meeting: Baylor 4, Texas 2 (4/21/04)
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: KRZI-AM 1660
Live Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
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 158-82 (.661) in three-plus seasons at Baylor.
Moore has a career record of 297-124 (.708); he posted a 22-17 mark in his first year as a collegiate head coach at William Carey in Mississippi. Moore is 275-105 (.727) at the Division I level.
SCOUTING TEXAS
Texas enters with a record of 23-22 and is riding a four-game losing skid. Last week, the Longhorns fell to Texas A&M before dropping a pair of contests at Kansas. Despite losing to Baylor earlier in the season, the Longhorns still own a decided advantage in the series between the two schools. Texas is 11-2 all-time against the Lady Bears an own a 5-1 edge in games played in Waco.
Following a season-ending injury to number one pitcher Amy Bradford, Lizi Sowers and Christina Gwyn have been asked to carry the load for the Longhorns on the mound. Sowers has compiled a 9-6 record on the year and owns an ERA of 3.14. In 87.0 innings of work, Sowers has allowed 57 runs while striking out 45 batters.
Gwyn has seen the most action of any Texas pitcher this year, tossing 157.2 innings with a record of 7-13 on the season. She has started in 27 games for the Longhorns and currently holds an ERA of 3.73
Amber Hall leads the way for Texas at the plate. While starting every game for the Longhorns, Hall has compiled an average of .387 on the year and leads the team with 53 hits.
Wynter Turner provides the power in the Texas line-up, leading the team with nine home runs and 37 RBI on the year.
LAST TIME: BAYLOR SPLITS WITH OKLAHOMA STATE
No. 21 Baylor returned to Big 12 action with a trip to Stillwater, Okla., where the Lady Bears split a pair of weekend contests with the Cowgirls. Baylor took the first game of the series 3-2 as Oklahoma State rebounded for a 4-1 victory in the series finale.
In game one, Baylor and Oklahoma State battled through five scoreless innings before the Lady Bears rallied for three runs in the sixth. Harmony Schwethelm led off the inning with a single to the left side of the infield and advanced into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Carrie Leerberg.
After an intentional walk to Kelly Osburn, Melissa Maler came to the plate with two outs and two runners on. On the first pitch from Oklahoma State starting pitcher Jessica Hoppock, Maler hit a line drive shot that wrapped around the left-field foul pole to give Baylor a 3-0 lead.
It would turn out to be enough for Baylor starter Cristin Vitek, who earned her 27th win of the season while allowing one earned run on six hits in 6.1 innings of work. With the win, Vitek established a new school record for most wins in a season, surpassing Joni Miller who had 26 wins during the 2001 season.
The Cowgirls mounted a rally in the seventh, scoring two runs to cut the Baylor lead to one, however, Lisa Ferguson came into the game in relief and recorded the last two outs for her NCAA leading eighth save of the season.
After falling behind to the Lady Bears 1-0 early in game two, Oklahoma State took the lead right back, scoring three runs on four hits in the bottom of the first inning. After tying the game, the Cowgirls managed to score two runs with two outs in the inning to take a 3-1 lead heading into the second.
Ferguson was knocked out of the game during the Cowgirl rally and took the loss to drop to 15-5 on the season, allowing three runs on three hits in one-third of an inning.
Oklahoma State starter Hoppock managed to hold the lead for the Cowgirls, shutting down the Lady Bears the rest of the way to earn her 22nd win of the season. In the complete game victory, Hoppock allowed one run on seven hits while striking out three.
The Cowgirls added an insurance run in the sixth to close out the 4-1 win as Oklahoma State defeated Baylor for the 10th time in 13 tries at Cowgirl Stadium.
Vitek kept the Cowgirls within striking distance, allowing one run on seven hits in 5.2 innings of relief work.
Courtney Totte led the attack for Oklahoma State, going three for four in the game with a run scored and a RBI. Danelle Arnold added two hits to lead the Lady Bears.
BAYLOR IN THE BIG 12 RANKINGS
With a 10-6 record 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 .276 team batting average and leads the league with an ERA of 1.16 in 56 games this season.
In conference play, Baylor ranks sixth in the league with a .240 batting average and is fourth in league play with an ERA of 1.18.
Harmony Schwethelm is the highest ranking Lady Bear in the conference in batting average, as she currently ranks third in the league with a .384 average. She has also made an impact on the base paths for Baylor, as she is second 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 0.89 ERA while Ferguson currently stands at fifth in the conference with a 1.11 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. 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 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 currently leads the team in steals with 26 as 13 Lady Bears have stolen at least one base this season.
While Baylor has stolen 128 bases on 157 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. All regional games are scheduled to be conducted Thursday, May 20, through Sunday, May 23.
In addition to Baylor, the regional sites, with host institutions are as follows: Tucson, Arizona (University of Arizona); Los Angeles (University of California, Los Angeles); Tallahassee, Florida (Florida State University); Athens, Georgia (University of Georgia); Ann Arbor, Michigan (University of Michigan); Lincoln, Nebraska (University of Nebraska, Lincoln); and Stanford, California (Stanford University).
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.
BAYLOR ESTABLISHES NEW RECORD FOR MOST CONSECUTIVE WINS
Baylor won the opening six games at the Speedline Invitational to stretch the Lady Bears winning streak to 14 games earlier this season before falling to No. 22 USF in the championship game of the tournament. The 14 game winning streak established a new school record for Baylor as the last loss the Lady Bears suffered prior to the USF game was a 9-0 defeat to No. 1 UCLA at the Palm Springs Classic.
The loss to USF also snapped an impressive four-game winning streak against ranked opponents. Along the way, Baylor defeated No. 11 Tennessee twice, No. 20 Cal-State Fullerton and No. 22 Iowa.
Baylor dominated opponents during the winning streak, allowing the opposition to score more than two runs only once while the Lady Bears scored three or more runs nine times. In all, Baylor out-scored the competition 53-13 during the historic streak.
Cristin Vitek THROWS CONSECUTIVE NO-HITTERS
Cristin Vitek became the first pitcher in Baylor history to throw back-to-back no-hitters after she no-hit Boston and Northern Illinois at the Speedline Invitational in Tampa, Fla. After walking the first batter against Boston, the Katy, Texas, lefty sat down the next 21 batters for her first complete-game no-hitter of her career. She followed with another no-hitter against Northern Illinois, retiring the first 12 batters of the game before walking the first batter of the fifth inning.
During the victory over the Huskies, Vitek struck out 13 batters, tying a career high and ranking third on Baylor's single game strikeout list. Vitek went 4-1 on the week with a save, with her only loss coming at the hands of No. 22 South Florida in the championship game of the Speedline Classic. Before the loss to South Florida, Vitek had won nine straight decisions.
For her performance, Vitek was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Pitcher.
Kelly Levesque MOVING UP CAREER CHARTS
Senior center fielder Kelly Levesque continues her steady climb up the Baylor career charts. Levesque now ranks sixth in Baylor history for career hits (147), seventh in steals (40) and ranks seventh in total bases (199).
Levesque will continue to move-up in almost every major offensive category throughout the season, as she ranks near the top in every category except for sacrifice hits. She is currently Baylor's career leader in the hit by pitch category with 25.
She currently ranks sixth in career doubles (23), third in triples (7) and fifth in sacrifice flies (3). Levesque also ranks fifth in runs scored (85).
GETTERMAN ATTENDANCE CONTINUES TO GROW
In 18 home dates, Getterman Stadium attracted 8,157 fans last season. Baylor ranked 13th nationally in total attendance for the second consecutive season. Getterman's average attendance of 453 fans established a school record, breaking the 2002 mark of 402, and ranked 18th nationally, a program best.
Six of the 13 largest crowds in the stadium's five-year history came last season, including the two largest crowds - 979 vs. Texas (4/16) and 840 vs. Nebraska (4/5).
Baylor has finished 21st or better in total attendance and 23rd or better in average attendance nationally each of the past three seasons.
TRANSFERS FIND HOME AT BAYLOR
Six members of the 2004 Lady Bears' squad transferred to Baylor from other schools, two coming in this season and four coming from four-year schools.
In 2002, Danelle Arnold and Katie Decker transferred to Baylor from Nebraska, while Kelly Levesque transferred from Louisiana State. Last season, Amber Daniel joined the Baylor program after two all-America seasons at Temple [Texas] College.
This year, Baylor adds two more transfers. Melissa Maler followed Daniel from Temple College, while Tessa Lynam followed Levesque from Louisiana State. Both are juniors for the 2004 season.
BAYLOR ADDS 4 EARLY SIGNEES
Head coach Glenn Moore signed four student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the fall early signing period: Jordan Daniels, Tiffany Hartsell, Nicole Jackson and Katie Ottens.
Daniels is a senior at Tomball [Texas] High School where she competes in track for the Cougars. She plays softball for the Impact Gold travel team. Last year, she a member of the ASA national qualifier Spring-Klein Sliders, with whom she hit .523 with a .787 on base percentage.
Hartsell will be a sophomore this spring at Navarro Junior College in Corsicana, Texas. She earned all-region honors as a freshman at Navarro. Hartsell prepped at Poteet High School in Mesquite, Texas, where she earned District 13-4A MVP honors in 2001 and 2002. She was a second-team all-area selection by the Dallas Morning News in 2002 after hitting .541 with five home runs and 36 RBI.
Jackson, a left-handed pitcher from Midway High School in Hewitt, Texas, posted a 15-1 record with a 0.21 ERA last spring for the Pantherettes. She registered 102 strikeouts with only six walks and 39 hits allowed in 102.0 innings pitched. Jackson led Midway to the 2003 regional finals and was named District 15-4A Most Valuable Player. She played club ball for the Texas High Voltage Gold.
Ottens, a shortstop, will come to Baylor from Hollywood Christian School in Sunrise, Fla. She was named second-team all-state by the Florida Sports Writers Association and first-team all-Broward County by The Miami Herald after hitting .430 with 37 runs scored and 21 RBI last spring. Ottens led Hollywood Christian to the 2003 state title, the school's fourth since 1995. Ottens played club ball for the Davie Power.
UP NEXT...
Baylor will open post-season play when the Lady Bears face Oklahoma in the opening round of the Big 12 Conference tournament at 10:00 a.m. on Thursday, May 13, in Oklahoma City, Okla.
