May 15, 2006
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GAME 53
No. 25 BAYLOR (33-19) vs. DALLAS BAPTIST (31-20)
MAY 16 • BAYLOR BALLPARK • WACO, TEXAS • 6:00 P.M. CDT
THE SERIES
Overall Record: Baylor leads 37-19
Waco: Baylor leads 26-14
Dallas: Baylor leads 9-5
Neutral Site: Baylor leads 2-0
Smith vs. DBU: 8-5
First Meeting: Baylor 10, DBU 5 [5/5/1979]
Last Meeting: Baylor 2, DBU 1 [5/4/2004]
COACHES
BAYLOR: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 451-277-1 [12th season]
Record at Baylor: 451-277-1 [12th season]
DALLAS BAPTIST: Eric Newman
Alma Mater: Texas Tech, 1997
Career Record: 62-43 [2nd season]
Record at DBU: 62-43 [2nd season]
BAYLOR/ISP SPORTS NETWORK
1660 ESPN RADIO (Waco)
Tom Barfield, play-by-play
Lark Smith, color
BAYLOR NATIONAL RANKINGS
Baseball America 25th
Sports Weekly/ESPN/Coaches 22nd
Collegiate Baseball 24th
PROJECTED STARTERS
DBU RHP Rodney Brantley (8-3, 4.35 ERA, 78.2 IP, 54 K)
Baylor plays its final regular-season home game Tuesday, May 16, hosting Dallas Baptist for a midweek contest. First pitch between the Bears and the Patriots is scheduled for 6 p.m. CDT at Baylor Ballpark. This is the first and only scheduled meeting this season between Baylor and Dallas Baptist. The teams have not met since splitting a pair of games at Baylor Ballpark during the 2004 season.
The Bears (33-19) has won six straight after sweeping fifth-ranked Nebraska at home over the weekend. Baylor has won seven of its last eight overall and 10 of its last 11 at Baylor Ballpark.
Baylor is ranked 25th nationally in this week's Baseball America Top 25. Baylor also is ranked 2nd in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll and 24th in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30.
The Patriots (30-21) has dropped three straight after falling 6-3 and 10-5, respectively, in a doubleheader last Saturday at Texas. Dallas Baptist split a two-game series at Texas A&M the previous weekend. DBU, an NCAA Division I independent, is 5-5 in its last five games.
Dallas Baptist is unranked in all four major polls.
Baylor and Dallas Baptist have played 12 common opponents: McNeese State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin, Texas, Texas-Arlington, Texas-San Antonio, Texas A&M, TCU, Texas State and Texas Tech. The Bears are 19-10 against those teams, while the Patriots are 10-11. Dallas Baptist is 2-5 against the Big 12 Conference this season with wins against Oklahoma and Texas A&M.
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. QUICK HITS ...
• Since the start of the 2003 season, Baylor is:
- 113-38 (.748) when its starting pitcher lasts at least 5.0 innings
- 27-7 (.794) when its pitching staff records at least 10 strikeouts
- 108-30 (.783) when scoring first
- 125-24 (.839) when out-hitting its opponent
- 116-28 (.806) when holding its opponent to fewer than five runs
- 106-22 (.828) when scoring at least six runs
- 95-15 (.864) when scoring at least seven runs
• Baylor has won 19 consecutive games when hitting at least two home runs, including six straight this season.
• Since the start of the 2002 season, Baylor is 150-7 (.955) when leading after eight innings. The April 11 loss to Rice ended a 34-game winning streak in such games and was Baylor's first loss when leading after eight inning at home since Feb. 4, 2003.
• Baylor pitchers allowed 43 earned runs over a 22.0-inning span in the final two games at Texas Tech (April 1-2) and the April 4 game at TCU. Outside that three-game stretch, Baylor's team ERA is 3.42, more than a half earned run per game (0.69) lower than its overall season ERA.
• Baylor has 29 triples this season, tied for fifth in school history and the most by a Baylor team since the 2003 squad had 29 three-baggers in 68 games.
• Three Bears have at least five triples this season, the first time a Baylor team has accomplished that feat since the 1996 team also featured three players with at least five triples.
• LF Seth Fortenberry (9) and CF Kevin Sevigny (6) give Baylor two players with at least six triples, the first time that has happened at Baylor since Jon Topolski and Scott Morrison each had six triples in 1996.
• 2B Ben Booker is hitting .342 (22-for-73) since April 4 (20 games) with 19 runs, five doubles, two home runs and a .493 slugging percentage in that time. ... All 11 of Booker's multiple-hit games this season have come in that span.
• RHP Nick Cassavechia has recorded a save in five consecutive appearances. ... Opposing batters are 2-for-20 in first at bats against Cassavechia.
• C Zach Dillon has reached safely in 48 of 52 games this season and in 109 of 119 since the start of the 2005 season. ... Dillon has produced at least one run (RBI or scored) in 43 of 52 games this season.
• Fortenberry is tied for the national lead with nine triples, the fourth-best single-season total in school history and two shy of Topolski's 1998 school record. ... Fortenberry has reached safely in 47 of 52 games this season and has hit safely in 27 of the last 33 games. ... Fortenberry leads Baylor with 11 bunt singles this season; the rest of the team has seven and no one has more than two.
• CF Chase Gerdes has hit safely in 16 of his last 20 games and has not gone hitless in consecutive games during that span. ... Gerdes has hit safely in 13 of his last 14 starts.
• RHP Randall Linebaugh has won the first six decisions of his career, the longest winning streak to start a career since Abe Woody's school-record 11-game run over the 2003 and 2004 seasons. ... Baylor is 9-1 in Linebaugh's 10 starts this season.
• RHP Tim Matthews has won three consecutive decisions, all since moving to the bullpen in mid-April.
• 3B Kevin Russo has started all 122 games of his Baylor career. ... Russo has reached safely or produced an RBI in 22 straight games.
• Sevigny has hit safely in 17 of his last 23 games with 11 multiple-hit games during that time. ... Sevigny has 13 outfield assists over the last two seasons.
• SS Beamer Weems has reached safely in 46 of 51 games this season. ... Weems has not made a fielding error since the season's second game and has committed just one error in 96 chances during Big 12 play.
• RHP Jake Weghorst has not allowed a run in his last 10 relief outings (13.1 innings). ... Opponents are 1-for-15 in first at bats against Weghorst. THE DALLAS BAPTIST SERIES
Baylor and Dallas Baptist meet for the 57th time Tuesday. The Bears hold a 37-19 advantage in the series, which dates back to a 10-5 Baylor victory May 5, 1979 in Waco. The Bears are 26-14 against the Patriots in Waco.
This is Baylor's first game against Dallas Baptist since May 4, 2004, when the Bears defeated the Patriots 2-1 at Baylor Ballpark.
Baylor head coach Steve Smith is 8-5 in his career against Dallas Baptist.
LAST TIME vs. DALLAS BAPTIST
BAYLOR 2, DALLAS BAPTIST 1 -- MAY 4, 2004 • WACO, TEXAS
Reid Brees' walk-off double down the right-field line plated pinch runner Jake Rippee and gave Baylor a 2-1 victory at Baylor Ballpark. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, a Kyle Reynolds pop-up to no-man's-land in right-center dropped for a single. Rippee then replaced Reynolds and stole second on a 2-1 hit-and-run. Brees swung through the pitch, which missed well outside, pushing the count to 2-2. On the next pitch, Brees laced the game-winning double into the right-field corner.
Brees' RBI made a winner out of reliever Abe Woody, who allowed one hit with a strikeout over the final 2.0 innings.
Baylor took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to Paul Witt's sacrifice fly. Kevin Sevigny led off the inning with a single up the middle, moved to second on a wild pitch and then advanced to third on a Mike Pankratz groundout.
However, Dallas Baptist tied the game in the seventh. One batter after Drew Holder led off the inning with a towering fly ball that was tracked down by Pankratz on the warning track in right-center, Ryan Olivo blasted a solo home run over the wall in right off Ryan LaMotta.
The Patriots had a chance to take the lead in the top of the eighth. With two outs and the bases empty, Drew Noss lifted a fly ball down the line in right. Pankratz dove for the ball but could not make the catch, and the result was a Noss triple as the ball got past Pankratz on the dive. Woody, however, got the next batter, Cody Montgomery, to ground out to quell the threat.
Baylor starter Jared Theodorakos posted seven strikeouts with no walks and three hits in 5.0 innings of work. Mark McCormick pitching a perfect sixth inning with two strikeouts.
Dallas Baptist starter Lance Broadway lasted 7.2 innings and allowed one run on five hits with three strikeouts. Patriot closer Aaron Klusman squelched a Baylor rally after a two-out error in the eighth, but he was saddled with the loss after allowing both hits in the ninth.
Josh Ford and Reynolds had two hits each to lead the Bears at the plate. BAYLOR STARTER
RHP Randall Linebaugh makes his 11th start of the season Tuesday against Dallas Baptist. All 11 starts have been in midweek games, the most by a Baylor pitcher since Jared Theodorakos made 12 midweek starts as a sophomore in 2001.
Baylor is 9-1 in Linebaugh's previous 10 starts; he is 5-0 with five no-decisions. Linebaugh has never faced Dallas Baptist.
After going 1-0 last season, Linebaugh has won his first six career decisions. That is the longest winning streak by a Baylor pitcher since Abe Woody won his first 11 career decisions over the 2003 and 2004 seasons. SMITH EARNS CAREER WIN No. 450
Saturday's 4-1 victory over fifth-ranked Nebraska was the 450th win of head coach Steve Smith's career. In 12 seasons at Baylor, he is 451-277-1. Smith has guided Baylor to at least 35 victories in seven of the last eight seasons, including five 40-win campaigns in that time.
BEARS RE-ENTER BASEBALL AMERICA TOP 25
Following a 5-0 week that culminated with a sweep of fifth-ranked Nebraska, Baylor re-entered the Baseball America Top 25 this week at No. 25. This is the third week this season in which the Bears have been ranked by the publication. Baylor was ranked 24th the week of April 10 and 22nd the weeks of March 13 and March 20.
Baylor is 22nd in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll and 24th the Collegiate Baseball Top 30.
BAYLOR RECLAIMS STAKE AS BIG 12 ALL-TIME LEADER
With its three-game sweep of fifth-ranked Nebraska and Texas idle over the weekend, Baylor reclaimed the top spot in the Big 12 Conference's all-time standings. At 169-102 (.624), the Bears are just ahead of second-place Texas (170-102, .620). Nebraska is a distant third at 156-112 (.582).
Baylor was out of the top spot in the league standings for one week, the only week since the week of March 10-16, 2003 -- the first weekend of Big 12 play that season -- the Bears were not the league's all-time winningest program. Baylor trailed Texas Tech entering the weekend, took two of three from the Red Raiders at Baylor Ballpark, passed Tech by percentage points in the standings and had been the conference's winningest program ever since until last week.
Since the league's inception in 1997, Baylor leads all Big 12 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.
PANKRATZ HONORED BY COLLEGE BASEBALL FOUNDATION
DH Mike Pankratz was named National Player of the Week by the College Baseball Foundation, the organization announced Monday. Pankratz, who led No. 25 Baylor to a 5-0 mark on the week that included a sweep of fifth-ranked Nebraska, joined seven other players so honored this week.
In just his third week back in action after January knee surgery, Pankratz went 4-for-8 with two doubles, a home run and five RBI in the Bears' sweep of Nebraska.
Pankratz had a pinch-hit RBI single in the eighth inning of Friday's game that pushed Baylor's lead to 6-3; that proved to be the game-deciding run as Nebraska rallied for two runs in the ninth. Saturday, Pankratz erased a 1-0 Nebraska lead with a two-run homer that ended up being the game-winning hit in Baylor's 4-1 victory. In Sunday's finale, Pankratz was 2-for-4 with two RBI doubles.
Since returning to the field with a pinch-hit appearance April 21 at Texas A&M, Pankratz is hitting .281 (9-for-32) with two doubles, three home runs, eight RBI, seven runs, a .625 slugging percentage and four walks.
This is the second time in his career that Pankratz has been named National Player of the Week by the College Baseball Foundation. Last season, he was so honored after hit 13th-inning grand slam gave Baylor its first victory in a three-game sweep at eighth-ranked Vanderbilt.
Lehigh pitchers Kyle Collina and Joe Matteo, Houston P/1B Brad Lincoln, Oklahoma State pitchers Mike Gardner, Brae Wright and Oliver Odle, Virginia P/1B Sean Doolittle and Kentucky 1B Ryan Strieby were also named players of the week. DILLON NAMED SEMIFINALIST FOR BENCH AWARD
C Zach Dillon was named a semifinalist for the 2006 Coleman Johnny Bench Award, the Greater Wichita [Kan.] Area Sports Commission announced last Thursday. Dillon was the only catcher from the Big 12 Conference selected to 10-man list.
Dillon is the third Baylor catcher to reach semifinalist status for the Bench Award. Josh Ford was a semifinalist in 2003, and Kelly Shoppach won the inaugural Bench Award in 2001.
Other catchers named semifinalists were J.P. Arencibia of Tennessee, Ryan Bono of Central Florida, Jeff Kunkel of Michigan, Matt McBride of Lehigh, Michael McKenry of Middle Tennessee State, Jordan Newton of Western Kentucky, Eddy Rodriguez of Miami, Fla., Jake Smith of East Carolina and Chad Tracy of Pepperdine. The list will be pared to three finalists June 1 with the winner named June 28 at the Ninth-Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet.
Dillon, a senior co-captain from Urbandale, Iowa, is 10th in the Big 12 with a .369 batting average. He also leads the conference in walks (47), on base percentage (.511), free passes (53) and times reached base (115). Through games of May 7, Dillon ranked 14th nationally, averaging 0.90 walks per game and was on pace to break Baylor's singe-season records for walks and on base percentage.
The Bench Award is selected by a committee comprised of sportswriters, sportscasters, Division I coaches and scouts.
DILLON, MANDEL NAMED CoSIDA ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT VI
C Zach Dillon and RHP/1B Jeff Mandel were named to the 2006 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VI teams, announced last Thursday by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Dillon was named first team, while Mandel earned second-team honors.
At least one Baylor baseball student-athlete has earned academic all-district honors every year since 1998. In that time, 13 Bears have been so honored 19 times. This is Dillon's second consecutive season to earn all-district honors, while Mandel is honored for the first time.
A fifth-year senior catcher from Urbandale, Iowa, Dillon completed undergraduate studies at Baylor in December, 2005, and recently completed his first semester of graduate school in pursuit of Master of Science degree in sport management. Mandel, a junior pitcher and first baseman from Houston, Texas, currently is pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in economics.
Dillon joins former Bears Ross Bennett (2002, 2003), Michael Griffin (2003, 2004, 2005), Jason Jennings (1998, 1999) and Jon Topolski (1998, 1999) as the only Baylor baseball student-athletes to earn academic all-district honors multiple times.
In order to be eligible for academic all-district honors, a student-athlete must maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.20 on a 4.00 scale and participate in at least 50 percent of his team's games. Freshmen and first-year transfers are not eligible. Those selected all-district are automatically nominated for Academic All-America honors. BEARS AIM FOR BAYLOR BALLPARK REGULAR-SEASON WINS RECORD
Baylor enters Tuesday's game against Dallas Baptist with 26 wins at Baylor Ballpark this season, matching 2000 team for the most regular-season wins in the facility's eight-year history.
The 2006 Bears are markedly more successful at home, posting a 26-7 mark at Baylor Ballpark and a 7-12 record in away games. The Bears are 10-2 in Big 12 play at home and 3-9 in road games.
FANS PACKING BAYLOR BALLPARK
Baylor has drawn a total of 93,847 fans at home games this season, third in school history and 1,520 fans shy of second place all-time at Baylor. If Tuesday's game draws at least 1,521 fans, it would be the largest regular-season tally in school history, eclipsing the 95,367 total from 2001. Entering Tuesday's regular-season home finale, Baylor is averaging 3,027 fans per game this season, just off last season's average (3,045) that was bolstered by a 3,886 average during six postseason dates (2,875 during the regular season). The Baylor record for average attendance is 3,057 from the 2003 season.
This season has seen several impressive attendance marks:
• The April 11 game against Rice drew a crowd of 3,443, the second-largest midweek crowd in school history.
• The April 13 game against Texas drew a crowd of 5,313, second all-time at Baylor.
• The April 22 game against Texas A&m drw a crowd of 5,173, third all-time at Baylor.
• The April 7-9 series against Oklahoma State drew a total crowd of 10,516, the fourth-largest three-date series attendance in school history and the second-largest in a regular-season series. It also was the first regular-season three-date series in school history to draw crowds of at least 3,300 for all three dates.
• The April 22-23 series against Texas A&M drew a total crowd of 9,085, the largest two-date series attendance in school history. It also marked the first time since Baylor and Texas A&M began the split series format in 1993 that the attendance at both games in Waco (5,173 and 3,912) were larger than the attendance for the game at College Station (3,845).
BEARS TOUGH WITH LEAD IN NINTH
Baylor's April 11 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 150-7 when leading after eight innings since the beginning of the 2002 season.
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.
CAREER NUMBERS WATCH
• C Zach Dillon is two runs shy of No. 100, nine hits shy of No. 200, one double shy of No. 40 and one extra-base hit shy of No. 50.
• LF Seth Fortenberry is one walk shy of No. 50.
• RHP Ryan LaMotta is six strikeouts shy of sixth place on Baylor's career strikeouts list. ... LaMotta is 3.2 innings shy of passing Trey Taylor for sixth place all-time at Baylor and one win shy of moving into a seven-way tie for seventh on Baylor career list. ... LaMotta is three appearances shy of Zane Carlson's school record of 111. ... LaMotta is 1.2 innings shy of 300 and three strikeouts shy of 250.
• DH Mike Pankratz is eight hits shy of No. 100.
• RF Kevin Sevigny is 11 at bats shy of No. 500, six extra-base hits shy of No. 50 and two walks shy of No. 50.
• LHP Cory VanAllen is five strikeouts shy of No. 150. LaMOTTA CLIMBS STRIKEOUTS LIST
RHP Ryan LaMotta moved into seventh place on Baylor's career strikeouts earliers this season. He needs 10 strikeouts to match Trey Taylor for sixth all-time at Baylor. LaMotta currently has 243 career strikeouts in 291.1 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 - 247
8. Justin Taylor - 229
9. Glenn Nevill - 225
10. Zane Carlson - 225 TRIPLE YOUR PLEASURE
Baylor has 29 triples through 52 games this season. The Bears had only 21 three-baggers in 70 games last season. LF Seth Fortenberry leads the Big 12 Conference and is tied for the national lead with nine triples, more than twice his career total entering the 2006 season (four) and four more than CF Chase Gerdes' team-leading total of five last season. 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 451-277-1 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 concludes the 2006 regular season this weekend at Kansas State. The Bears and the Wildcats meet Friday at 6:30 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. All games will be played at Tointon Stadium on the Kansas State Campus.
The Bears will remain in Manhattan after Sunday's game and travel to Oklahoma City the following day for the Big 12 Tournament.
