April 20, 2005
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#8 BAYLOR (40-8) at TEXAS STATE (23-23)
April 21, 2005 - 6:00 p.m.
Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, Texas
THE SERIES
Baylor vs. Texas State: Baylor leads 26-12
Waco, Texas: Baylor leads 16-5
San Marcos, Texas: Baylor leads 7-6
Neutral: Baylor leads 3-1
Streak: Baylor won 3
Last Meeting: Baylor 16, Texas State 2 (2/19/05)
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: None
Live Audio: None
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Television: None
No. 8 Baylor (40-8) returns to action this week when the Lady Bears travel to San Marcos, Texas, to take on Texas State at 6:00 p.m. The Bobcats will be looking to avenge an early season loss to the Lady Bears when Baylor defeated Texas State 16-2 at the Crowne Plaza Classic.
Baylor enters the contest after finishing up a five-game road swing through the Big 12 Conference with a record of 3-2. Texas State enters the non-conference game with the Lady Bears after taking two-of-three from Nicholls State in Southland Conference action.
The match-up marks the 29th meeting between the two schools, with Baylor owning a 26-12 series advantage. Baylor has won three straight in the series, including a pair of wins last year.
The Lady Bears are 7-6 all-time at Texas State and took the edge in the series in San Marcos after a 7-0 win over the Bobcats last season.
SCOUTING TEXAS STATE
Texas State currently stands at .500 on the season with a record of 23-23 and enter the contest with the Lady Bears winners of seven of their last 11 games. Texas State is led by ace Katie Ann Trahan, who did not face the Lady Bears in the previous meeting this season. On the season, Trahan is 20-16 with a 2.10 ERA in 230.1 innings of work. The right-handed pitcher has struck out an impressive 315 batters on the season while walking 64.
Trahan has also had an effective season at the plate for the Bobcats, leading the team with a .289 average and is tied for the team lead with six home runs on the season. Ashley Wilson also has had a strong year for Texas State, leading the team with 30 RBI on the year while batting .277 for the Bobcats.
QUICK NOTES
• Baylor remained No. 8 in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25. The Lady Bears are No. 12 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25.
• Baylor is 110-3 over the past four seasons when scoring at least four runs.
• Baylor is 91-8 over the past four seasons when collecting at least eight hits.
• Baylor is 135-12 over the past four seasons when out-hitting its opponent.
• Baylor is 89-23 over the past three seasons at Getterman Stadium, including a 27-4 mark at home last season.
• With its opening win of the season over Louisiana-Monroe, Baylor earned its 100th victory at Getterman Stadium. Baylor is now 119-42 all-time in games played at Getterman Stadium.
• Baylor's Chelsi Lake has established new school single-season home run and RBI marks this season. Currently, she has 13 home runs and 52 RBI this season.
• 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 records with 39 home runs and 302 runs scored this season.
LAKE SETS PAIR OF SINGLE SEASON RECORDS
In a year that has seen a number of single season team and individual batting records fall, sophomore Chelsi Lake has provided the biggest spark for the Lady Bears at the plate. Heading into this week's action, Lake leads the team in three key categories as she ranks third on the Lady Bears with a .379 batting average and ranks first with 13 home runs and 52 RBI.
The designated player's 13 home runs and 52 RBI have already established new single season records at Baylor, surpassing the 11 home runs hit by Bri Chambliss in 1997 and 40 RBI by Kristin Barton in 1996.
BAYLOR PASSES HOME RUN AND RUNS MILESTONES
Forty-eight games into the 2005 season, this year's version of the Lady Bears have already established new school records for most home runs and runs scored in a season. Through 48 games this season, Baylor has blasted 39 home runs, surpassing the 27 home runs hit by the 2002 squad as the most in a single season. Chelsi Lake leads the team and is second in the conference lead with 13 home runs on the season with Stephanie Pomes second on the team with 11 home runs. Currently, Baylor is fourth in the conference in the category.
This year's version of the Lady Bears have also established a new single-season runs scored record as well. Through 48 games, Baylor has scored 302 runs, an average of 6.29 runs per game, surpassing the 1996 squad (249 runs) for the most runs in a single-season in school history.
OSBURN SETS CAREER 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.
OSBURN ALSO ESTABLISHES RUNS SCORED RECORD
With a run scored in Baylor's 2-0 win over No. 4 Texas on March 30, Kelly Osburn pushed her team-leading runs scored total to 42, establishing a new single-season school record in the category. Osburn's total, which has now reached 50 runs, eclipses the previous record of 41 runs, held by Sheeley Green, who established the mark during the 1996 season. In two-plus seasons as a Lady Bear, Osburn has scored 115 runs, 13 runs shy of the Baylor career mark of 128 held by Michelle Sorrels.
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 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 742 strikeouts and is now only 58 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.
LAKE NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE FINALIST
Baylor softball designated player Chelsi Lake has been named one of 25 finalists for the 4th Annual USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Award the Amateur Softball Association announced. The award, which is considered the Heisman Trophy in women's collegiate softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country.
Lake has helped lead the Lady Bears to a 40-8 record as Baylor has been ranked among the nation's top ten teams for eight consecutive weeks.
Her selection as a finalist for the award marks the second consecutive year a Baylor softball player has been chosen as a finalist. Last season, left-handed pitcher Cristin Vitek was named a finalist for the award as she finished the 2004 season with a 31-7 record and 0.89 ERA.
On May 10, just days before the start of post-season play, a list of 10 finalists will be named. On May 31 the list will be cut to three and those final three players will travel to Oklahoma City for the announcement of the winner at the 2005 NCAA Women's College World Series.
A replica of the award will be placed in a permanent display in the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City, along with photos of the winner. An additional replica of the award will be presented to the player's academic institution.
Florida State's Jessica Van der Linden was selected as the 2004 winner after leading her Seminole's to the ACC title and a berth to the Women's College World Series.
BAYLOR IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
The Lady Bears entered the season ranked in both of the national polls and have climbed into the top 10 for the first time in school history as Baylor is currently No. 8 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 and No. 9 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25.
After going 2-1 this past week, including a weekend sweep at Kansas, the Baylor softball team remained at No. 8 in the latest ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25.
The Michigan Wolverines sit atop this week's poll at No. 1 with 18-of-20 first-place votes.
Baylor is one of six Big 12 Conference teams in this week's rankings, and one of four in the top eight, as Texas (No. 4), Texas A&M (No. 5), Oklahoma (No. 6), Missouri (No. 19) and Nebraska (No. 24) join Baylor in this week's poll.
Baylor's No. 12 ranking in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 marks the second consecutive week the Lady Bears have not been ranked in the top ten in the poll.
Michigan, with 22 first-place votes, is ranked No. 1 in the poll released by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association.
Oklahoma (No. 5), Texas (No. 6), Texas A&M (No. 3) and Missouri (No. 17) join the Lady Bears in this week's rankings.
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 (5th, 622)
RUNS: Kelly Osburn (2nd, 115); Kim Wilmoth (5th, 101); Harmony Schwethelm (6th, 94)
HITS: Kim Wilmoth (4th, 193); Harmony Schwethelm (5th, 162); Carrie Leerberg (9th, 145)
MULTIPLE-HIT GAMES: Kim Wilmoth (3rd, 54); Harmony Schwethelm (5th, 46)
DOUBLES: Kelly Osburn (2nd, 31); Stephanie Pomes (8th, 23)
TRIPLES: Carrie Leerberg (1st, 9); Kim Wilmoth (t-2nd, 8); Kelly Osburn (t-4th, 7)
HOME RUNS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 21); Stephanie Pomes (3rd, 19); Chelsi Lake (t-5th, 14)
TOTAL BASES: Kelly Osburn (3rd, 259); Kim Wilmoth (5th, 231)
WALKS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 76)
HIT BY PITCH: Kelly Osburn (2nd, 16); Kim Wilmoth (t-9th, 8) Carrie Leerberg (t-6th, 9)
SACRIFICE FLIES: Stephanie Pomes (1st, 7); Kelly Osburn (t-7th; 3)
SACRIFICE HITS: Kim Wilmoth (9th, 21); Harmony Schwethelm (7th, 23)
STOLEN BASES: Kim Wilmoth (1st, 87); Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 71); Carrie Leerberg (3rd, 66); Kelly Osburn (4th, 62)
STOLEN BASE ATTEMPTS: Kim Wilmoth (1st, 110); Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 84); Carrie Leerberg (3rd, 77); Kelly Osburn (4th, 74)
PITCHING RECORDS
APPEARANCES: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 156); Lisa Ferguson (5th, 69)
GAMES STARTED: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 104); Lisa Ferguson (6th, 46)
RELIEF APPEARANCES: Cristin Vitek (1st, 52); Lisa Ferguson (6th, 23)
WINS: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 72); Lisa Ferguson (4th, 31)
LOSSES: Cristin Vitek (t-3rd, 36); Lisa Ferguson (6th, 10)
DECISIONS: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 108); Lisa Ferguson (5th, 41)
COMPLETE GAMES: Cristin Vitek (3rd, 46); Lisa Ferguson (5th, 19)
SHUTOUTS: Cristin Vitek (3rd, 18); Lisa Ferguson (4th, 10)
SAVES: Cristin Vitek (3rd, 9); Lisa Ferguson (t-1st, 10); Tessa Lynam (6th, 3); Nicole Jackson (t-8th, 1)
INNINGS PITCHED: Cristin Vitek (2nd, 712.0); Lisa Ferguson (5th, 306.0)
STRIKEOUTS: Cristin Vitek (1st, 742); Lisa Ferguson (6th, 200); Tessa Lynam (8th, 70)
UP NEXT...
Baylor closes out its regular-season home schedule when the Lady Bears host Missouri in a two-game weekend series beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 23.
