Softball Hosts Compass Bank Invitational
2/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 24, 2005
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Complete Compass Bank Invitational Live Coverage
#11 BAYLOR (17-2) HOSTS THE COMPASS BANK INVITATIONAL
Feb. 25-27, 2005
Getterman Stadium • Waco, Texas
THE SCHEDULE (HOME TEAM LISTED FIRST)
Friday, Feb. 25
Sam Houston State vs. Louisiana Tech, 9:30 a.m.
Sam Houston State vs. Arizona, 11:45 a.m.
Arizona vs. Birmingham Southern, 2:00 p.m.
Baylor vs. Louisiana Tech, 4:15 p.m.
Birmingham Southern vs. Baylor, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 26
Arizona vs. Louisiana Tech, 9:30 a.m.
Louisiana Tech vs. Birmingham Southern, 11:45 a.m.
Baylor vs. Arizona, 2:00 p.m.
Sam Houston State vs. Baylor, 4:15 p.m.
Birmingham Southern vs. Sam Houston State, 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 27
Consolation Game, 9:00 a.m.
Elimination Game, 11:00 a.m.
Championship Game, 1:00 p.m.
THE SERIES
Baylor vs. Arizona: Arizona leads 4-0
Baylor vs. BSC: Never Met
Baylor vs. Louisiana Tech: Louisiana Tech leads 30-7
Baylor vs. SHSU: Baylor leads 32-27
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: None
Live Audio: None
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Television: None
No. 11 Baylor (17-2) returns to action this weekend when the Lady Bears host the Compass Bank Invitational from Feb. 25-27 at Getterman Stadium. The Lady Bears open play at the tournament on Friday, Feb. 25, at 4:15 p.m. against Louisiana Tech. The tournament begins when Sam Houston State meets Louisiana Tech at 9:30 a.m.
Top-ranked Arizona and Birmingham Southern round out the tournament field. The visit by the Wildcats marks the first time in school history the nation's top-ranked team will play at Getterman Stadium. Baylor has faced only one No. 1 squad in school history, falling 9-0 to top-ranked UCLA last season. The Lady Bears will face the Wildcats on Saturday, Feb. 26, at 2:00 p.m.
Baylor is 15-0 all-time at the Compass Bank Invitational and has claimed the tournament championship in each of its three-year existence. However, Baylor is only 43-61 all-time against teams in this year's tournament as the Lady Bears own a 0-4 record against Arizona and a 7-30 record all-time against Louisana Tech. The Lady Bears own a 32-27 series edge against Sam Houston State after a doubleheader sweep earlier this season and have never faced Birmingham Southern.
SCOUTING THE COMPASS BANK FIELD
Baylor is 15-0 all-time at the Compass Bank Invitational and has claimed the tournament championship in each of its three-year existence. However, Baylor is only 43-61 all-time against teams in this year's tournament as the Lady Bears own a 0-4 record against Arizona and a 7-30 record all-time against Louisana Tech. The Lady Bears own a 32-27 series edge against Sam Houston State after a doubleheader sweep earlier this season and have never faced Birmingham Southern.
ARIZONA
Arizona enters the Compass Bank Invitational as the nation's top-ranked team and currently has a 9-0 record on the season. Last week, Arizona went 3-0 at the Worth Wildcat Invitational to capture the tournament title. Over their last five games, the Wildcats have allowed only one run and have out-scored opponents 30-1 over that span.
The Wildcats are led at the plate by Kristie Fox, who is currently batting .542 on the season with four home runs and 16 RBI. Caitlin Lowe is also off to a fast start for the Wildcats, hitting .469 and leading the team with eight stolen bases.
In the circle, Arizona is led by returning All-American Alicia Hollowell. So far this season, Hollowell has posted a 5-0 record and 0.52 ERA. In 40.2 innings of work, she has allowed only 12 hits and has struck out 82 batters. The junior has three shutouts on the year and has tossed two no-hitters.
BIRMINGHAM SOUTHERN
Birmingham Southern, who has never faced Baylor, enters the Compass Bank Invitational with a record of 5-4. After winning its first five games, including a perfect game and a no-hitter, Birmingham Southern has dropped its last four contests.
Leslie Roberts leads the Panthers attack as she leads the team with a .526 batting average. Nikki Rombough is also off to a good start for the Panthers as the first baseman is currently batting .429 on the season and leads the team with 14 RBI.
LOUISIANA TECH
The 7-8 Lady Techsters began the season 1-6, before winning six of their last eight games. Ashley Cameron leads Tech with four home runs and 12 RBI. Pitcher Lindsey Meadows leads the squad with a 4-5 record, 3.42 ERA, and two shutouts in five games.
Louisiana Tech owns a 30-7 edge against Baylor all-time, however, the Lady Bears have won the last four meetings.
SAM HOUSTON STATE
Currently 4-10 on the season, the Bearkats have won two of their last three games. Sam Houston State has three players hitting .400 or above in Stephanie Mosley (.478), Sarah Sweaney (.412), and Elizabeth Gibson (.400). Amanda Collier leads the team with eight RIB, with four players tied for second in the category with five RBI.
LYNAM NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Tessa Lynam (Alpharetta, Ga.) has been selected as the USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Week for the week of February 15-20 the Amateur Softball Association announced Tuesday. She led the No. 11 Lady Bears with a .571 batting average through seven games and was instrumental in the team's success at the Crowne Plaza Classic in Houston, Texas. For her performance, Lynam also earned Big 12 Conference Player of the Week honors.
Over the course of the week, Lynam went 12-of-21 and led the Lady Bears with a .571 batting average over seven games. She led the team in several categories, including hits (12), doubles (4), home runs (2), RBI (13), total bases (22), slugging percentage (1.048) and on-base percentage (.615). She ranked second on the team with eight runs scored and four walks.
In the 16-2 win over Texas State, Lynam went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, two runs score and six RBI. The 10 total bases for Lynam in the contest established a new single-game school record, eclipsing the previous record of nine held by three different players.
Her six RBI performance against the Bobcats was the most for a Baylor player since Kelly Osburn drove in six in a win against Tennessee on Feb. 27, 2004. Lynam recorded an RBI in five of six games this week and went 2-for-3 with a double, run scored and three RBI in the 11-1 win over North Carolina to clinch the Crowne Plaza Classic title. The junior also recorded a hit in every game, including multiple hits in four of seven contests, this past week as she pushed her hit streak to 10 games.
Lynam also contributed to the Lady Bears success while in the circle. The right-hander pitched a 3-0 shutout victory against the Wildcats to open the Crowne Plaza Classic. In seven innings of work, she allowed only two hits while striking out six to move to 4-0 on the season.
With her selection as Big 12 Conference Player of the Week, Lynam became the third consecutive Lady Bears player to be selected for the honor. Kim Wilmoth won the season's inaugural award as Chelsi Lake won the honor last season. It marked the first career honor for Lynam and is the first time in school history three Baylor players have been selected for the award in a single season.
800TH CAREER STRIKEOUT IN SIGHT FOR VITEK
Senior left-handed pitcher Cristin Vitek continues to climb up the career charts in several categories, including strikeouts where she entered the season as Baylor's career leader with 645. In fact, Vitek has a good shot at becoming Baylor's first-ever 800 strikeout performer as the lefty currently has 686 strikeouts and is now only 115 strikeouts shy of the milestone.
Last season, 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.
BAYLOR IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
The Lady Bears entered the season ranked in both of the national polls as Baylor is currently No. 11 in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Poll and has climbed to No. 11 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Top 25 as well.
After posting a 6-1 record this past week, including a 4-1 record to win the Crowne Plaza Classic, the Baylor softball team climbed one spot to No. 11 in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.
The Arizona Wildcats sit atop this week's poll at No. 1 as the Wildcats will visit Getterman Stadium the weekend of Feb. 25 for the fourth-annual Compass Bank Invitational.
Baylor is one of six Big 12 Conference teams in this week's rankings as Texas (No. 3), Oklahoma (No. 14), Nebraska (No. 16), Texas A&M (No. 17) and Missouri (No. 23) join Baylor in this week's poll.
Baylor's No. 11 ranking in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 is the highest ranking for the Lady Bears in school history.
California, which only lost one player from last year's national runner-up team, is ranked No. 1 in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Top 25 poll released by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Texas (No. 10), Oklahoma (No. 14), Nebraska (No. 19) and Texas A&M (No. 23) join the Lady Bears in the NFCA rankings as Missouri also earned votes in this week's poll.
The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 poll is voted on by 30 NCAA Division I coaches, representing each conference. The first regular season poll will be released on Wednesday, Feb. 16.
The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll is voted on by NCAA Division I coaches representing 15 different ASA regions and 11 different collegiate conferences. The poll is also voted on by selected softball media members. First-place votes are in parentheses.
BAYLOR LADY BEARS IN THE CAREER CHARTS
Several Lady Bears are aiming to continue making their way up the career charts in 2005. Below is a list of Lady Bears who currently rank in the top ten in one of the career categories:
BATTING RECORDS
AT-BATS: Kim Wilmoth (8th, 542)
RUNS: Kim Wilmoth (6th, 84)
HITS: Kim Wilmoth (4th, 167)
MULTIPLE-HIT GAMES: Kim Wilmoth (4th, 46); Harmony Schwethelm (6th, 31); Carrie Leerberg (10th, 28)
DOUBLES: Kelly Osburn (7th, 23); Stephanie Pomes (10th, 19)
TRIPLES: Carrie Leerberg (t-1st, 8); Kim Wilmoth (3rd, 7); April Luce (10th, 3)
HOME RUNS: Kelly Osburn (t-1st, 20); Stephanie Pomes (7th, 10)
TOTAL BASES: Kelly Osburn (5th, 207), Kim Wilmoth (9th, 200)
WALKS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 61)
HIT BY PITCH: Kelly Osburn (2nd, 13), Carrie Leerberg (8th, 8)
SACRIFICE FLIES: April Luce (t-9th, 2); Erin Sheek (t-9th, 2); Kelly Osburn (t-9th; 2)
SACRIFICE HITS: Kim Wilmoth (8th, 19); Harmony Schwethelm (t-10th, 17)
STOLEN BASES: Kim Wilmoth (1st, 74); Carrie Leerberg (2nd, 56); Harmony Schwethelm (4th, 51); Kelly Osburn (7th, 45)
STOLEN BASE ATTEMPTS: Kim Wilmoth (1st, 96); Carrie Leerberg (2nd, 67); Harmony Schwethelm (3rd, 63); Kelly Osburn (6th, 55)
PITCHING RECORDS
APPEARANCES: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 142); Lisa Ferguson (7th, 53)
GAMES STARTED: Cristin Vitek (3rd, 95); Lisa Ferguson (6th, 35)
RELIEF APPEARANCES: Cristin Vitek (1st, 47); Lisa Ferguson (8th, 18)
WINS: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 67); Lisa Ferguson (5th, 22)
LOSSES: Cristin Vitek (4th, 33); Lisa Ferguson (t-6th, 9)
DECISIONS: Cristin Vitek (3rd, 100); Lisa Ferguson (6th, 32)
COMPLETE GAMES: Cristin Vitek (3rd, 44); Lisa Ferguson (6th, 15)
SHUTOUTS: Cristin Vitek (3rd, 17); Lisa Ferguson (4th, 9)
SAVES: Cristin Vitek (t-2nd, 8); Lisa Ferguson (t-2nd, 8); Tessa Lynam (t-6th, 2); Nicole Jackson (t-7th, 1)
INNINGS PITCHED: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 670.1); Lisa Ferguson (5th, 234.0)
STRIKEOUTS: Cristin Vitek (1st, 686); Lisa Ferguson (7th, 137)
GETTERMAN STADIUM KIND TO LADY BEARS
With a win over Louisiana-Monroe to open the season, Baylor claimed its 100th win at Getterman Stadium as the Lady Bears now own a 105-38 career mark on their home field, opened in 1999. The Lady Bears had their best year ever at Getterman Stadium last season as Baylor went 27-4 at home on the year.
Baylor went undefeated in conference play at home last season as the Lady Bears swept season series with Oklahoma, Kansas, Texas Tech and Iowa State. Prior to the NCAA Softball Championships the Lady Bears were 27-2 at Getterman Stadium on the year.
Baylor has lost less than 10 games at home four of the five years the stadium has been open and has never posted a losing record in a season at home.
Baylor has not lost a regular-season contest at Getterman Stadium since a 3-2 setback to Oklahoma Christian on April 1, 2004, a span of 13 games.
UP NEXT...
Baylor will return to action on Wednesday, March 2, when the Lady Bears host Oklahoma Christian in a doubleheader beginning at 4:00 p.m.
