April 6, 2006
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GAMES 31-33 • APRIL 7-9, 2006 • 7:00 P.M. CDT/6:00 P.M. CDT/2:00 P.M. CDT
BAYLOR (19-11, 4-5)
vs. OKLAHOMA STATE (18-8, 3-3)
BAYLOR BALLPARK • WACO, TEXAS
THE SERIES
Overall Record: OSU leads 29-19
Waco: OSU leads 11-7
Stillwater: OSU leads 11-10
Neutral Site: OSU leads 7-2
Unknown Sites: Baylor leads 16-7
Smith vs. OSU: 14-16
First Meeting: OSU 8, Baylor 7 [4/29/1925]
Last Meeting: Baylor 8, OSU 3 [5/26/2005]
COACHES
BAYLOR: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 437-269-1 [12th season]
Record at Baylor: 437-269-1 [12th season]
OKLAHOMA STATE: Frank Anderson
Alma Mater: Emporia State, 1983
Career Record: 90-57 [3rd season]
Record at OSU: 90-57 [3rd 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: www.BaylorBears.com
BAYLOR NATIONAL RANKINGS
Baseball America NR
Sports Weekly/ESPN/Coaches 22nd
NCBWA NR
Collegiate Baseball NR
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
FRIDAY, APRIL 7
OSU RHP Oliver Odle (3-3, 4.67 ERA, 44.1 IP, 21 K)
SATURDAY, APRIL 8
OSU LHP Brae Wright (3-1, 5.50 ERA, 36.0 IP, 21 K)
SUNDAY, APRIL 9
OSU LHP Charles Benoit (3-2, 3.22 ERA, 36.1 IP, 31 K)
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS Saturday: Baylor Ballpark Bash from 3:00 p.m. until first pitch, featuring inflatable games, music, a mini home run derby, autographs, and more. All activities are free, and concessions will be available.
Sunday: Little League Day. All kids in uniform receive free admission to the game.
Baylor begins a five-game home stand this weekend, hosting Oklahoma State for a three-game Big 12 Conference series at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears and the Cowboys meet Friday at 7 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 6 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. This is the fourth Big 12 series of the season for Baylor and the third of the season for Oklahoma State.
The Bears (19-11, 4-5) looks to halt a three-game losing streak, its first of that length since late in the 2004 season. Baylor dropped an 18-8 decision Tuesday night at TCU after falling in each of the final two games of last weekend's series at Texas Tech. Unranked in this week's Baseball America Top 25, the Bears climbed three spots to No. 22 in this week's Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll. Baylor also is unranked in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 and in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 30.
The Cowboys (18-8, 3-3) lost 5-2 Tuesday night at Tulsa. OSU has experienced a roller coaster in league play this season. After being swept at Texas to open their Big 12 season, the Cowboys swept Texas A&M at home last weekend. OSU won all three games against Texas A&M in its final at bat. Oklahoma State is unranked in all four major polls.
Baylor and OSU have played only one common opponent this season: Texas-Arlington. The Bears have posted wins of 17-4 (home) and 9-4 (away) against UTA, while the Cowboys defeated the Mavericks 8-3 at home March 21.
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.
Live streaming video for the Baylor-Oklahoma State series also is available. For more information, visit the BearCasts link at www.BaylorBears.com.
QUICK HITS ...
• Since the start of the 2003 season, Baylor is:
- 104-32 (.765) when its starting pitcher lasts at least 5.0 innings
- 26-7 (.788) when its pitching staff records at least 10 strikeouts
- 100-28 (.781) when scoring first
- 115-22 (.840) when out-hitting its opponent
- 105-26 (.802) when holding its opponent to fewer than five runs
- 97-20 (.829) when scoring at least six runs
- 86-15 (.881) when scoring at least seven runs
• Baylor has won 15 consecutive games when hitting at least two home runs.
• Since the start of the 2002 season, Baylor is 137-6 when leading after eight innings. The Bears have won 31 straight and 66 of their last 67 such games.
• Baylor's current three-game losing streak is its first since being swept at Texas Tech in the 2004 regular season's final series. The Bears lost consecutive games eight other times in that span.
• RHP Ryan LaMotta ranks second in the Big 12 Conference among starting pitchers with a 1.77 ERA in league games.
• LaMotta has not allowed an extra-base hit in three consecutive starts (20.1 innings).
• C Zach Dillon is batting .387 (12-for-31) over the last 11 games with four doubles, seven RBI, a .516 slugging percentage and a .545 on base percentage.
• CF Chase Gerdes leads the team with a .315 batting average (17-for-54) in games played at Baylor Ballpark.
• 1B Jeff Mandel hits significantly higher with runners on base than with the bases empty. Mandel is 8-for-21 (.381) with runners on base, while he is 3-for-23 (.130) with the bases clear. He is even strong with runners in scoring position (.429, 6-for-14).
• Dillon, Mandel, 1B Tim Jackson and OF Paul Miles hit a collective .531 (17-for-32) with runners in scoring position and two outs. The rest of the team hits a collective .219 (28-for-128) in that situation.
• Opposing batters are 12-for-64 (.188) in first at bats against Baylor relievers, including an 0-for-12 mark against RHP Nick Cassavechia.
• Cassavechia is 2-0 with one save and a 0.68 ERA in nine career appearances at Baylor Ballpark. In 13.1 innings, he has allowed two runs, one earned, on eight hits with seven strikeouts.
• A Baylor catcher has reached safely in 132 consecutive games. The last game in which a Baylor catcher did not reach safely was April 2, 2004, at Missouri.
• RF Kevin Sevigny has not committed an error since May 14, 2004 vs. Nebraska (99 games, 204 chances).
• 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.
• Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, the Bears have the league's best conference record at 160-96 (.625). 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 (seven) and Major League Baseball draft selections (51).
• 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. BAYLOR STARTERS
Baylor's opening weekend rotation of RHP
Ryan LaMotta, LHP
Cory VanAllen and RHP
Tim Matthews remains intact for the Oklahoma State series.
Friday will be the 104th career appearance for LaMotta, who makes his 12th career start against OSU. Baylor is 8-3 in his previous 11 starts; LaMotta is 5-3 with three no-decisions.
VanAllen makes his 31st career start Saturday. Baylor is 18-12 in his previous 30 starts; VanAllen is 13-9 with eight no-decisions.
Matthews, a sophomore transfer from UT-Tyler, makes his eighth career start Sunday. Baylor is 4-3 in his previous seven starts; Matthews is 2-2 with three no-decisions.
THE OKLHOMA STATE SERIES
Baylor and Oklahoma State meet for the 49th, 50th and 51st times this weekend. Oklahoma State holds a 29-19 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to an 8-7 OSU victory April 29, 1925. The series is tied 5-5 over the last 10 games.
OSU leads the series 11-7 in games played in Waco. The teams split a rain-shortened, two-game set at Baylor Ballpark in 2004. OSU leads the series 17-14 since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997, including a 13-12 edge in Big 12 regular season games. The teams also have met three in the Big 12 Tournament (OSU won in 1997 and 2001; Baylor won in 2005) and three times in the 1999 NCAA Super Regional (OSU won two of three).
Baylor won the season series in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003; the 2002 and 2004 series were rain-shortened, and the teams split two games. Interestingly, the home team has not faired well in this series as Big 12 foes. Baylor is 8-7 at Stillwater, while OSU is 6-4 in Waco. Baylor holds a 4-3-2 Big 12 series advantage, going 1-1-2 in Waco and 3-2-0 at Stillwater. Oklahoma State has the only Big 12 sweep in the series, doing so at Baylor in 1998.
LAST TIME vs. OKLHOMA STATE
BAYLOR 8, OSU 3 -- MAY 26, 2005 • OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA.
A five-run third erased an early two-run deficit and Trey Taylor pitched into the ninth inning as Baylor defeated Oklahoma State 8-3 in second-day action at the Big 12 Conference Tournament.
Jeff Mandel led the Baylor offensive charge, going 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI. He established career highs for doubles, total bases and RBI, and he posted the first multiple-hit game of his career. Mandel, who had one RBI in 37 career at bats entering the game, sparked Baylor's five-run fifth with a bases-loaded three-run double off the top of the wall in left field. Earlier in the inning,
Kevin Russo drew a bases-loaded walk, and
Zach Dillon tied the game at 2-2 with a sacrifice fly.
The Bears added three runs in the top of the ninth. Paul Witt led off the inning with a single to left and Josh Ford followed with his second walk of the game. Russo then ripped an RBI double into right-center, and Ford then scored on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Mandel doubled to left-center with two outs, scoring Russo.
Oklahoma State managed an unearned run in the ninth, but could get no closer.
Taylor allowed two runs on four consecutive two-out hits in the bottom of the first. After that, he settled into a groove and held the Cowboys to just three hits through the eighth inning. Taylor got the leadoff batter in the ninth but left the game after an infield error and an infield single. Abe Woody entered and closed out the game. Taylor allowed three runs, two earned, on eight hits with no walks and seven strikeouts in 8.1 innings.
Michael Griffin and Witt each had two-hit days and the latter scored twice. Russo also scored twice and drove in two. Eight of Baylor's nine starters reached safely.
BAYLOR-OKLAHOMA STATE ODDS AND ENDS
• C
Zach Dillon has reached safely in each of his last seven games against Oklahoma State.
• 3B
Kevin Russo has enjoyed the most career success against OSU, going 6-for-15 (.400) in four career games against the Cowboys with a double and five RBI. Russo was 5-for-11 (.455) in last season's three-game series at Stillwater.
• No current Baylor player has ever hit a home run against Oklahoma State.
• Oklahoma State LHP Charles Benoit and Baylor IF
Seth Hammock were teammates at Southlake [Texas] Carroll High School.
BAYLOR IN BIG 12 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Through games of April 5, Baylor ranks ninth in the league in team batting average (.283), eighth in team ERA (4.55) 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 BATTING AVERAGE:
Zach Dillon (20th, .358)
TRIPLES:
Seth Fortenberry (t-1st, 5);
Beamer Weems (t-3rd, 4);
Kevin Sevigny (t-5th, 3)
HOME RUNS:
Seth Fortenberry (t-10th, 5)
STOLEN BASES:
Kevin Russo (t-6th, 10);
Seth Fortenberry (t-9th, 9)
WALKS:
Zach Dillon (1st, 30)
ON BASE PERCENTAGE:
Zach Dillon (2nd, .516)
WINS:
Ryan LaMotta (t-7th, 4)
ERA:
Ryan LaMotta (11th, 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's next game will be the 200th of his career. He needs eight 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.
• 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 16 triples through its first 30 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 three. 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 437-269-1 career record, all at Baylor. He holds the best winning percentage (.619) 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 continues a five-game home stand Tuesday, April 11, hosting Rice. First pitch between the Bears and the Owls is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT at Baylor Ballpark. This is the only scheduled meeting of the 2006 season for Baylor and Rice.
