Feb. 20, 2006
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GAME 5 • FEB. 21, 2006 • 6:00 P.M. CST
BAYLOR (4-0)
vs. UT-SAN ANTONIO (3-4)
BAYLOR BALLPARK • WACO, TEXAS
THE SERIES
Overall Record: Baylor leads 23-2
Waco: Baylor leads 16-1
San Antonio: Baylor leads 7-1
Neutral Site: Never Met
Smith vs. UTSA: 21-0
First Meeting: Baylor 12, UTSA 4 [2/23/1993]
Last Meeting: Baylor 8, UTSA 3 [6/4/2005]
COACHES
BAYLOR: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 422-258-1 [12th season]
Record at Baylor: 422-258-1 [12th season]
UT-SAN ANTONIO: Sherman Corbett
Alma Mater: Texas A&M, 1985
Career Record: 141-154 [7th season]
Record at UTSA: 141-154 [7th season]
BAYLOR-ISP SPORTS RADIO NETWORK
1660 ESPN RADIO (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 NR
USA Today/Sports Weekly Coaches 25th
Collegiate Baseball 20th
NCBWA 30th
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
UTSA RHP Blake Brannon (1-2, 2.53 ERA, 10.2 IP, 8 K)
Baylor returns to action Tuesday, hosting Texas-San Antonio for a single game at Baylor Ballpark. First pitch between the Bears and the Roadrunners is scheduled for 6 p.m. CST. Tickets are available by calling the Baylor ticket office at 254.710.1000 or online at
www.BaylorBears.com.
The Bears (4-0) have not played since defeating Texas-Arlington 17-4 at home last Tuesday night, overcoming an early 4-0 deficit. With that win, Baylor moved to 4-0 for the first time since 1993. All three games against California last weekend were cancelled due to inclement weather. The Bears are ranked 25th nationally in the latest USA Today/Sports Weekly Coaches Poll and 20th in this week's Collegiate Baseball Top 30.
The Roadrunners (3-4) defeated Army 5-4 Sunday in final-day action of the UTSA Express Collegiate Classic. UTSA fell to Kentucky 10-4 in Friday's action; Saturday's action was cancelled due to inclement weather. The Roadrunners are 0-1 against the Big 12 Conference this season, falling at Texas 6-1 last Tuesday. UTSA is unranked in all four major polls after opening the season at No. 25 in the Baseball America Top 25.
All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on Waco's 1660 ESPN Radio. 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 CSTV Network.
QUICK HITS ...
• Since the start of the 2003 season, Baylor is:
- 92-27 (.773) when its starting pitcher last at least 5.0 innings
- 23-7 (.767) when its pitching staff records at least 10 strikeouts
- 91-24 (.791) when scoring first since
- 107-21 (.836) when out-hitting its opponent
- 91-24 (.791) when holding its opponent to fewer than five runs
- 91-18 (.835) when scoring at least six runs
- 80-13 (.860) when scoring at least seven runs
• Baylor has won 26 consecutive games when scoring at least seven runs.
• Baylor has won 14 consecutive games when hitting at least two home runs.
• 2B
Kevin Russo has hit safely in 11 consecutive games dating back to last season.
• Russo has not committed an error since May 11, 2005 at Rice (26 games, 73 chances).
• C
Zach Dillon has reached safely in 12 consecutive games dating back to last season.
• OF
Kevin Sevigny has not committed an error since May 14, 2004 vs. Nebraska (74 games, 143 chances)
• SS
Beamer Weems is the first Baylor true freshman to start at shorstop since Jace Brewer in 1999.
• 1B
Ben Booker is the first Baylor true freshman to start at first base since Ken Kolkhorst in 1975.
• Several Bears enjoyed career firsts last Tuesday against Texas-Arlington:
- RHP
Owen Reid -- win
- SS
Beamer Weems -- home run
- OF
Paul Miles -- RBI
- C
Matt Czimskey -- hit, run
- C
Matt Sodolak -- hit, run, stolen base
- 1B/3B
Tim Jackson -- run
• Baylor's 2006 schedule was rated as the nation's 10th toughest, according to preseason rankings at
www.BoydsWorld.com. Georgia, which ranks ninth, joins Baylor as the only non-California school in the top 10.
• From the weekend of Feb. 17-19 to March 3-5, Baylor plays three consecutive weekend series against opponents ranked preseason.
• Baylor plays 21 games against eight teams that appeared in the 2005 NCAA Regionals. The Bears play 11 games against four teams that appeared in the 2005 NCAA Super Regionals and nine games against three teams that reached the College World Series last season.
• Baylor Ballpark has ranked 21st or better nationally in average attendance every year since the facility's opening in 1999, including a program-best ninth in 2001. Baylor ranked 16th nationally in total attendance last season with a school-record mark of 109,621 and 17th nationally in average attendance at 3,045 per game, second all-time at Baylor.
• Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, the Bears have the league's best conference record at 156-91 (.631). Baylor leads all conference schools in total first- and second-team All-Big 12 selections (42), first-team Academic All-Big 12 selections (45), NCAA appearances (7) and Major League Baseball draft selections (51).
• The Bears are the only Big 12 Conference program to have been ranked in the top 10 nationally at some point during each of the past eight seasons (1998-2005).
• Baylor is the only Big 12 school to have never suffered a sub-.500 season in conference play.
• The Bears join Oklahoma and Oklahoma State as the only programs to have qualified for every Big 12 Tournament.
THE TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO SERIES
Baylor and Texas-San Antonio meet on the diamond for the 26th time Tuesday. The Bears hold a commanding 23-2 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to a 12-4 Baylor victory Feb. 23, 1993 at San Antonio. UTSA began its baseball program in 1992.
The teams last met in the first round of last year's NCAA Waco Regional at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears got a three-run Reid Brees home run in the first inning and went on to prevail 8-3.
Nearly all the Baylor-UTSA contests have come during head coach Steve Smith's tenure. The Bears are 21-0 against the Roadrunners in that time, including a 4-2 victory at UTSA and a 6-5 victory at Baylor Ballpark earlier last season. UTSA's two victories in the series both came during the 1994 season: 10-2 at San Antonio (2/23) and 7-6 at Ferrell Field (4/27).
BAYLOR STARTER
Baylor's opening weekend rotation of RHP
Ryan LaMotta, LHP
Cory VanAllen and RHP
Tim Matthews will split Tuesday's game against Texas-San Antonio. Each is scheduled to throw three innings.
LaMotta makes his fifth career start Friday. Baylor is 3-1 in his previous four starts; LaMotta is 2-1 with one no-decision.
TRIPLE YOUR PLEASURE
Through four games, Baylor has five triples. The Bears had only 21 three-baggers in 70 games last season. LF
Seth Fortenberry leads the Big 12 Conference with three triples, collecting one in each of the Bears' first two games and a third Tuesday against UT-Arlington. DH
Jeff Mandel, RF
Kevin Sevigny and SS
Beamer Weems have the other three triples. In fact, six of Baylor's 11 extra-base hits this season are triples.
LaMOTTA JOINS 200 CLUB
RHP
Ryan LaMotta became the 15th pitcher in Baylor history to record at least 200 strikeouts with his first strikeout of the 2006 season. He has 204 career strikeouts in 222.2 innings pitched. Here are the Baylor pitchers who have amassed at least 200 career strikeouts:
Jason Jennings
- 377
Steven White
- 320
Kris Lambert
- 292
Kip Wells
- 288
Josh Scott
- 285
Trey Taylor
- 253
Justin Taylor
- 229
Glenn Nevill
- 225
Zane Carlson
- 225
Brett Bergman
- 224
Mark McCormick
- 223
Chad Hawkins
- 214
Frank Foltyn
- 209
Jared Theodorakos
- 205
Ryan LaMotta - 204
BEARS PRODUCE WITH TWO OUTS
Baylor hits .313 (15-for-48) with two outs this season, nearly 100 points higher than with less than two outs (.228, 18-for-79). The Bears have produced 19 of their 30 RBI with two outs. C
Zach Dillon and 2B
Kevin Russo lead the team with six two-out RBI each, while LF
Seth Fortenberry leads the team with four two-out hits.
STARTERS SHINE IN OPENING WEEKEND
Baylor's starting rotation posted a 2-0 record with a 0.55 ERA, 17 strikeouts, two walks and a .148 opponents' batting average over 16.1 innings of work in the season-opening series against Stephen F. Austin. In fact, RHP
Ryan LaMotta, LHP
Cory VanAllen and RHP
Tim Matthews held the Jacks scoreless for 15.2 innings before SFA plated a one-out run in the sixth Sunday against Matthews.
BAYLOR IN BIG 12 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Through games of Feb. 19, Baylor ranks ninth in the league in team batting average (.260), first in team ERA (1.25) and fifth in team fielding percentage (.968).
Individually at the plate, LF
Seth Fortenberry leads the conference with three triples, and C
Zach Dillon is tied for fourth with six walks. Dillon is sixth in on base percentage (.556), while Fortenberry is eighth (.529). Fortenberry also ranks third in the conference in slugging percentage (1.077).
Individually on the mound, RHP
Ryan LaMotta and LHP
Cory VanAllen are tied for the conference lead with a 0.00 ERA. RHP
Jeff Mandel is tied for fouth with one save. VanAllen ranks fourth in opponents' batting average (.118), while RHP
Tim Matthews ranks sixth (.158) and LaMotta ranks seventh (.167).
LaMOTTA NEARS CENTURY MARK
RHP
Ryan LaMotta makes his 97th career appearance Friday with his start against California. Of his previous 96 appearances, 92 were in relief. The senior drew three starts as a freshman in 2003, including the championship game of the NCAA Hattiesburgh Regional. In that game, he held Southern Mississippi to a pair of runs on six hits over 8.1 innings.
LaMotta aims to become just the second pitcher in Baylor history to appear in at least 100 games. Zane Carlson appeared in 111 games from 2000 to 2004, a mark that ranks first in Big 12 history and 20th in NCAA Division I history.
If LaMotta appears in 15 games this season, Baylor would join Georgia Tech, Miami (Fla.) and North Carolina as the only schools in NCAA Division I history to have two pitchers appear in at least 110 career games. LaMotta and Carlson, who played together in the 2003 and 2004 seasons, would be the first Division I teammates to both reach the milestone.
Florida closer Darren O'Day entered the season with entered the season with 84 career appearances. Should O'Day reach 26 appearances this season prior to LaMotta's 15th appearance, Florida would be the first school with teammates to both reach 110 career appearances (Florida's Connor Falkenbach appeared in 124 games from 2002 to 2005). O'Day has appeared in two games this season through games of Feb. 12.
SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST
Baylor's 2006 schedule was ranked as the nation's 10th toughest in preseason rankings at
www.BoydsWorld.com. The Bears and ninth-ranked Georgia were the lone non-California schools in the top 10.
Last season, Baylor's schedule was ranked seventh at season's end as the only non-California school in the top 10. The Bears' strength of schedule has ranked 11th or better nationally in each of the past five seasons, ranking 11th in 2004, fifth in 2003, seventh in 2002 and 10th in 2001.
2005 SEASON HIGHLIGHT DVD ON SALE
"Experience the Dogpile," a comprehensive season highlight DVD that chronicles Baylor's 2005 season, is on sale at the Baylor baseball office. The one-hour, 47-minute piece features highlights, interviews and commentary on the program's most successful season. To order, call 254.710.3029.
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 CSTV Network, which currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including four Big 12 schools.
STREAMING VIDEO AVAILABLE FOR SELECT GAMES
Live streaming video is available for select games during the 2006 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 CSTV Network. Thirteen of the 24 webcasts will be against Big 12 Conference opponents, including the Bears' three-game league sets against Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Nebraska, as well as the home game of the Texas series.
BAYLOR-ISP SPORTS NETWORK
Catch every inning of Baylor baseball in 2006 on the flagship station for Baylor athletics, 1660 ESPN Radio.
Popular on-air personality Tom Barfield enters his fourth season as the primary play-by-play man 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 also serves as host for the "Countdown to Kickoff" and "The Baylor Fifth Quarter Show" during football season. He has previously served as the radio voice for Tarleton State, McLennan Community College, Mary Hardin-Baylor and several high schools across the state.
Barfield is joined by Lark Smith in the booth. 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 audio for all Baylor baseball games also are available online at www.BaylorBears.com.
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 ...
Baylor continues its season-opening home stand this weekend, hosting Arizona State for a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark. ASU holds a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series. This is the Sun Devils' first trip to Waco as all five previous meetings were at Tempe, Ariz.
This will be the first series between 2005 College World Series participants this season. Texas defeated Tulane 4-2 at the Houston College Classic, and Oregon State defeated Arizona State 11-0 at the Spring Training Classic.
