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GAMES 41-43 • APRIL 22-24, 2005

No. 8 BAYLOR (26-14, 12-3)
at
No. 11 NEBRASKA (32-7, 8-4)
HAWKS FIELD AT HAYMARKET PARK • LINCOLN, NEB.

THE SERIES
Overall Record: Baylor leads 23-14-1
Waco: Baylor leads 15-4-1
Lincoln: Nebraska leads 6-5
Neutral Site: Nebraska leads 4-3
Since start of Big 12: Baylor leads 15-10
Smith vs. Nebraska: 16-10
First Meeting: at Baylor 9, Nebraska 7 [4/4/1938]
Last Meeting: at Baylor 9, Nebraska 4 [3/15/2004]

COACHES
BAYLOR: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 398-248-1 (11th season)
Record at Baylor: 398-248-1 (11th season)
Nebraska: Mike Anderson
Alma Mater: Northern Colorado, 1990
Career Record: 115-48 (3rd season)
Record at Nebraska: 115-48 (3rd 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: www.Huskers.com

BAYLOR NATIONAL RANKINGS
Baseball America 8th
Sports Weekly/ESPN/Coaches 14th
NCBWA 9th
Collegiate Baseball 10th

PROJECTED PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday, April 22
BU LHP Trey Taylor (4-3, 3.81 ERA)
NU RHP Joba Chamberlain (5-0, 1.94 ERA)

Saturday, April 23
BU RHP Mark McCormick (5-2, 3.02 ERA)
NU LHP Zach Kroenke (4-1, 2.57 ERA)

Sunday, April 24
BU LHP Cory VanAllen (6-2, 3.67 ERA)
NU LHP Brian Duensing (5-0, 3.06 ERA)

Baylor returns to action this weekend, traveling to Lincoln, Neb., for a three-game Big 12 Conference series at Nebraska. The Bears and the Huskers meet Friday at 6:35 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 2:05 p.m. and Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
Baylor (26-14, 12-3) split a pair of midweek games, falling 2-1 in 11 innings Tuesday night at TCU and edging Prairie View A&M 4-3 at home Wednesday night. The Bears, ranked eighth in this week's Baseball America Top 25, have won seven of their last nine and are 18-7 since March 11.
Nebraska (32-7, 8-4) rallied to defeat Northern Iowa 7-4 Wednesday night at Des Moines, Iowa. The Huskers, ranked 11th in this week's Baseball America Top 25, enter the weekend tied with Missouri for second place in the Big 12 standings, two-and-one-half-games behind Baylor.
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: BEARS AMONG NCAA STAFF ERA LEADERS
Through games of April 17, Baylor ranks 18th nationally with a 3.20 staff ERA. That ranks fourth in the Big 12 Conference behind Nebraska (second, 2.41), Texas (fourth, 2.63) and Missouri (fifth, 2.63). Long Beach State leads the nation at 1.94.
Individually, RHP Ryan LaMotta ranks 25th nationally with a 1.59 ERA. RHP Abe Woody is 18th nationally with seven saves. CF Chase Gerdes is 38th nationally with 0.12 triples per game, and C/DH Josh Ford is 41st nationally, having been hit by a pitch 0.29 times per game.

QUICK NOTES ...
• Baylor and Nebraska meet for the 39th, 40th and 41st times this weekend. The Bears hold a 23-14-1 advantage in the all-time series.
• Baylor's 12-3 start in Big 12 play is its best five-series start since starting the 2001 season 12-3. The 2000 Big 12 Champions team started 10-5 and went 13-2 the rest of the way.
• According to this week's rankings at www.BoydsWorld.com, Baylor ranks sixth nationally in RPI and ninth in ISR (Iterative Strength Rating).
• Baylor's strength of schedule ranks ninth nationally, according to www.BoydsWorld.com.
• Baylor is 11-7 against the latest RPI top 50, including a 10-4 mark against the top 23 and a 3-0 mark against the top 10.
• 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.
• The Bears are 22-5 this season when the starting pitcher goes at least 5.0 innings.
• Baylor is 9-1 this season on Sunday.
• Baylor is 10-2 this season in Championship Gold jerseys.
• Baylor is 19-2 this season when scoring first.
• Baylor is 7-0 when leading after one inning, 10-2 after two, 13-1 after three, 14-1 after four, 16-1 after five, 21-1 after six and 22-1 after the seven innings or later.
• OF Reid Brees is hitting .357 (10-for-28) over the last 10 games.
• C/DH Zach Dillon is hitting .375 (15-for-40) over the last 11 games with five runs, three doubles, eight RBI, a .450 slugging percentage and a .433 on base percentage.
• 2B Michael Griffin is hitting .351 (20-for-57) over the last 14 games with 13 runs, six doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, a .561 slugging percentage and a .400 on base percentage.
• Griffin has committed only four errors in 188 chances this season. He has played error-free ball in 37 of 40 games this season.
• 3B Kevin Russo is hitting .303 (10-for-33) over the last nine games with seven runs, three doubles, one home run and seven RBI.
• OF Kevin Sevigny is hitting .360 (9-for-25) over the last seven games with five runs, three doubles, one triple, two home runs, six RBI, a .800 slugging percentage and a .471 on base percentage.
• RHP Mark McCormick has allowed only 15 runs, nine earned, on 27 hits and 22 walks with 49 strikeouts over his last 50.0 innings. In that time, he is 5-1 with a 1.62 ERA and a .154 opponents' batting average. McCormick's overall ERA has dropped from 10.27 to 3.02 in that time.
• Baylor is 8-2 this season in McCormick's 10 starts.
• In LHP Trey Taylor's last 21 starts, he has allowed three or fewer earned runs 17 times and two or fewer 13 times. Baylor is 14-4 in Taylor's last 18 starts; he is 8-3 in that time.
• C/DH Josh Ford has has reached safely in 35 consecutive games (a career-long streak) and in 39 of 40 games this season. He has hit safely in 28 of the 35 games during the streak.
• RHP Ryan LaMotta has pitched scoreless ball in 18 of 20 appearances this season. Prior to giving up a leadoff home run in the ninth inning Tuesday at TCU, LaMotta had pitched 28.2 consecutive scoreless innings covering 14 appearances.
• LaMotta has allowed six of 21 inherited runners to score. Four of those six runners scored by virtue of an error.
• RHP Jeff Mandel has not allowed an earned run in 10 consecutive appearances, allowing only two unearned runs in that time (21.1 innings).
• LHP Cory VanAllen has won four consecutive decisions over a six-start span. He has lasted at least 6.0 innings in seven of 10 starts this season, going is 6-0 with a 2.03 ERA and a .220 opponents' batting average in those seven starts.
• SS Paul Witt leads the team with 11 two-out RBI this season (he has 16 total RBI).
• Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, the Bears have the league's best conference record at 149-86 (.634). 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 is tied for 25th nationally in total wins since 2000, third among Big 12 Conference teams, with 217 wins through games of April 17, 2005.
• Since 1998, Baylor also is third in the Big 12 in total wins with 308 victories behind only Texas (338) and Nebraska (328) through games of April 17, 2005.

THE NEBRASKA SERIES
Baylor and Nebraska meet for the 39th, 40th and 41st times this weekend. The Bears hold a 23-14-1 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to a 9-7 Baylor victory April 4, 1938, in Waco.
Since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997, the Bears hold a 15-10 advantage in the series. However, Baylor is 13-6 against the Huskers in regular season Big 12 games, winning four of six series. The 1998 series was rain-shortened to one game (a Baylor victory), while the 1999 series was completely lost to inclement weather.
Baylor swept the series in 1997, 2000 and 2004. Nebraska swept the series in 2001. The teams split the series with the home team winning two-of-three in 2002 (at Baylor) and in 2003 (at Nebraska).
The Bears are 5-6 against Nebraska in games played at Lincoln.

THE NEBRASKA HUSKERS
Nebraska (32-7, 8-4) is in its third season under the direction of head coach Mike Anderson, a 1990 Northern Colorado graduate. Anderson is 115-48 during his stint as skipper for the Huskers. The 2003 Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year, Anderson served as Nebraska's assistant coach for eight seasons before being promoted to head coach after the 2002 season.

NU Notes: The Huskers are ranked 11th in this week's Baseball America Top 25. Nebraska is ninth in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches' Poll, seventh in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 and eighth in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association Top 35. ... Nebraska is 7-3 in its last 10 games, including taking two of three last weekend at Texas A&M. ... The Huskers hit .314 as a team with 45 home runs, 74 doubles, seven triples and 60 stolen bases in 78 attempts. ... Nebraska boasts a 2.40 staff ERA with three complete games, four shutouts, 10 saves and 298 strikeouts against 95 walks in 344.2 innings. Opponents hit .214 against Husker pitching. ... The Huskers field at a .978 clip with 33 errors and 27 double plays turned. Opponents have stolen 19 bases in 31 attempts.

SMITH NEARS ANOTHER MILESTONE
Baylor head coach Steve Smith enters the weekend series at Nebraska two wins shy of victory No. 400 in his collegiate career, all coming at Baylor. Now in his 11th season at the helm of the Baylor program, Smith is 398-248-1.

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 149-86 (.634), the Bears are ahead of Texas (144-94, .605) and Texas Tech (143-94-1; .603). 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).

BEARS' BULLPEN CONTINUES TO SHINE
Through 40 games, Baylor's bullpen has a 10-2 record with a 2.42 ERA and a .223 opponents' batting average in 156.1 innings. The Bears have been even stronger out of the pen on the weekend, going 7-1 with a 1.96 ERA, 10 saves and a .224 opponents' batting average in 96.2 innings.
Furthermore, the trio of RHP Ryan LaMotta, RHP Jeff Mandel and RHP Abe Woody has been dominant this season. That trio is 7-1 with a 1.40 ERA, nine saves and a .183 opponents' batting average in 77.0 innings on weekends.
In Big 12 Conference play, Baylor's bullpen is 3-1 with a 1.39 ERA, six saves and a .206 opponents' batting average in 45.1 innings. LaMotta (17.0 innings), Mandel (10.1 innings) and RHP Tyler Bullock (3.0 innings) have allowed only one unearned run in Big 12 play.

SEVIGNY NAMED TO CBF WEEKLY HONOR ROLL
OF Kevin Sevigny was named to this week's College Baseball Foundation National Honor Roll, announced Tuesday. Sevigny hit .385 on the week, including a .500 average (5-for-10) in Baylor's three-game sweep at Kansas. Against the Jayhawks, Sevigny had two doubles, a triple, four RBI, a 1.200 slugging percentage and a .583 on base percentage. He entered the weekend hitting .175 on the season.
Sevigny is the third Bear to earn College Baseball Foundation National Honor Roll accolades this season. OF Mike Pankratz was so honored after his game-winning grand slam in the 13th inning of Baylor's victory March 11 at Vanderbilt, and RHP Mark McCormick was so honored after his 10-strikeout victory March 19 against top-ranked Texas.

BEARS CLIMB FOUR SPOTS IN BASEBALL AMERICA
Baylor climbed four spots in this week's Baseball America Top 25, landing at No. 8 in the season's 12th ranking. The Bears posted a 3-1 record last week, including a weekend three-game series sweep at Kansas. This week's ranking matches Baylor's highest of the season. The Bears were eighth for two weeks in February.
The top six teams remained unchanged from last week's rankings with Texas still as the nation's top-ranked team despite sitting fourth in the Big 12 Conference standings, three-and-a-half games behind Baylor. Cal State Fullerton is second, followed by Tulane, Georgia Tech, Florida and Arizona. Miami, Fla., moved up two spots to No. 7, followed by Baylor, Oregon State (up two spots) and Long Beach State (up six spots).
Baylor remains the second highest-ranked Big 12 team behind Texas; Nebraska, which hosts the Bears for a three-game series this weekend, is 11th and Missouri is 17th. Other 2005 Baylor opponents in this weeks rankings are No. 10 Long Beach State, No. 15 Rice, No. 16 Tennessee and No. 21 Arizona State.
In the other rankings, Baylor climbed two spots to No. 14 in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll, 14 spots to No. 9 in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers' Association Top 35 and six spots to No. 10 in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30.

BEARS REMAIN HIGH IN PSEUDO RPI RANKINGS
Through games of April 17, Baylor ranks sixth nationally in the pseudo RPI rankings at www.BoydsWorld.com. With a 0.630 rating, the Bears are just behind Florida and Miami, Fla., both at 0.633. Texas ranks first at 0.642, followed by Tulane (0.641) and Georgia Tech (0.641).
A large reason for Baylor's high RPI ranking is its strength of schedule and the Bears' record against strong opponents. Baylor holds the nation's best record against nationally ranked opponents at 10-1, and the Bears' schedule ranks as the nation's ninth-toughest entering the week.
Of Baylor's 38 games this season, 30 were against teams ranked in the RPI top 100 with 22 games against the RPI top 50 and 14 games against the RPI top 30. The Bears are 10-4 against the top 30, including an 8-4 mark against the top 20 and a 4-2 mark against the top 10.

BAYLOR SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST
Baylor's 2005 schedule ranked fourth nationally preseason and is ranked ninth in this week's rankings at www.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.
The Bears are a national-best 10-1 this season against ranked opponents, including a 6-0 mark against teams ranked in the top 10.
Baylor opened the season at the Minute Maid Park College Classic, followed by a streak of six consecutive weekend series against teams ranked nationally in the Baseball America Preseason Top 25. The Bears played 20 consecutive weekend games against teams ranked nationally in one of the four major polls at some point this season.

ARSENAL OF OPPOSING ARMS CONTINUES
Through 40 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 40 opposing starting pitchers Baylor has faced this season had a combined 87-34 record entering their starts against Baylor. However, the Bears' opposing starting pitchers are 11-21 in their games against the Bears.
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).

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 398-248-1 (.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 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.

UP NEXT ...
After a nine-game stretch with only one home game, Baylor returns home for the first of five straight games at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears host Texas-Arlington for a 6 p.m. CDT first pitch Tuesday, April 26. The Mavericks won each of the first two meetings this season, including a 2-0 decision at Arlington two weeks ago.