March 14, 2005
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#9 BAYLOR (27-3) vs. NORTHWESTERN STATE (DH)
4:00 p.m., March 15
Natchitoches, La. (Demon Diamond)
#9 BAYLOR vs. #12 LSU
6:00 p.m., March 16
Baton Rouge, La. (Tiger Park)
THE SERIES
Baylor vs. Northwestern St.: Baylor leads 10-2
Baylor vs. LSU: LSU leads 5-2
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: None
Live Audio: Fox Sports Radio 1580 AM (LSU only)
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Television: None
No. 9 Baylor (27-3) returns to action this week when the Lady Bears travel to face Northwestern (La.) State in a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 15, beginning at 4:00 p.m. before heading to Baton Rouge, La., to face No. 12 LSU at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 16.
Northwestern State (18-11) enters the contest with the Lady Bears having won five in a row, including a three-game sweep at Texas-Arlington in Southland Conference action last season. Baylor owns a 10-2 edge in the series, however, the meeting marks the first time in the series the Lady Bears have played on the Demons home field.
Following the doubleheader with Northwestern State, Baylor travels to LSU (17-5) in a rematch of last year's NCAA Softball Championships contest when top-seeded LSU defeated the third-seeded Lady Bears 7-3 in extra innings. The game also marks the return of Baylor head coach Glenn Moore to his former school where he guided the Tigers to two SEC championships in three seasons from 1998-2000.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN STATE AND LSU
Northwestern State enters the contest with a record of 18-11 after a weekend sweep at Texas-Arlington. The Demons are led by Shay Hunt, who leads the team with a .395 average and 21 RBI on the season. Currently, Northwestern State is batting .295 on the season with four players hitting above the .300 mark.
In the circle, the Demons feature Loni Rasberry, who is 9-2 on the season and owns a 2.43 ERA in 80.2 innings of work. Baylor could also face Northwestern State pitchers Michelle Castellano and Amanda Glenn. Castellano is 6-4 on the season for NSU while Glenn posts a 2-3 record and 2.91 ERA for the Demons.
No. 12 LSU comes into the contest after dropping two of three at South Carolina this past weekend. The Tigers are hitting an impressive .351 on the season and feature three hitters batting over .400, including Lauren Castle, who leads the team with 33 hits and a .423 average.
In the circle, Emily Turner replaces former All-American Kristin Schmidt as the team's ace and has posted an 8-2 record and 1.74 ERA this season in 72.1 innings of work.
QUICK NOTES
• Baylor climbed to No. 9 in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25. The ranking marks the highest for the Lady Bears in school history.
• Baylor is 98-3 over the past four seasons when scoring at least four runs.
• Baylor is 82-8 over the past four seasons when collecting at least eight hits.
• Baylor is 126-12 over the past four seasons when out-hitting its opponent.
• Baylor is 82-20 over the past three seasons at Getterman Stadium, including a 27-4 mark at home last season.
• Baylor's Tessa Lynam was named USA Softball National Player of the Week earlier this year, marking the first time in school history a player from Baylor was recognized for the award.
• Baylor players earned the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week honor for three consecutive weeks to start the season (Chelsi Lake, Kim Wilmoth and Tessa Lynam).
• Baylor has established a new school record with 29 home runs this season.
BAYLOR ECLIPSES HOME RUN MILESTONE
Thirty games into the 2005 season, this year's version of the Lady Bears have already established a new school record for most home runs in a season. Through 30 games this season, Baylor has blasted 29 home runs, surpassing the 27 home runs hit by the 2002 squad as the most in a single season. Chelsi Lake leads the team with nine home runs on the season with Stephanie Pomes and Tessa Lynam tied for second on the team with home runs for the Lady Bears as Baylor is only one behind Missouri for the league lead in the category.
Kelly Osburn SETS HOME RUN MARK
While the team shattered the school single-season home run record, Kelly Osburn established a new Baylor career home run mark with the 21st home run of her career in the 18-3 win over Oklahoma Christian. On a 1-2 pitch from Lindsey Lawson to lead-off the second inning, Osburn drove the ball over the left field wall for her fifth homer run of the season and 21st of her career, surpassing Ryan Stukel, who hit 20 from 2000-03, for most career home runs.
Lisa Ferguson ONE SHY FROM CAREER SAVE MARK
After tossing 1.2 innings of relief in Baylor's 10-2 victory over Massachusetts at the Speedline Classic, Lisa Ferguson earned her second save of the season and 10th of her career, moving her into a tie for the Baylor career mark.
Former Baylor pitcher Joni Miller established the standard with 10 saves from 2000-2003. Ferguson is on pace to shatter the school record after finishing second in the NCAA with eight saves her freshman season.
800TH CAREER STRIKEOUT IN SIGHT FOR Cristin 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 722 strikeouts and is now only 78 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 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 (6th, 573)
RUNS: Kelly Osburn (4th, 101); Kim Wilmoth (6th, 92); Harmony Schwethelm (t-8th, 77)
HITS: Kim Wilmoth (4th, 178); Harmony Schwethelm (9th, 139); Carrie Leerberg (10th, 136)
MULTIPLE-HIT GAMES: Kim Wilmoth (4th, 50); Harmony Schwethelm (5th, 38)
DOUBLES: Kelly Osburn (6th, 25); Stephanie Pomes (8th, 22)
TRIPLES: Carrie Leerberg (t-1st, 8); Kim Wilmoth (t-1st, 8); Kelly Osburn (t-6th, 6)
HOME RUNS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 21); Stephanie Pomes (t-4th, 14); Chelsi Lake (8th, 10)
TOTAL BASES: Kelly Osburn (4th, 235); Kim Wilmoth (6th, 214)
WALKS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 65)
HIT BY PITCH: Kelly Osburn (2nd, 14); Kim Wilmoth (t-9th, 8) Carrie Leerberg (t-6th, 9)
SACRIFICE FLIES: Stephanie Pomes (t-4th, 5); Kelly Osburn (t-9th; 3)
SACRIFICE HITS: Kim Wilmoth (8th, 19); Harmony Schwethelm (t-8th, 19)
STOLEN BASES: Kim Wilmoth (1st, 83); Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 60); Carrie Leerberg (3rd, 56); Kelly Osburn (4th, 53)
STOLEN BASE ATTEMPTS: Kim Wilmoth (1st, 105); Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 72); Carrie Leerberg (3rd, 67); Kelly Osburn (4th, 63)
PITCHING RECORDS
APPEARANCES: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 147); Lisa Ferguson (7th, 57)
GAMES STARTED: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 100); Lisa Ferguson (6th, 37)
RELIEF APPEARANCES: Cristin Vitek (1st, 47); Lisa Ferguson (8th, 20)
WINS: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 71); Lisa Ferguson (5th, 25)
LOSSES: Cristin Vitek (4th, 34); Lisa Ferguson (t-6th, 9)
DECISIONS: Cristin Vitek (t-2nd, 105); Lisa Ferguson (6th, 34)
COMPLETE GAMES: Cristin Vitek (3rd, 46); Lisa Ferguson (t-5th, 16)
SHUTOUTS: Cristin Vitek (3rd, 18); Lisa Ferguson (4th, 9)
SAVES: Cristin Vitek (3rd, 8); Lisa Ferguson (t-1st, 10); Tessa Lynam (t-6th, 2); Nicole Jackson (t-8th, 1)
INNINGS PITCHED: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 689.1); Lisa Ferguson (5th, 250.1)
STRIKEOUTS: Cristin Vitek (1st, 722); Lisa Ferguson (6th, 156); Tessa Lynam (9th, 39)
UP NEXT...
Baylor has a week off before opening Big 12 Conference play on Wednesday, March 20, when the Lady Bears host No. 11 Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m.
