KSU LHP Chase Bayuk (6-2, 3.53 ERA, 66.1 IP, 51 K)
Baylor concludes the 2006 regular season this weekend, traveling to Manhattan, Kan., for a three-game Big 12 Conference series 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. Baylor enters the weekend fifth in the Big 12 standings, while Kansas State enters the weekend 10th in the league standings.
The Bears (34-19, 13-11) have won seven straight after defeating Dallas Baptist 15-6 Tuesday night at Baylor Ballpark. This is Baylor's longest winning streak since a seven-game run in March 2005. The Bears are ranked 25th nationally in this week's Baseball America Top 25. Baylor also is ranked 22nd in the Sports Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll, 24th in the Collegiate Baseball Top 30 and among teams receiving votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 30.
The Wildcats (28-20-2, 5-17-2) are 4-5-1 over their last 10 games after a pair of wins at South Dakota State during the week. Kansas State has not won a conference series this season, but the Cats have suffered just one three-game sweep (Oklahoma State at home). The Wildcats lost two and tied in the finale at Texas A&M last weekend. Kansas State is unranked in all four major polls.
Baylor and Kansas State have played nine common opponents: Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas-Arlington, Texas A&M, Texas Tech. The Bears are 16-11 against those nine teams, while the Wildcats are 6-17-1.
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:
- 114-38 (.750) 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
- 126-24 (.840) when out-hitting its opponent
- 116-28 (.806) when holding its opponent to fewer than five runs
- 107-22 (.829) when scoring at least six runs
- 96-15 (.865) 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 151-7 (.956) 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 3.47, more than a half earned run per game (0.69) lower than its overall season ERA.
• Baylor has 30 triples this season, fifth in school history and the most by a Baylor team since the 2002 squad had 34 three-baggers in 62 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.
• RHP Nick Cassavechia has converted five consecutive save opportunities. ... Opposing batters are 2-for-21 in first at bats against Cassavechia.
• C Zach Dillon has reached safely in 49 of 53 games this season and in 110 of 120 since the start of the 2005 season. ... Dillon has produced at least one run (RBI or scored) in 44 of 53 games this season.
• Fortenberry is tied for the second nationally with nine triples, the fourth-best single-season total in school history and two shy of Topolski's 1998 school record. He is one of only five players nationally with nine or more triples.
• Fortenberry has reached safely in 48 of 53 games this season and has hit safely in 28 of the last 34 games.
• Fortenberry leads Baylor with 11 bunt singles this season; the rest of the team has seven and no one has more than two.
• Fortenberry has hit safely in eight consecutive games, two shy of his career long. In that time, he is hitting .500 (17-for-34) with 11 runs, four doubles, two triples, seven RBI and four stolen bases in as many attempts.
• CF Chase Gerdes has hit safely in 17 of his last 21 games and has not gone hitless in consecutive games during that span. ... Gerdes has hit safely in 14 of his last 15 starts.
• Gerdes has hit safely in eight consecutive games, tying his career long. In that time, he is hitting .478 (11-for-23) with eight runs, two triples, one home run, 10 RBI, seven walks against two strikeouts and seven stolen bases in as many attempts.
• RHP Randall Linebaugh has won the first seven 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 10-1 in Linebaugh's 11 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 123 games of his Baylor career. ... Russo has reached safely or produced an RBI in 23 straight games.
• The left side of Baylor's infield has committed two errors in Big 12 play this season, Russo two and SS Beamer Weems one. All three errors came in the Texas Tech series.
• Sevigny has hit safely in 18 of his last 24 games with 12 multiple-hit games during that time. ... Sevigny has 13 outfield assists over the last two seasons.
• Weems has reached safely in 47 of 52 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 11 relief outings (14.2 innings). ... Opponents are 1-for-16 in first at bats against Weghorst. THE KANSAS STATE SERIES
Baylor and Kansas State meet for the 31st, 32nd and 33rd times this weekend. The Bears hold a 24-6 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to a 2-0 Baylor victory March 28, 1966.
The Bears are 23-5 against the Wildcats as Big 12 Conference opponents, 23-4 in regular-season meetings. Baylor is 8-4 all-time against Kansas State at Manhattan, winning two of three during its last visit in 2004. The Bears have won 20 of the last 24 meetings, including a three-game series sweep at Baylor Ballpark last season.
LAST TIME vs. KANSAS STATE
BAYLOR 8, KANSAS STATE 4 -- APRIL 10, 2005 • WACO, TEXAS
Kevin Sevigny, Michael Griffin and Kyle Reynolds all provided home runs as Baylor defeated Kansas State 8-4 at Baylor Ballpark.
Baylor got the offense going early as three consecutive two-out singles by Josh Ford, Zach Dillon and Reid Brees produced a run in the bottom of the first. Sevigny stretched the lead to 2-0 with a solo homer to left in the second.
Kansas State cut the lead by a run in the fourth when Brandon Farr hit a solo round-tripper to left. However, the Bears answered with two runs in the fifth and three in the sixth to pull away. Griffin provided the fifth-inning runs, following a Paul Witt single and stolen base with a homer down the line in left. Chase Gerdes had an RBI single in the sixth, and two batters later Witt plated two runs with a double off the leftfield wall.
The Wildcats scratched for single runs in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, but could do no more damage. Kyle Reynolds capped Baylor's scoring with a solo home run down the line in right.
Cory VanAllen earned the victory for the Bears, allowing one run on five hits and no walks with two strikeouts in 6.0 innings. Abe Woody pitched the final 3.0 innings to earn the save.
Adam Cowart suffered the loss for Kansas State, yielding seven runs on 10 hits and a walk with two strikeouts over 6.0 innings. BAYLOR STARTERS
Baylor uses the same rotation for the fourth consecutive series this weekend against Nebraska, sending RHP Ryan LaMotta to the mound Friday, LHP Cory VanAllen to the mound Saturday and RHP Jeff Mandel to the hill for Sunday's finale.
Friday will be the 109th career appearance and 17th career start for LaMotta, who makes his first career start against Kansas State. Baylor is 10-6 in LaMotta's previous 16 starts; he is 7-5 with four no-decisions.
VanAllen makes his 36th career start Saturday. Baylor is 22-13 in his previous 35 starts; VanAllen is 17-10 with eight no-decisions.
Sunday will be career start No. 9 for Mandel and his fifth this season. Baylor is 4-4 in his previous eight starts, including a 2-2 mark this season. Mandel is 2-1 in his eight career starts with five no-decisions. 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.
EARLY ... AND OFTEN
Baylor has made a habit of jumping on its opponent early during the current seven-game winning streak. In that time, the Bears have out-scored their opponents 32-4 in the first three innings. Baylor has scored first in five of the seven games, scoring four times. The Bears have scored 10-1 in the first inning during this stretch.
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 fifth in the Big 12 with a .376 batting average, and his .386 average in league games is tops in the Big 12. He also leads the conference in walks (49), on base percentage (.517), free passes (55) and times reached base (119). Through games of May 14, Dillon ranked ninth nationally, averaging 0.89 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 HOPE TO REVERSE ROAD TREND
Baylor posted its 27th win at Baylor Ballpark with a 15-6 triumph Tuesday night against Dallas Baptist. That established a facility record for regular-season victories.
The 2006 Bears are markedly more successful at home, posting a 27-7 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 PACK BAYLOR BALLPARK
Baylor has drawn a total of 96,427 fans at home games this season, second in school history and a regular-season record. Baylor averages 3,013 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 151-7 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 seven hits shy of No. 200.
• LF
Seth Fortenberry is three walks 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 six at bats shy of No. 500, six extra-base hits shy of No. 50 and one walk 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 30 triples through 53 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 second nationally 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 452-277-1 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 remains in Manhattan, Kan., following Sunday's series finale. Monday the Bears travel to Oklahoma City for the 2006 Big 12 Conference Tournament at Bricktown Ballpark.
