BAYLOR STARTER
RHP Owen Reid makes his first career start Tuesday night at TCU. Reid, a true freshman from Moberly, Mo., has appeared in six games this season and is 1-0 with a 3.95 ERA in 13.2 innings with four walks and nine strikeouts. Baylor is 4-2 in his six appearances.

THE TCU SERIES
Baylor and TCU have met 231 times on the baseball diamond; the Bears hold a 132-99 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to the 1904 season. This is the third-most played series in Baylor Baseball history behind only Texas (314 meetings) and Texas A&M (249 meetings).
TCU holds a 48-47 advantage in series games played at Fort Worth, including a 2-1, 11-inning, regular-season victory last year. Prior to last season's loss, Baylor had won five straight at Fort Worth, going 4-0 at TCU since the end of the Southwest Conference in 1996.

BAYLOR vs. MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
Baylor is 140-100 all-time against teams currently playing in the Mountain West Conference. The majority of that history comes from Baylor's all-time series with TCU, against which the Bears are 132-99. TCU also is the only MWC team Baylor has faced during head coach Steve Smith's tenure; the Bears are 13-11 against the Frogs under Smith.

LAST TIME vs. TCU
BAYLOR 10, TCU 4 -- MARCH 21, 2006 • WACO, TEXAS
Kevin Sevigny went 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs, three runs and three RBI as Baylor handled TCU 10-4 at Baylor Ballpark. It was the Bears' fifth straight win over the Horned Frogs in Waco.
After TCU scored a run in the top of the first, Baylor answered with three runs on two hits, a walk, an error and a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning. Matt Sodolak plated the first run with an RBI fielder's choice. Zach Dillon then scored on a wild pitch, and Seth Fortenberry scored on a Ben Booker fielder's choice.
The Bears added a run in the second when Sevigny walked, stole second and then scored from second on a wild pitch. Baylor put the game out of reach in the third, scoring four runs on four hits. Jeff Mandel plated the first two runs on a single up the middle, and Sevigny followed with a two-run homer to left.
Sevigny produced the first two-homer game of his career in the fifth with a leadoff shot down the left-field line. Chase Gerdes followed with a double to the right-field corner, stole third and scored on a Seth Fortenberry sacrifice fly.
Baylor starter Randall Linebaugh allowed two runs on eight hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 5.0 innings to earn the victory.

BAYLOR-TCU ODDS AND ENDS
• C Zach Dillon (19), CF Chase Gerdes (16) and RF Kevin Sevigny (21) are the only 2006 Bears with at least 15 career at bats vs. TCU.
• Gerdes has been the most successful batter on Baylor's 2006 roster against TCU, going 6-for-16 (.375) with a double, a triple, four runs, three stolen bases and five RBI in five career games vs. the Horned Frogs.
• RHP Jeff Mandel is the lone pitcher in Baylor's bullpen with experience against TCU. He appeared in two games against the Horned Frogs last season, holding TCU scoreless on four hits with three strikeouts in 6.0 innings. He started and lasted 5.0 innings in a no-decision at TCU during the regular season.

BAYLOR STAVES OFF LOSING STREAKS
Baylor attempts to stop a two-game losing streak Tuesday at TCU. The Bears have not dropped three consecutive games since being swept at Texas Tech in the 2004 regular season's final series. That works out to a span of 103 consecutive games without a losing streak of at least three games and only seven occasions of consecutive losses. Last season was the first time since 1978 that Baylor did not have a losing streak of at least three games for an entire season.
This would be the ninth two-game skid stopped by the Bears since being swept at Tech in 2004.

WHERE HAVE ALL THE TWO-OUT HITS GONE?
Through the season's first six weeks, Baylor lived on two-out hits and two-out RBI. That success has waned in the past three weeks. The Bears hit .325 (64-for-197) with 55 two-out RBI through the season's first 17 games. Since then, Baylor is hitting .236 (29-for-123) with only 20 two-out RBI in 12 games.
At the same time, Baylor's opponents have found their two-out swing. In the first 17 games, Baylor pitchers held opposing batters to a .264 clip (46-for-174) with 26 RBI. In the last 12 games, opponents are hitting .336 (50-for-149) with 30 two-out RBI.

STREAKING FORTENBERRY SWINGS STRONG STICK
LF Seth Fortenberry currently has a 10-game hitting streak, the longest of his career and the longest by any Baylor player since Josh Ford's season-long 14-gamer last year. In fact, Fortenberry is the first Baylor outfielder with a hitting streak of at least 10 games since Reid Brees had an 11-game run in late 2004.
During the streak, Fortenberry is 15-for-36 (.417) with nine runs, a double, three home runs, 10 RBI, a .694 slugging percentage, a .439 on base percentage, four stolen bases in as many attempts and four multiple-hit games.
Furthermore, Fortenberry has hit safely in seven consecutive Big 12 games, going 10-for-27 (.370) in league play since failing to hit in the season's first two Big 12 games.

DILLON ERRORLESS STREAK ENDS
C Zach Dillon was charged with an error last Saturday at Texas Tech when his throw to second on a stolen base attempt skipped into right-center, allowing the base runner to reach third. It was Dillon's first error since April 24, 2005, also a throwing error in the same situation, at Nebraska. That snapped a streak of 54 consecutive errorless games for Dillon, including 35 starts at catcher. He had not committed an error in 220 consecutive chances.
Dillon has committed just six errors in 705 career chances for a .991 fielding percentage. Three of his six career errors were when throws to second on stolen base attempts skipped away from the middle infielder. Two of the six were on dropped popups (one fair, one foul) and the other error was on a throw to second trying to get a trailing runner after a play at the plate.

BAYLOR IN BIG 12 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Through games of April 2, Baylor ranks ninth in the league in team batting average (.282), sixth in team ERA (4.05) and third in team fielding percentage (.975).
In league games, Baylor ranks sxith in the league in team batting average (.282), ninth in team ERA (6.12) and third in team fielding percentage (.978). RHP Ryan LaMotta's 1.77 ERA in Big 12 games is second in the league among starting pitchers.
Here is how Baylor players rank individually:
OVERALL
TRIPLES: Seth Fortenberry (t-1st, 5); Beamer Weems (t-3rd, 4)
HOME RUNS: Seth Fortenberry (t-10th, 5)
STOLEN BASES: Kevin Russo (t-6th, 10); Seth Fortenberry (t-9th, 9)
WALKS: Zach Dillon (1st, 28)
ON BASE PERCENTAGE: Zach Dillon (2nd, .508)
SLUGGING PERCENTAGE: Seth Fortenberry (8th, .635)
WINS: Ryan LaMotta (t-7th, 4)
ERA: Ryan LaMotta (12th, 3.00); Randall Linebaugh (15th, 3.15)
SAVES: Jeff Mandel (2nd, 6)
GAMES STARTED: Ryan LaMotta (t-9th, 8)

BIG 12 GAMES
BATTING AVERAGE: Chase Gerdes (t-18th, .375)
HITS: Chase Gerdes (t-7th, 12)
RUNS: Beamer Weems (t-2nd, 9); Kevin Russo (t-5th, 8); Chase Gerdes (t-10th, 7)
RBI: Matt Sodolak (t-4th, 9)
DOUBLES: Beamer Weems (t-4th, 3); Ben Booker (t-4th, 3); Zach Dillon (t-9th, 2); Chase Gerdes (t-9th, 2); Matt Sodolak (t-9th, 2)
TRIPLES: Beamer Weems (t-3rd, 1)
HOME RUNS: Seth Fortenberry (t-10th, 1); Chase Gerdes (t-10th, 1); Beamer Weems (t-10th, 1)
TOTAL BASES: Beamer Weems (9th, 18); Chase Gerdes (t-10th, 17)
STOLEN BASES: Kevin Russo (1st, 5); Chase Gerdes (t-2nd, 4); Matt Sodolak (t-2nd, 4); Seth Fortenberry (t-2nd, 4)
WALKS: Zach Dillon (3rd, 7); Kevin Russo (t-7th, 5)
ON BASE PERCENTAGE: Zach Dillon (t-5th, .500)
ERA: Ryan LaMotta (4th, 1.77)
WINS: Ryan LaMotta (t-1st, 2); Tim Matthews (t-10th, 1); Jake Weghorst (t-10th, 1)
INNINGS: Ryan LaMotta (4th, 20.1); Cory VanAllen (t-7th, 17.2)
STRIKEOUTS: Ryan LaMotta (t-5th, 15); Cory VanAllen (t-9th, 11)
APPEARANCES: Nick Cassavechia (4th, 5); Jeff Mandel (t-5th, 4)
GAMES STARTED: Ryan LaMotta (t-1st, 3); Tim Matthews (t-1st, 3); Cory VanAllen (t-1st, 3)
SAVES: Nick Cassavechia (t-2nd, 2), Jeff Mandel (t-6th, 1)

NUMBERS WATCH
• C Zach Dillon needs one RBI to reach 100 career RBI, two games played to reach 200 career games and 10 walks to reach 100 career walks.
• LF Seth Fortenberry needs three RBI to reach 50 career RBI.
• CF Chase Gerdes needs two stolen bases to reach 30 career steals.
• RHP Ryan LaMotta needs four strikeouts to move into seventh place on Baylor's career strikeouts list. He also needs 17.1 innings pitched to crack Baylor's career innings top 10 and two wins to reach 20 career wins.
• RHP Jeff Mandel needs one save to move into a tie for eighth place on Baylor's career saves list. He also would move into a tie for seventh on Baylor's single-season saves list. Mandel needs one strikeout to reach 50 career strikeouts.
• 3B Kevin Russo needs one game played to reach 100 career games of service.
• LHP Cory VanAllen is three wins shy of career victory No. 20.

BEARS TOUGH WITH LEAD IN NINTH
Baylor is 137-6 when leading after eight innings since the beginning of the 2002 season. In fact, the Bears have won 31 straight and 66 of their last 67 such games. The lone loss in that span was at TCU last season when the Horned Frogs tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth and later won 2-1 in 11 innings. Baylor has not lost when leading by more than one run after eight since Feb. 4, 2003, against Texas State when the Bobcats scored seven runs to overcome a 5-2 Baylor lead.

LaMOTTA CLIMBS STRIKEOUTS LIST
RHP Ryan LaMotta moved up five spots on Baylor's career strikeouts list with his six-strikeout effort last Friday at Texas Tech. He currently stands eight on Baylor's all-time list and needs just four strikeouts to pass Justin Taylor for seventh all-time at Baylor. LaMotta currently has 226 career strikeouts in 259.1 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. Justin Taylor - 229
8. Ryan LaMotta - 226
9. Glenn Nevill - 225
10. Zane Carlson - 225

TRIPLE YOUR PLEASURE
Baylor has 15 triples through its first 29 games of the 2006 season. The Bears had only 21 three-baggers in 70 games last season. LF Seth Fortenberry is tied for the Big 12 Conference lead with five triples, one more than his career total entering the 2006 season and matching CF Chase Gerdes' team-leading total last season. SS Beamer Weems has four triples, and RF Kevin Sevigny has two. C Zach Dillon, Gerdes, 1B/RHP Jeff Mandel and DH/C Matt Sodolak and have the other four 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 18 games this season through games of April 2.

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 437-268-1 career record, all at Baylor. He holds the best winning percentage (.620) 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 opens a five-game home stand Friday, April 7, hosting Oklahoma State for a 7 p.m. CDT Big 12 Conference series opener. The Bears and the Cowboys also meet Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.