Bears, Cowboys Set for Easter Weekend Series

Baseball 3/24/2005 12:00:00 AM

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GAMES 24-26 • MARCH 25-27, 2005

No. 10 BAYLOR (15-8, 3-0)

OKLAHOMA STATE (17-7, 2-1)

ALLIE P. REYNOLDS STADIUM • STILLWATER, OKLA.

THE SERIES

Overall Record: OSU leads 27-17

Waco: OSU leads 11-7

Stillwater: Tied 9-9

Neutral Site: OSU leads 7-1

Since Start of Big 12: OSU leads 15-12

Smith vs. OSU: 12-15

First Meeting: at OSU 8, Baylor 7 [4/29/1925]

Last Meeting: OSU 11, at Baylor 5 [4/11/2004]

COACHES

BAYLOR: Steve Smith

Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986

Career Record: 387-242-1 (11th season)

Record at Baylor: 387-242-1 (11th season)

OKLAHOMA STATE: Frank Anderson

Alma Mater: Emporia State, 1983

Career Record: 55-31 (2nd season)

Record at OSU: 55-31 (2nd season)

BAYLOR RADIO NETWORK

ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM (Waco)

Tom Barfield, play-by-play

Lark Smith, color

INTERNET FEEDS

GameTracker: www.BaylorBears.com

Audio: www.BaylorBears.com

Video: None

BAYLOR NATIONAL RANKINGS

Baseball America 10th

Sports Weekly/ESPN/Coaches 11th

NCBWA 12th

Collegiate Baseball 13th

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS

Friday, March 25

BU - LHP Trey Taylor (2-2, 2.82 ERA)

OSU - LHP Thomas Cowley (5-1, 1.69 ERA)

Saturday, March 26

BU - RHP Mark McCormick (2-1, 3.28 ERA)

OSU - LHP Brae Wright (4-1, 4.12 ERA)

Sunday, March 27

BU - LHP Cory VanAllen (4-2, 4.32 ERA)

OSU - TBA

Baylor returns to action this weekend, traveling to Stillwater, Okla., for a three-game Big 12 Conference series against Oklahoma State. The Bears and the Cowboys meet Friday at 7 p.m. CST, followed by 2 p.m. games Saturday and Sunday. This is the second Big 12 series for both teams.

Baylor (15-8, 3-0) has won seven of its last eight and eight of its last 10. The Bears' season-long seven-game winning streak was snapped Tuesday night with a 12-0 loss at Texas State. Baylor is ranked 10th nationally in this week's Baseball America Top 25. Oklahoma State (17-7, 2-1) did not play a midweek game after taking two of three from Kansas State at home last weekend.

All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM in Waco. Live streaming audio and GameTracker also are available for all Baylor baseball games online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the College Sports Network.

LEADING OFF

McCORMICK NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK

After defeating top-ranked Texas last Saturday, RHP Mark McCormick was named National Player of the Week by CollegeBaseballInsider.com, the new media outlet announced Wednesday.

McCormick held the Longhorns to one unearned run on four hits and a walk with 10 strikeouts, a career high, in Baylor's 9-1 victory over Texas at Baylor Ballpark. The victory, McCormick's second of the season, was the middle game of Baylor's three-game sweep of Texas.

McCormick's honor marks the third time since the beginning of the 2004 season that Baylor player has earned national player of the week honors. Last season, Cory VanAllen was so honored by Collegiate Baseball after combining with Zane Carlson to no-hit Loyola Marymount in his first collegiate start, and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association honored Josh Ford the final week of the regular season.

QUICK NOTES

• Baylor and Oklahoma State meet for the 45th, 46th and 47th times this weekend. The Cowboys hold a 27-17 advantage in the all-time series, which is tied 9-9 in games played at Stillwater.

• The Oklahoma State series is Baylor's final of six consecutive weekend series against teams ranked nationally preseason.

• Weekly honors poured in for Baylor this week. RHP Mark McCormick earned co-Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week honors and was named to the College Baseball Foundation Honor Roll. Wednesday, McCormick was named National Player of the Week by CollegeBaseballInsider.com.

• As a team, Baylor was Midwest Team of the Week by CollegeSports.com for the second straight week. The Bears also were named National Team of the Week by CollegeBaseballInsider.com after earning honorable mention the previous week.

• Baylor is 6-0 this season on Sunday.

• At 10-1, Baylor owns the nation's best record against nationally ranked opponents.

• The Bears have won a program-best nine consecutive games against Top 25 teams. The previous program best was a six-game streak in 1999.

• Baylor has won a program-best six consecutive games against teams ranked in the top 10 nationally. The previous program best was five in 1999.

• 21 of Baylor's first 26 games this season are against teams ranked in one of the four major polls at some point this season, including 20 consecutive weekend games after the season-opener against as yet unranked Houston.

• Baylor's sweep of Texas was the program's first sweep of a team ranked in the top five nationally.

• The Bears are 14-2 this season when the starting pitcher goes at least 5.0 innings.

• Baylor is 9-1 this season when scoring first.

• Baylor is 6-2 this season in one-run games after going 7-16 in such contests last season.

• Baylor is 7-0 when leading after three innings, 8-0 after four, 9-0 after five and 12-0 when leading after the sixth or later.

• After going winless win trailing later than the sixth inning last season, the Bears already have won four games in such situations this season.

• Last season, Baylor did not score an eighth-inning run until the 22nd game of the season. Through 22 games this season, the Bears have scored nine eighth-inning runs.

• RHP Mark McCormick has allowed only four runs, two earned, on 14 hits and eight walks with 28 strikeouts over his last 26.0 innings. In that time, he has posted a 0.69 ERA and held opposing batters to a .154 average.

• Last Sunday was LHP Trey Taylor's 17th consecutive start without allowing more than four earned runs. In that time, he has allowed three or fewer 14 times and two or fewer 12 times. Baylor is 11-3 in Taylor's last 14 starts; he is 6-2 in that time.

• C/DH Josh Ford has reached safely in 18 consecutive games (a career-long streak) and in 22 of 23 games this season.

• LF Reid Brees has reached safely in 11 consecutive games and in 18 of 21 games this season.

• RHP Ryan LaMotta has pitched scoreless ball in 10 of 12 appearances this season.

• Baylor's main bullpen trio of LaMotta, RHP Jeff Mandel and RHP Abe Woody have a combined ERA of 2.37 with 37 strikeouts in 37.1 innings and a .191 opponents' batting average.

• Baylor's leadoff batter has reached base in 82 of 208 innings this season (39.4 percent); 45 times that base runner has scored (54.9 percent). The Bears have scored in 66 innings this season; the leadoff batter reached base safely in 45 of those innings (68.2 percent).

• Entering the 2005 season, 2B Michael Griffin is the NCAA active career leader in games played (189), at bats (782) and hits (243). He also is third and one shy of the lead in doubles (50), second and two shy of the lead in RBI (166), and third and four shy of the lead in total bases (405).

• Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, the Bears have the league's best conference record at 141-83 (.629). Baylor leads all conference schools in both first-team All-Big 12 selections (21) and first-team Academic All-Big 12 selections (47), and the Bears are the only Big 12 Conference program to have ranked in the top 10 nationally at some point during each of the past eight seasons (1998-2005).

BAYLOR STARTERS

LHP Trey Taylor (2-2, 2.82) makes his seventh start of the season Friday, his fourth Friday start this year. In 38.1 innings this season, Taylor has allowed 17 runs, 12 earned, on 32 hits and 12 walks with 33 strikeouts. Opponents hit .230 against the southpaw. ... Friday's start is the 41st of Taylor's career, tying Bruce Aguilar (1986-89) for fifth all-time at Baylor.

RHP Mark McCormick (2-1, 3.28) earns his seventh start of the 2005 season Saturday. In 35.2 innings this season, McCormick has allowed 15 runs, 13 earned, on 24 hits and 19 walks with 38 strikeouts. Opponents hit .186 against McCormick. Baylor has a 5-1 record in his six starts this season, including a 4-0 mark in his last four starts.

LHP Cory VanAllen (4-2, 4.32) closes out the series with his seventh start of the season Sunday. In 33.1 innings this season, VanAllen has allowed 17 runs, 16 earned, on 38 hits and 12 walks with 23 strikeouts. Opponents hit .297 against VanAllen.

THE OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES

Baylor and Oklahoma State meet for the 45th, 46th and 47th times this weekend. Oklahoma State holds a 27-17 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to an 8-7 OSU victory April 29, 1925.

The series is tied 9-9 in games played at Stillwater; Baylor won the 2003 series played at OSU two games to one. OSU leads the series 15-12 since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997; however, the series is tied 11-11 in Big 12 regular season games. The teams also have met twice in the Big 12 Tournament (both OSU wins) and three times in the 1999 NCAA Super Regional (OSU winning two of three).

Baylor won the season series in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003; the 2002 and 2004 series were rain-shortened, and the teams split two games. The Bears are 7-5 at Stillwater since the inception of the Big 12, winning each of the last three series at OSU two games to one after the Cowboys took two of three in 1997.

THE OKLAHOMA STATE COWBOYS

Oklahoma State (17-7, 2-1) is its second season under the direction of head coach Frank Anderson, a 1983 Emporia State graduate. Anderson owns a 55-31 career record, all coming at Oklahoma State.

OSU Notes: The Cowboys are ranked 30th nationally in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 35. ... Oklahoma State has won nine of its last 11 games. The Pokes saw a six-game winning streak end Sunday, falling to Kansas State 9-5. ... The Cowboys took two of three from Kansas State last weekend at Stillwater. OSU won the first two games 3-2 and 8-5. ... Oklahoma State hits .332 as a team with 35 home runs, 59 doubles, 14 triples and 28 stolen bases in 34 attempts. The Cowboys average 9.3 runs per game and produce 27.5 bases per game with a 1.485 offensive efficiency rating. ... OSU pitchers boast a 3.12 staff ERA with two complete games, three shutouts, five saves and 188 strikeouts against 65 walks in 216.2 innings. Opponents hit .242 against Oklahoma State pitching. ... The Cowboys field at a .971 clip with 27 errors and 15 double plays turned. Opponents are 26-of-37 in stolen base attempts.

BEARS BEST IN THE BIG 12

Baylor has the best conference record of any team in the Big 12 Conference since the league's start in 1997. At 140-83 (.629), the Bears are ahead of Texas Tech (139-87-1; .614) and Texas (133-92; .595). Included in the first eight seasons for Baylor are one Big 12 championship (2000) and a pair of runner-up finishes (1998, 1999).

On top of that, Baylor is the only Big 12 Conference school to have ranked in the top 10 nationally during each of the past eight seasons (1998-2005). Baylor joins Oklahoma State as the only schools to have never finished below .500 in Big 12 play.

Including the 2004 totals, Baylor leads all conference schools in Big 12 history in both first-team All-Big 12 selections (21) and in first-team Academic All-Big 12 selections (41).

SCHEDULE AGAIN AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST

Baylor's 2005 schedule ranked fourth nationally preseason and was listed as the nation's second-toughest in this week's rankings by BoydsWorld.com. That tough schedule should come as no surprise; Baylor has ranked 13th or better in strength of schedule each of the past six seasons.

Following its sweep of top-ranked Texas over the weekend, Baylor is a national-best 10-1 this season against ranked opponents, including a 6-0 mark against teams ranked in the top 10. In fact, Baylor has won more games against ranked opponents than any other team has played with the exception of Cal State Fullerton and Texas, which have played 10 each.

This weekend's series at Oklahoma State is Baylor's final of six consecutive weekend series against teams ranked nationally in the Baseball America Preseason Top 25. It also ends a streak of 20 consecutive weekend games against teams ranked nationally in one of the four major polls at some point this season.

The 2005 Bears play 25 games against nine teams ranked in the Baseball America Preseason Top 25. Baylor also plays 36 games against 13 teams that appeared in the 2004 regionals. Baylor ranked 10th nationally in strength of schedule last season. In 2003, Baylor's schedule was deemed the nation's toughest in the preseason and was ranked fifth by season's end.

ARSENAL OF OPPOSING ARMS CONTINUES

Through Baylor's first 23 games, only two opposing pitchers this season had a losing record going into the game: UTSA's Ryan Crew (0-1) and Arizona State's Pat Bresnehan (0-1).

In fact, the 23 opposing starting pitchers Baylor has faced this season had a combined line of 32-7 with a 2.01 ERA entering their starts against Baylor. However, the Bears have not necessarily left the opposing starter in the best shape. Baylor's opposing starting pitchers are 6-11 with 3.98 ERA in their games against the Bears.

Baylor's opposing starters over the past 11 games have entered the games with combined records of 24-1 (the lone pitcher with a loss was Texas right-hander Kyle McCulloch. The Bears are 8-3 in that time, and those starting pitchers went 3-5 against the Bears with a collective 4.55 ERA.

Additionally, Baylor has faced three of the nation's five returning 12-game winners, doing so in successive weekend series against Oral Roberts (Dennis Bigley), Arizona State (Jason Urquidez) and Long Beach State (Cesar Ramos).

BAYLOR CLIMBS IN POLLS

On the strength of seven consecutive wins -- all coming against nationally ranked opponents and culminating with a sweep of top-ranked Texas, Baylor jumped six spots to No. 10 in this week's Baseball America Top 25. The Bears, who have been ranked as high as eighth this season, return to the top 10 after a three-week hiatus.

Cal State Fullerton ascended to the nation's top spot this week after taking two of three from Arizona over the weekend. Former No. 1 Tulane moved into second, followed by Louisiana State, Texas, Georgia Tech, Miami, Mississippi, Arkansas, South Carolina and Baylor.

The Bears are a national-best 10-1 this season against ranked opponents. Baylor has won as many games against ranked opponents this season as any other ranked team has played.

In the other polls, Baylor moved from 19th to No. 11 in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll, from 27th to No. 12 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 35, and from 26th to No. 13 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30.

McCORMICK NAMED BIG 12 PITCHER OF THE WEEK

RHP Mark McCormick was named co-Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week, the league office announced Tuesday. McCormick shares this week's honor with Brian Wyatt of Texas Tech; Nebraska third baseman Alex Gordon earned player of the week honors.

McCormick, a product of Clear Creek High School in Houston, Texas, held top-ranked Texas to one unearned run on four hits and a walk with 10 strikeouts, a career high, last Saturday night in Baylor's 9-1 victory over the Longhorns at Baylor Ballpark. The victory, McCormick's second of the season, was the middle game of Baylor's three-game sweep of Texas.

Over his last 26.0 innings, McCormick has allowed only four runs, two earned, on 14 hits and eight walks with 28 strikeouts. In that time, he has posted a 0.69 ERA and held opposing batters to a .154 average. On the season, McCormick is 2-1 with a 3.28 ERA and a staff-best 38 strikeouts in 35.2 innings; opponents hit just .186 against the projected first-round pick, best among any Big 12 pitcher with at least 120 at bats against.

With the honor, McCormick becomes the 12th pitcher to win the weekly honor at least three times in a career. He also was honored last season after a complete-game shutout of Texas A&M and two weeks ago after defeating Long Beach State in a four-hit, eight-strikeout performance. Only five pitchers have won the honor more than three times, led by former Nebraska All-American Shane Komine with eight.

FORD, REYNOLDS ON WALLACE AWARD WATCH LIST

1B Kyle Reynolds and C Josh Ford represent Baylor on the watch list for the Wallace Award, which is presented to the nation's top collegiate player by the College Baseball Foundation. Cal State Fullerton catcher Kurt Suzuki won the initial Brooks Wallace Award last season.

The Wallace Watch will be trimmed to 12 semi-finalists by May 24. The selection committee then will narrow the list to three finalists following the NCAA Super Regionals.

The selection committee for the Wallace Award is comprised of a national panel of coaches, sports information directors, former winners and media. Screening Committee members will evaluate the candidates and will continue their review throughout the entire baseball season. Additional Wallace Watch candidates may be added as the season progresses. Voting for the three finalists and the Wallace Award winner will be conducted by confidential balloting, with totals tabulated by the J.W. Anderson & Associates accounting firm in Lubbock.

WOODY NAMED TO STOPPER WATCH LIST

RHP Abe Woody has been named to the initial watch list for the 2005 National Stopper of the Year Award, sponsored by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association. One of 30 Division I closers from across the nation in the running for the first-year award, Woody joins Texas junior J. Brent Cox as the only Big 12 Conference closers on the list.

A product of Round Rock [Texas] High School, Woody boasts a career record of 11-1 with a 3.58 ERA and 10 saves in 57 career relief appearances. He led the Bears with five saves last season and is currently tied for second in the Big 12 with two saves this season. Woody has tallied 83 career strikeouts in 110.1 innings of work while holding opponents to a .212 batting average.

At the end the regular season, the Division I leader in saves and four other relief pitching standouts will be selected as the award's finalists. These finalists will be released June 1, just prior to the beginning of NCAA regional play. From the list of finalists, the NCBWA's All-America Committee will select a winner. The inaugural winner will be announced on June 8, two days prior to the beginning of NCAA Super Regional action.

McCORMICK ON CLEMENS AWARD WATCH LIST

RHP Mark McCormick is among 42 pitchers named to the initial watch list for the 2005 Clemens Award, presented July 14 to the nation's top collegiate pitcher by the Greater Houston Baseball Association.

McCormick, who is projected to be a first-round draft pick in June's First-Year Player Draft, was 2-4 with a 4.70 ERA in 46.0 innings covering 11 appearances and 10 starts last season. However, he missed six weeks of the season due to a shoulder injury. McCormick was named first-team preseason All-America by Baseball America earlier this year.

The list is comprised of all Division I pitchers who were named as pre-season All-Americans by either Baseball America or Collegiate Baseball, in addition to those pitchers who have been honored so far this season as National Pitchers of the Week by the National College Baseball Writers Association. Weekly winners of the writer's award will be added to the list until the start of the first round of voting at the end of April. Additional nominees will be added to the ballot based on notable performances and rankings in the NCAA statistical rankings.

HEAD COACH Steve Smith

Steve Smith begins his second decade as head coach at Baylor in 2005. In his first decade, Smith guided the program to near unprecedented heights, including the most successful six-year run in the program's 100-year history.

Smith has compiled a 387-242-1 (.615) career record, all at Baylor. He holds the best winning percentage of any coach in Baylor baseball history, and he ranks second among the program's 18 head coaches in career victories. Smith has led Baylor to six NCAA Regional appearances, two NCAA Super Regional appearances and the 2000 Big 12 Conference title. He also has coached 12 All-America selections and seven USA Baseball National Team members while at Baylor.

In January 2005, Smith was named head coach of the USA Baseball National Team for the upcoming summer. Smith is just the second Big 12 Conference coach to serve as head coach of the national team. He also previously served as an assistant coach under his former Mississippi State boss Ron Polk on the 1998 USA Baseball National Team that posted an overall record of 30-12.

Smith led the Bears to their first-ever 50-win season in 1999 and a Big 12 championship in 2000, and piloted the team to six straight NCAA appearances from 1998 to 2003. His Bears have the best conference record in the Big 12 since the league began. Through the 2004 season, Smith ranked 47th nationally among active coaches in winning percentage with a .628 mark, fourth among Big 12 coaches.

The 2000 Big 12 Coach of the Year, Smith came to Baylor from Mississippi State, where he was an assistant under Ron Polk for five seasons. Prior to that, he served as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M.

A former standout pitcher at Baylor in 1982-1983, Smith led the Southwest Conference with a 1.72 ERA as a junior. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 1983 Major League Draft by the San Francisco Giants and played four years of pro ball before moving into the coaching ranks.

An accomplished pitching coach, Smith has tutored six pitchers in the last 12 years who were selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. He also had at least one pitcher named to the all-conference first team for 11 straight years (1992-2002).

In Smith's 10 seasons as head coach, the Bears have produced four first-round draft picks, 10 All-Americans, six Academic All-Americans, one National Player of the Year, one GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American of the Year, 25 first-team all-conference performers, nine freshman All-Americans, and three conference players of the year. Baylor has also placed a league-leading 41 players on the Academic All-Big 12 first team in the past eight seasons.

STREAMING VIDEO AVAILABLE FOR SELECT GAMES

Live streaming video is available for select games during the 2004 season. A total of 24 games will be available online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor athletics and a member of the College Sports Online network. Seventeen of the 24 webcasts will be against Big 12 Conference opponents, including the Bears' three-game league sets against Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas Tech, Texas A&M and Missouri, as well as the home portion of the Texas series.

Fans may purchase the games for $4.95 per game or $9.95 for a three-series. Fans also have the option of purchasing monthly ($6.95) or annual ($49.95) subscriptions which include all BearCasts in that time period. These remaining games will be available in the BearCast package:

April 1, 2 and 3 - Oklahoma

April 5 - Houston

April 8, 9, 10 - Kansas State

April 29, 30, May 1 - Texas Tech

May 13, 14, 15 - Texas A&M

May 20, 21, 22 - Missouri

BAYLOR BASEBALL RADIO NETWORK

Catch every inning of Baylor baseball in 2005 on the flagship station for Baylor athletics, ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM Waco.

Tom Barfield and Lark Smith are in their fourth season together as the primary play-by-play and color men for Baylor baseball. Barfield, the operations manager for KRZI/KRZX and KLRK-FM in Waco, is best known as co-host of the afternoon "You Make the Call" call-in show. Barfield saw his first action calling Baylor baseball in 2002, when he and Smith called the Bears' sweep of Southern California at Dodger Stadium.

Smith, whose attachment to Baylor baseball dates back to the days of coach Dutch Schroeder, was Sports Director for the Baylor campus radio station in the late 1970s and served as play-by-play voice for the Bears' 1977 and 1978 College World Series teams. After nearly two decades in broadcasting, Smith now works for the Heart O'Texas Federal Credit Union in Waco.

Live streaming audio for all 2005 Baylor baseball games are available on the Internet at www.BaylorBears.com. BU baseball is also a staple of the daily "Baylor SportsBeat" hosted by John Morris and airing weekdays at 7:25am and 5:25pm on ESPN/KRZI 1660 AM.

BAYLORBEARS.COM

Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.BaylorBears.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches and audio broadcasts, is part of the College Sports Online network, which currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including four Big 12 schools.

INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS TV SHOW

Inside Baylor Sports, a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, airs weekly throughout Central Texas and the region. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Net Southwest and the College Channel (Waco cable channel 18). KCEN carries the show at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, and it airs at 1 p.m. Wednesdays on FSN Southwest.