THE SERIES
Overall Record: Baylor leads 35-14
Waco: Baylor leads 28-11
San Marcos: Baylor leads 7-3
Neutral Site: Never Met
Smith vs. Texas State: 21-9
First Meeting: result unknonw [3/26/1919]
Last Meeting: Baylor 4, at Texas State 3 [2/28/2006]

COACHES
BAYLOR: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 440-273-1 [12th season]
Record at Baylor: 440-273-1 [12th season]
TEXAS STATE: Ty Harrington
Alma Mater: Texas, 1989
Career Record: 219-175 [8th season]
Record at Texas State: 219-175 [8th season]

BAYLOR/ISP SPORTS 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
Sports Weekly/ESPN/Coaches RV
NCBWA RV
Collegiate Baseball NR

BAYLOR STARTER
Baylor sends RHP Randall Linebaugh to the mound for his seventh start of the season Tuesday against Texas State. This is Linebaugh's first start since March 28 against Texas Southern; he missed two weeks of action with an arm injury.
All of Linebaugh's career starts have come this season; Baylor is 5-1 in those games. He is tied for third on the team with 12 appearances this season. ... Wednesday is Linebaugh's second career start against Texas State. He had a no-decision at San Marcos earlier this season.

THE TEXAS STATE SERIES
Baylor and Texas State meet for the 50th time on the diamond Tuesday. The Bears hold a 35-14 advantage in the all-time series and have won 21 of 30 meetings during head coach Steve Smith's tenure.
The teams first met March 26, 1919. Baylor is 28-11 against the Bobcats in Waco, including a 9-5 mark at Baylor Ballpark.

BAYLOR vs. THE SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
Baylor is 273-127-1 all-time against current members of the Southland Conference, 95-30 during head coach Steve Smith's tenure. Baylor has played more games against Southland Conference teams than any other active conference (non-Big 12).

LAST TIME vs. TEXAS STATE
BAYLOR 4, TEXAS STATE 3 -- FEB. 28, 2006 • SAN MARCOS, TEXAS
Zach Dillon's two-out RBI triple in the top of the seventh provided the eventual winning run as Baylor edged Texas State 4-3 at Bobcat Field. Texas State put two runners on base with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, but Jeff Mandel got Cody Merrell to foul out, ending the threat and the game for a save.
Baylor grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth on Tim Jackson's two-run double and Seth Hammock's RBI single, all coming with two outs. The Bobcats tied the game in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a Luke Cannon three-run home run.
Cannon's homer spoiled a strong start by Randall Linebaugh, who held Texas State scoreless on two hits and two walks with four strikeouts in 4.0 innings. Nick Cassavechia earned the victory, striking out Thomas Field with the bases loaded in the sixth. Cassavechia, the third of six Baylor pitchers on the night, tossed just one-third of an inning.
Dillon, Jackson and Beamer Weems collected two hits each; Weems scored twice.

BAYLOR-TEXAS STATE ODDS AND ENDS
• Active Baylor batters are 19-for-68 (.279) with five doubles, four triples and seven RBI in their careers against Texas State.
• RF Kevin Sevigny has been hit by a pitch three times in 14 career plate appearances against the Bobcats.
• 3B Kevin Russo has a .583 career on base percentage against Texas State, going 3-for-8 with four walks in three games.
• Both of C Zach Dillon's two career triples have come against Texas State, one last year and one this season.
• Texas State's Thomas Field is a graduate of Hewitt's Midway High School.
• Texas State's Aaron Garza transferred from Vanderbilt, where he played in the Commodores' three-game series against Baylor in 2004 (1-for-10, 2B, RBI) and in 2005 (2-for-11, BB, 2 HBP).
• Texas State's Ryan Bennett began his career at Baylor. He spent the 2002 through 2004 seasons with the Bears (redshirt in 2003). Bennett appeared in eight games at Baylor with one start; he posted an 0-0 record with a 3.60 ERA, allowing four runs on nine hits and six walks with eight strikeouts in 10.0 innings.
• DH/C Matt Sodolak and DH/1B Tim Jackson were teammates of Texas State's Heath Keel at McLennan Community College.
• 3B Kevin Russo and C Matt Czimskey were teammates of Texas State's Tyler Bryant at San Jacinto College.
• Texas State's Jared Bunn began his collegiate career at Kansas State; however, he did not face the Bears while playing for the Wildcats.
• RHP Reed Woytek was a teammate of Texas State's Kyle Gembler and Dawid Bednarek at Round Rock [Texas] High School.
• Texas State pitchers B.J. Boening and Dan Donaldson began their collegiate careers at Texas A&M. Boening never appeared against Baylor for the Aggies. Donaldson appeared in two games against the Bears during the 2004 season; he allowed one hit and a walk in 0.2 innings.

BAYLOR SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST
Baylor's 2006 schedule ranks as the nation's 19th-toughest through games of April 16. All but one of Baylor's 15 losses this season came against teams currently with a records above .500. The lone loss to a team without a current winning record was a 4-3 loss March 3 at then-No. 16 Long Beach State, which is now 16-17-1. The Bears' 15 losses have come against 10 teams: Arizona State, Houston, Kansas, Long Beach State, Louisiana Tech, Oklahoma, Rice, Texas, TCU and Texas Tech. Those teams have combined 250-131-2 (.655) record this season. Of the 131 losses, 33 came against each other, and those 10 teams are 15-8 against Baylor for an adjusted winning percentage of .722 (235-90-2).

DILLON MAKES A HABIT OF REACHING BASE
Through games of April 16, C Zach Dillon leads the Big 12 Conference with a .528 on base percentage. He joins Nebraska's Jared Goedert (.507) and Oklahoma State's Corey Brown (.500) as the league's only players with an on base percentage of .500 or better. Dillon has reached safely in 21 straight games and in 57 of the last 58, dating back to last season. He also has reached in 26 consecutive Big 12 games and in 40 of 42 league contests since the start of the 2005 season.
Dillon also leads the conference in league play with a ..537 on base percentage, 17 points higher than any other player. Currently ranks Baylor's all-time leader with a .453 on base percentage in Big 12 games, Dillon leads the conference in free passes (41), walks (36) and times reached base safely (85).

BEARS TOUGH WITH LEAD IN NINTH
Tuesday's loss to No. 2 Rice snapped a streak of 34 consecutive wins for Baylor when leading after eight innings. It was the first such loss for the Bears at home since Feb. 4, 2003, against Texas State. Baylor is 140-7 when leading after eight innings since the beginning of the 2002 season. In fact, the Bears had won 69 of their last 70 such games prior to Tuesday.
Baylor has not lost when leading by more than one run after eight since the 2003 game against Texas State when the Bobcats scored seven runs in the ninth to overcome a 5-2 Baylor lead.

BAYLOR IN BIG 12 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Through games of April 16, Baylor ranks seventh in the league in team batting average (.290), sixth in team ERA (4.36) and third in team fielding percentage (.973). The Bears also are tied for the league lead in triples (19) and rank third in stolen bases (53). Baylor (.290/.383) and Missouri (.285/.387) are the only Big 12 teams with on base percentages at least 90 points higher than their batting average.
In league games, Baylor ranks third in the Big 12 in team batting average (.307), seventh in team ERA (5.02) and fourth in team fielding percentage (.975). Baylor is the only team hitting better in league play than in non-conference games. The Bears are hitting 30 points better in league games than in non-Big 12 contests (.277). This would be the fourth consecutive season in which Baylor has posted a higher batting average in Big 12 action than in non-conference action.
Here is how Baylor players rank individually:
OVERALL
BATTING AVERAGE: Zach Dillon (12th, .379)
TRIPLES: Seth Fortenberry (1st, 7); Beamer Weems (t-5th, 4); Kevin Sevigny (t-7th, 3)
HOME RUNS: Seth Fortenberry (t-10th, 6)
STOLEN BASES: Seth Fortenberry (t-5th, 13); Kevin Russo (t-8th, 11)
WALKS: Zach Dillon (1st, 33); Kevin Russo (10th, 21)
ON BASE PERCENTAGE: Zach Dillon (1st, .528)
ERA: Ryan LaMotta (10th, 3.05)
WINS: Ryan LaMotta (t-6th, 5)
SAVES: Jeff Mandel (t-2nd, 7)
GAMES STARTED: Ryan LaMotta (t-9th, 10)
COMPLETE GAMES: Ryan LaMotta (t-4th, 1)
SHUTOUTS: Ryan LaMotta (t-1st, 1)

BIG 12 GAMES
BATTING AVERAGE: Zach Dillon (3rd, .440); Chase Gerdes (20th, .346); Beamer Weems (21st, .345)
HITS: Chase Gerdes (t-4th, 22)
RUNS: Beamer Weems (2nd, 17); Chase Gerdes (t-7th, 12)
RBI: Zach Dillon (t-7th, 14); Matt Sodolak (t-7th, 14)
DOUBLES: Beamer Weems (t-5th, 5); Ben Booker (t-5th, 5)
TRIPLES: Seth Fortenberry (t-1st, 2); Matt Sodolak (t-7th, 1); Beamer Weems (t-7th, 1)
TOTAL BASES: Seth Fortenberry (t-10th, 30)
STOLEN BASES: Seth Fortenberry (1st, 8); Kevin Russo (t-2nd, 6); Chase Gerdes (t-7th, 4); Matt Sodolak (t-7th, 4)
WALKS: Zach Dillon (t-1st, 11); Kevin Russo (t-5th, 9); Beamer Weems (t-5th, 9)
ON BASE PERCENTAGE: Zach Dillon (1st, .537)
ERA: Ryan LaMotta (5th, 2.41)
WINS: Ryan LaMotta (t-3rd, 3); Tim Matthews (t-8th, 2)
INNINGS: Ryan LaMotta (2nd, 37.1); Cory VanAllen (8th, 30.1)
STRIKEOUTS: Ryan LaMotta (6th, 24)
APPEARANCES: Nick Cassavechia (t-6th, 7); Jeff Mandel (t-8th, 6)
GAMES STARTED: Ryan LaMotta (t-1st, 5); Tim Matthews (t-1st, 5); Cory VanAllen (t-1st, 5)
SAVES: Nick Cassavechia (t-5th, 2), Jeff Mandel (t-5th, 2)
COMPLETE GAMES: Ryan LaMotta (t-3rd, 1)
SHUTOUTS: Ryan LaMotta (t-1st, 1)
OPPONENTS' BATTING AVERAGE: Ryan LaMotta (8th, .228)

NUMBERS WATCH
• C Zach Dillon needs two walks to reach 100 career walks.
• CF Chase Gerdes needs two stolen bases to reach 30 career steals.
• RHP Ryan LaMotta needs 18 strikeouts to move into sixth place on Baylor's career strikeouts list. He also needs one-third of an inning to crack Baylor's career innings top 10 and one win to reach 20 career wins.
• RHP Jeff Mandel needs two saves to move into a sixth-place tie on Baylor's career saves list. He needs one save to move into a sixth-place tie on Baylor's single-season saves list and three saves to become the fifth pitcher in Baylor history to record at least 10 saves in one season.

LaMOTTA CLIMBS STRIKEOUTS LIST
RHP Ryan LaMotta moved into seventh place on Baylor's career strikeouts list with his four-strikeout effort last Friday against Oklahoma State. He needs 18 strikeouts to match Trey Taylor for sixth all-time at Baylor. LaMotta currently has 235 career strikeouts in 276.1 innings pitched.
1. Jason Jennings - 377
2. Steven White - 320
3. Kris Lambert - 292
4. Kip Wells - 288
5. Josh Scott - 285
6. Trey Taylor - 253
7. Ryan LaMotta - 235
8. Justin Taylor - 229
9. Glenn Nevill - 225
10. Zane Carlson - 225

TRIPLE YOUR PLEASURE
Baylor has 19 triples through its first 37 games of the 2006 season. The Bears had only 21 three-baggers in 70 games last season. LF Seth Fortenberry leads the Big 12 Conference with seven triples, three more than his career total entering the 2006 season and two more than CF Chase Gerdes' team-leading total of five last season. SS Beamer Weems has four triples, RF Kevin Sevigny has three and C Matt Sodolak has two. C Zach Dillon, Gerdes and 1B/RHP Jeff Mandel have the other three triples.

LaMOTTA REACHES 100 APPEARANCES
RHP Ryan LaMotta made his 100th career appearance March 10 with his start against Pacific. Of his previous 99 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 is 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 22 games this season through games of April 16.

BAYLOR STRONG IN LATEST APR REPORT
Baylor's baseball team scored a 961 in the latest Academic Progress Rate (APR), released Wednesday by the NCAA. That score was the best among the eight Big 12 schools whose scores were released; scores for Kansas and Texas A&M have not yet been released. Baylor was the only Big 12 baseball team that scored above the national male student-athlete average (943). The Bears joined Missouri as the only Big 12 baseball teams to score above the national baseball average (931).
961 - BAYLOR
941 - Missouri
924 - Nebraska
906 - Oklahoma
903 - Kansas State
888 - Texas
812 - Oklaohma State
778 - Texas Tech
n/a - Kansas
n/a - Texas A&M

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.

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.

BEARCASTS 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.

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.

HEAD COACH Steve Smith
Steve Smith is in his 12th season as head coach of Baylor's baseball program in 2006. In his first 11 years, Smith guided the program to unprecedented heights, including the most successful eight-year run in the program's 100-year history and a College World Series appearance in 2005.
Smith has compiled a 440-273-1 career record, all at Baylor. He holds the best winning percentage (.617) 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 seven NCAA Regional appearances, three NCAA Super Regional appearances, one College World Series appearance and two Big 12 Conference titles. He also has coached 12 All-America selections and seven USA Baseball National Team members while at Baylor.
The 2005 USA Baseball National Team head coach, 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 for Mark Johnson at Texas A&M from 1987 to 1989.
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.
Smith has tutored seven pitchers in the last 13 years who were selected in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. He also has coached at least one all-conference pitcher in each of the last 13 years.

BAYLOR: BIG 12'S MOST TENURED STAFF
With 38 years of combined service at Baylor, the Bears' on-field staff is the Big 12 Conference's most tenured. Head coach Steve Smith joins Missouri head coach Tim Jamieson as the league's second-most tenured head coaches, both in their 12th season in 2006 and trailing only Texas Tech's Larry Hays (20th season).
Assistant coach Mitch Thompson (12th year) joined the Baylor staff in Smith's first season, while assistant coach Steve Johnigan (11th year) joined the following season. Volunteer assistant coach Chris Berry (7th year) joined the staff prior to the 2000 season and assumed pitching coach duties this season.
Thompson and Johnigan are the second- and third-most tenured assistant coaches in the Big 12 behind only Texas' Tommy Harmon (16 seasons). In fact, Harmon, Thompson, Johnigan and Missouri's Evan Pratte are the only assistant coaches with more tenure at their respective schools than Berry.

UP NEXT ...
Baylor returns to Big 12 Conference action this weekend with the annual split series against Texas A&M. The Bears and the Aggies begin the weekend Friday with a 3 p.m. CDT game at Olsen Field in College Station. The series then shifts to Baylor Ballpark for games Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Baylor swept last season's series, and the Bears have won five of the last six series against the Aggies.