April 7, 2006
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#18 BAYLOR (24-14, 4-2) HOSTS KANSAS (20-18, 1-4)
APRIL 8, 2006 - 4:00 PM
APRIL 9, 2006 - 12:00 PM
GETTERMAN STADIUM
WACO, TEXAS
THE SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, APRIL 8
Kansas at Baylor, 4:00 p.m.
SUNDAY, APRIL 9
Kansas at Baylor, 12:00 p.m.
THE SERIES
KANSAS LEADS 18-10
Waco: Kansas leads 7-6
Lawrence, Kan.: Kansas leads 5-3
Neutral: Kansas leads 6-1
Since 1996: Kansas leads 13-9
Current Streak: Baylor won 5
Baylor W-L Last 10: 6-4
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: None
Live Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Live Video: None
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Television: None
Winners of six-of seven, the No. 18 Baylor softball team returns to action this weekend when the Lady Bears host the Kansas Jayhawks in a key, two-game series beginning on Saturday, April 8, at 4:00 p.m. The series concludes with a single game on Sunday, April 9, at 12:00 p.m.
Kansas enters the series with a 20-18 record and a 1-4 mark in conference play. The Jayhawks feature one of the top pitching duos in the country in Kassie Humphreys and Serena Settlemier. The duo swept Big 12 Conference Pitcher and Player of the Week honors last week as Humphreys has the hot-hand heading into the weekend after allowing only one hit in her last 14.0 innings of work. The Jayhawks are coming off a doubleheader sweep of Arkansas in preparation for the Baylor series.
Baylor enters this weekend's action riding a four-game winning streak after sweeping Sam Houston State in a mid-week doubleheader. The Lady Bears smashed nine home runs in the sweep of the Bearkats as Baylor claimed a pair of run-rule victories. Brette Reagan leads the Lady Bears with a .400 batting average while Chelsi Lake tops the team and ranks second in the conference with 12 home runs on the season.
Kansas leads the all-time series against the Lady Bears 18-0; however, Baylor has won five straight in the series including a sweep of the Jayhawks the last time KU visited Waco.
For tickets to the weekend series, fans can call the Baylor Ticket Office at 1-800-BAYLOR-U or 254-710-1000.
SCOUTING KANSAS (20-18)
Despite the 1-4 record in Big 12 Conference play, the Jayhawks are close to entering the series with a perfect record in conference play as three-of-four losses have been by a single run, including a pair of losses to Texas A&M when the Aggies had to rally in their final at-bat.
In the one, two-run loss the Jayhawks suffered in conference play this season, starting pitcher Kassie Humphreys tossed a no-hitter; however, a pair of unearned runs led to a 2-0 Nebraska victory.
Humphreys and Settlemier form a formidable pitching duo as Humphreys (8-12) has posted an impressive1.42 ERA while striking out 139 in 123.1 innings of work while Settlemier enters the series with a 12-4 record and 1.36 ERA in 102.2 innings of work.
At the plate, Kansas is led by Destiny Frankenstein, who leads the team with a .340 batting average and ranks second with 25 runs scored. Settlemeier has also been an impressive force at the plate, leading the team with 16 home runs and 42 RBI.
LADY BEARS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CLUTCH HITTING
Off to a 24-14 start on the season, the Baylor softball team has taken advantage of clutch hitting in key situation as high percentage of the Lady Bears' runs have come with two outs in the inning. Of the 194 runs scored by Baylor so far this season, 76 (42 percent) have come on two-out RBI hits.
Freshman Brette Reagan leads the team with 17 RBI with two outs as the freshman is currently leading a Baylor team that is hitting .286 (91-of-318) on the year with two outs while opponents are only hitting .223 (68-of-305) in the same situation.
SCHWETHELM AND OSBURN REACH 200 CAREER HITS
With four hits in the double-header sweep of Texas State, Baylor outfielder Harmony Schwethelm became only the fifth player in school history to reach the 200-hit plateau for her career. Schwethelm has pushed her career total to 220 after collecting a pair of hits in the sweep of Missouri.
Schwethelm ranks third on Baylor's career hits list and is now 28 hits shy of breaking the Baylor career record of 247 held by Naomi Fitzgerald (1998-2001).
Senior Kelly Osburn also joined Schwethelm in the 200-hit club after collecting five in the sweep of Sam Houston State. The senior left fielder now has 202 for her career.
SCHWETHELM BREAKS CAREER STOLEN BASE RECORD
With a steal of second in the 6-5 win over No. 13 Washington, Harmony Schwethelm became Baylor's career stolen base leader, surpassing Kim Wilmoth (91, 2002-05) with 92 in her career. For her career, Schwethelm now has 95 stolen bases in 110 attempts as the senior closes in on 100 stolen bases for her career.
Schwethelm, who has only been caught stealing 15 times in her career, has a stolen base percentage of .864 to rank second on the Baylor career charts.
CHELSI LAKE BREAKS RBI CAREER MILESTONE
With a RBI single to make the score 6-4 against No. 13 Washington, junior Chelsi Lake recorded the 102nd of her career as she became Baylor's career leader in the category, surpassing Sarah Caudle who drove in 101 runs from 2000-2003.
Earlier in the year, Lake became only the second player in school history to pass the career 100-RBI club as the junior will shatter the previous career record. Heading into this weekend, Lake has recorded 121 RBI during her two-plus year career.
Senior Kelly Osburn is also close to the RBI century mark as the senior has drove in 93 runs during her career and is seven RBI shy from the milestone.
BAYLOR SOFTBALL IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
After sweeping Missouri, 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. 20 ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25.
Baylor is one of five Big 12 Conference school ranked in the current polls as Texas (No. 1 ESPN.com/No. 1 USA Today), Texas A&M (No. 17, No. 16), Oklahoma (No. 21, No. 21) and Nebraska (No. 16, No.17) join Baylor in the rankings.
Baylor's appearance in both polls marks the 34th consecutive week the Lady Bears have appeared in the NFCA Top 25 and the 33rd 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, 146); Harmony Schwethelm (3rd, 126)
HITS: Harmony Schwethelm (3rd, 220); Kelly Osburn 6th, 202)
MULTIPLE-HIT GAMES: Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 61); Kelly Osburn (6th, 47)
DOUBLES: Kelly Osburn (1st, 40); Chelsi Lake (t-3rd, 30); Tessa Lynam (t-8th, 25)
TRIPLES: Harmony Schwethelm (t-3rd, 8); Kelly Osburn (t-5th, 7); Chelsi Lake (t-10th, 4)
HOME RUNS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 31); Chelsi Lake (2nd, 28); Tessa Lynam (4th, 21)
RBI: Chelsi Lake (1st, 121); Kelly Osburn (5th, 93); Tessa Lynam (6th, 81)
TOTAL BASES: Kelly Osburn (1st, 349); Harmony Schwethelm (6th, 257); Chelsi Lake (5th, 267)
WALKS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 97)
HIT BY PITCH: Kelly Osburn (2nd, 20); Kylie Conroy (t-6th, 10)
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 (1st, 95); Kelly Osburn (3rd, 72)
STOLEN BASE ATTEMPTS: Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 110); Kelly Osburn (3rd, 88)
PITCHING RECORDS
APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 110); Tessa Lynam (8th, 40); Nicole Jackson (9th, 28)
GAMES STARTED: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 72); Tessa Lynam (8th, 14)
RELIEF APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (t-3rd, 37); Tessa Lynam (6th, 25); Nicole Jackson (7th, 24)
WINS: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 49); Tessa Lynam (8th, 15)
LOSSES: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 22); Tessa Lynam (t-9th, 4)
DECISIONS: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 71); Tessa Lynam (8th, 19)
COMPLETE GAMES: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 37); Tessa Lynam (10th, 4)
SHUTOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (t-3rd, 18); Tessa Lynam (t-9th, 1)
SAVES: Lisa Ferguson (1st, 13); Tessa Lynam (t-5th, 4); Nicole Jackson (t-8th, 1); Sarah Hausner (t-8th, 1)
INNINGS PITCHED: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 482.2); Tessa Lynam (8th, 115.2)
STRIKEOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 351); Tessa Lynam (8th, 102)
Kelly Osburn BREAKS TRIO 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 146 runs.
In addition, in the 7-0 win over Missouri, Osburn hit two doubles to push her career total to 39, breaking the career record of 38 previously held by Sarah Caudle (2000-2003).
The records are just one of several where Osburn will hold the career lead once her career is over. Already Baylor's career leader in home runs (30), walks (97), runs scored (146), total bases (349) and doubles (40), Osburn ranks fourth in triples (7) and third in stolen bases (72) and attempts (88).
UP NEXT...
Baylor returns to action on Monday, April 10, when the Lady Bears host Oklahoma in a Big 12 Conference doubleheader beginning at 5:00 p.m.
