Feb. 23, 2006
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#18 BAYLOR (6-3) TRAVELS TO THE PALM SPRINGS CLASSIC
Feb. 24-26, 2006
Big League Dreams Park - Palm Springs, Calif.
THE SCHEDULE
Friday, Feb. 24
Baylor vs. Pacific, 3:00 p.m.
Baylor vs. Oregon, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 25
Baylor vs. Stanford, 3:00 p.m.
Baylor vs. Oregon State, 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 26
Baylor vs. Long Island, 11:00 a.m.
THE SERIES
Baylor vs. Pacific: Series tied 1-1
Baylor vs. Oregon: Baylor leads 2-1
Baylor vs. Stanford: Series tied 1-1
Baylor vs. Oregon State: Series tied 1-1
Baylor vs. Long Island: Baylor leads 1-0
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: None
Live Audio: None
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Television: None
Winners of five of its last six games, the No. 18 Baylor softball team returns to action this weekend when the Lady Bears travel to Palm Springs, Calif., to play in the Palm Springs Classic. The tournament is the beginning of a tough stretch of non-conference opponents as Baylor will face a trio of ranked teams at the tournament.
Baylor opens play at the tournament on Friday, Feb. 24, when the Lady Bears face Pacific at 3:00 p.m. The Lady Bears will then face three-straight ranked opponents beginning with No. 22 Oregon at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24. Baylor will then face No. 6 Stanford at 3:00 p.m. and No. 11 Oregon State at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25, before closing out the tournament on Sunday, Feb. 26, at 11:00 a.m. against Long Island.
The trip to the Palm Springs Classic marks the second time in three years the Lady Bears have played in the tournament as Baylor went 3-2, losing to top-ranked UCLA and Tennessee, at the classic in 2004. Baylor owns a 6-4 record all-time against the teams the Lady Bears will face at the tournament as Long Island was the only team the Lady Bears faced last season.
QUICK NOTES
• Baylor is No. 19 in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and No. 18 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25.
• Baylor's appearance in both polls marks the 29th consecutive week the Lady Bears have appeared in the NFCA Top 25 and the 28th consecutive week the team has appeared in the USA Softball Top 25.
• Baylor is 125-5 over the past five seasons when scoring at least four runs.
• Baylor is 104-13 over the past four seasons when collecting at least eight hits.
• Baylor is 149-16 over the past five seasons when out-hitting its opponent.
• Baylor is 52-12 over the past two seasons at Getterman Stadium, including a 23-6 mark at home last season.
• Baylor's Chelsi Lake and Harmony Schwethelm were named to the ASA Softball National Player of the Year Preseason Watch List. The selection to the watch list marked the first time in school history Baylor players have been named to the preseason list.
• Baylor's Kelly Osburn and Lisa Ferguson successfully underwent off-season surgery and are available for the start of the 2006 season.
• Baylor's Harmony Schwethelm was one of 20 players in the country selected in the inaugural PFX Tour Draft and was also the 13th overall selection in the NPF Draft (Philadelphia Force).
SCOUTING PACIFIC (3-6)
Losers of six of its last seven, Pacific enters the Palm Springs Classic riding a three-game losing streak. The Tigers have faced a tough schedule to open the season as Pacific has dropped four one-run contests, including one-run losses to No. 18 Missouri (3-2) and No. 3 Arizona (1-0).
The Tigers are led by junior Jennifer Curtier, who currently ranks second on the team with a .375 batting average and has recorded one home run and two RBI on the season. Gina Carbonatto is also off to a fast start for the Tigers as she leads the team with a .531 average this season and seven runs scored.
In the circle, Pacific features Alyce Jorgenson, who leads the team with a 2.14 ERA in 16.1 innings of work. The Tigers have used five pitchers so far this season as Chelsea Engle leads the team with 22 strikeouts in 20 innings of work.
Pacific won the last meeting against the Lady Bears, picking up a 2-1 victory in Waco on Feb. 7, 2004.
SCOUTING NO. 22 OREGON (6-4)
No. 22 Oregon enters the weekend after going 2-3 at the Las Vegas Desert Classic, defeating Hawai'i and UTEP while falling to nationally-ranked Tennessee, Utah State and Colorado State.
The Ducks, who were picked to finish eighth in the Pac-10 Conference, are led by Breanne Sabol, who leads the team with a .433 batting average and 12 runs scored on the season. Sabol also leads the team with three home runs and eight RBI.
In the circle, Oregon features Melissa Rice, who leads the team with a 0.89 ERA in 15.2 innings of work. In addition, Amy Harris has pitched well for the Ducks, going 4-2 on the season with a 1.87 ERA while striking out 38.
Baylor owns a 2-1 edge in the series as all three meeting came during the 2001 campaign.
SCOUTING NO. 6 STANFORD (9-1)
Stanford, the highest ranked team Baylor will face at the tournament, travels to Palm Springs after a successful weekend at home in the Stanford Invitational. The Cardinal won all six games at the Invite, over Santa Clara, Drake, Birmingham Southern and Sacramento State. Freshman Missy Penna pitched three wins in the circle, including Drake in which she struck out 11 batters. Penna is now 5-1 on the season. Senior Catalina Morris hit .381 for the weekend, including two home runs and seven RBI.
The Cardinal, whose only loss on the season came at the hands of Texas, are led by Morris, who is currently hitting .421 on the season and leads the team with three home runs and 12 RBI.
The Cardinal are currently batting .336 as a team as Stanford has outscored its opponents 65-11 on the season.
SCOUTING NO. 11 OREGON STATE (8-2)
Oregon State, the host team at the Palm Springs Classic, enters the tournament winners of eight in a row after sweeping through the Las Vegas Desert Classic last weekend.
The Beavers are led by Adrieene Also who leads the team with a .455 average on the season while blasting four home runs and 13 RBI. Cambria Miranda is also off to a fast start for Oregon State as she leads the team with 11 runs scored this year.
Brianne McGowan has seen the most action for Oregon State in the circle this year as she has posted a 5-1 record on the season with a 2.48 ERA. In 42.1 innings of work this year, McGowan has struck out 39 batters while holding opponents to a .252 average on the year.
The meeting between the schools will mark the first since Feb. 11, 1999, when Baylor claimed a 5-3 win over Oregon State in Honolulu, Hawai'i.
SCOUTING LONG ISLAND (2-3)
Long Island enters the tournament after going 2-3 at the FAU Dunkin Donuts Classic in Boca Raton, Fla. The Blackbirds picked up wins over Florida Atlantic and Mississippi at the tournament while dropping one contest to nationally-ranked Alabama.
Brittany Murphy has led the Blackbird attack this season as she currently leads the team with a .285 batting average, going 4-for-14 this year.
Freshman Jenny Giles has pitched every inning for Long Island this year, posting a 3.00 ERA in 35 innings of work.
Baylor won the only meeting between the two schools with an 8-0 victory over Long Island at last year's Speedline Classic.
BAYLOR SOFTBALL IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
After going 4-1 last week at the Marriott Houston Hobby Invitational, the Lady Bears are ranked No. 18 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll released Tuesday. In addition, Baylor earned a No. 19 ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25.
Baylor is one of six Big 12 Conference school ranked in the current polls as Texas (No. 4 ESPN.com/No. 4 USA Today), Texas A&M (No. 8, No. 8), Oklahoma (No. 10, No. 10), Nebraska (No. 18, No. 17) and Missouri (RV, No. 24) join Baylor in the rankings.
Arizona, with a perfect 11-0 record, claimed the top spot in both polls this week.
Baylor's appearance in both polls marks the 29th consecutive week the Lady Bears have appeared in the NFCA Top 25 and the 28th consecutive week the team has appeared in the USA Softball Top 25. The last time Baylor failed to appear in either poll was March 16, 2004.
BAYLOR LADY BEARS IN THE CAREER CHARTS
Several Lady Bears are aiming to continue making their way up the career charts in 2006. Below is a list of Lady Bears who currently rank in the top ten in one of the career categories:
BATTING RECORDS
RUNS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 131); Harmony Schwethelm (5th, 109)
HITS: Harmony Schwethelm (5th, 193); Kelly Osburn 6th, 178)
MULTIPLE-HIT GAMES: Harmony Schwethelm (4th, 55); Kelly Osburn (6th, 42)
DOUBLES: Kelly Osburn (2nd, 37); Chelsi Lake (t-6th, 26); Tessa Lynam (10th, 22)
TRIPLES: Harmony Schwethelm (t-4th, 7); Kelly Osburn (t-4th, 7); Chelsi Lake (t-10th, 4)
HOME RUNS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 25); Chelsi Lake (4th, 16); Tessa Lynam (t-6th, 14)
TOTAL BASES: Kelly Osburn (1st, 304); Harmony Schwethelm (6th, 226)
WALKS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 84)
HIT BY PITCH: Kelly Osburn (2nd, 17); Kylie Conroy (t-7th, 9)
SACRIFICE FLIES: Kelly Osburn (t-7th; 3); Chelsi Lake (t-7th, 3); Tessa Lynam (t-7th, 3)
SACRIFICE HITS: Harmony Schwethelm (6th, 25)
STOLEN BASES: Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 87); Kelly Osburn (4th, 67)
STOLEN BASE ATTEMPTS: Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 101); Kelly Osburn (4th, 80)
PITCHING RECORDS
APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 90); Tessa Lynam (8th, 33)
GAMES STARTED: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 56); Tessa Lynam (9th, 12)
RELIEF APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 34); Tessa Lynam (t-8th, 21); Nicole Jackson (10th, 20)
WINS: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 38); Tessa Lynam (8th, 12)
LOSSES: Lisa Ferguson (6th, 15); Tessa Lynam (t-9th, 4)
DECISIONS: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 53); Tessa Lynam (8th, 16)
COMPLETE GAMES: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 23); Tessa Lynam (10th, 4)
SHUTOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 13); Tessa Lynam (t-9th, 1)
SAVES: Lisa Ferguson (1st, 11); Tessa Lynam (t-5th, 4); Nicole Jackson (t-8th, 1)
INNINGS PITCHED: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 375.1); Tessa Lynam (8th, 100.1)
STRIKEOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 265); Tessa Lynam (8th, 89)
Kelly Osburn BREAKS PAIR OF CAREER RECORDS
With her solo home run to lead-off the game against Houston, Baylor senior Kelly Osburn pushed her career runs scored total to 129, breaking Michelle Sorrels (1996-99) career record of 128 runs scored. In three-plus seasons as a Lady Bear, Osburn has now scored 131 runs.
In addition to the runs scored record, with 10 total bases last weekend, Osburn pushed her career total to 304, surpassing Sarah Caudle (303, 2000-03) for the career lead in the category.
The records are just two of several where Osburn will hold the career lead once her career is over. Already Baylor's career leader in home runs (24), walks (82), runs scored (131) and total bases (304) the senior ranks second in doubles (37) and fourth in triples (7).
With a strong showing this weekend, Osburn could become Baylor's career leader in doubles as the senior left-fielder is currently one doubles shy of Caudle (38) for the career lead in the category.
UP NEXT...
Baylor returns home to face Texas State in a double-header beginning at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 1.
