May 9, 2006

#18 BAYLOR (36-18, 12-6) TRAVELS TO THE BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIPS

MAY 10-13, 2006

ASA HALL OF FAME STADIUM

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA.

LIVE COVERAGE

Radio: KRZI 1580-AM

Live Audio: www.BaylorBears.com

Live Video: None

Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com

Television: Fox Sports Net (Games #13 and #17)

MEDIA RELATIONS

Softball Contact: Michael Collins

Office Phone: (254) 710-3065

Cell Phone: (254) 709-4657

Office Fax: (254) 710-1369

E-mail: Michael_Collins@baylor.edu

THE SCHEDULE

WEDNESDAY, MAY 10

Game 1 - No. 8 Oklahoma State vs. No. 9 Iowa State, 5:00 p.m.

Game 2 - No. 7 Missouri vs. No. 10 Texas Tech - Field 4, 5:00 p.m.

Game 3 - No. 1 Texas vs. Game 1 Winner, 7:30 p.m.

Game 4 - No. 2 Nebraska vs. Game 2 Winner - Field 4, 7:30 p.m.

THURSDAY, MAY 11

Game 5 - No. 4 Texas A&M vs. No. 5 Oklahoma, 11:00 a.m.

Game 6 - No. 3 Baylor vs. No. 6 Kansas - Field 4, 11:00 a.m.

Game 7 - Game 3 Loser vs. Game 5 Loser, 2:00 p.m.

Game 8 - Game 4 Loser vs. Game 6 Loser - Field 4, 2:00 p.m.

Game 9 - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 5:00 p.m.

Game 10 -Game 4 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 7:30 p.m.

FRIDAY, MAY 12

Game 11 - Game 8 Winner vs. Game 9 Loser, 11:00 a.m.

Game 12 - Game 7 Winner vs. Game 10 Loser, 1:30 p.m.

Game 13 - Game 10 Winner vs. Game 11 Winner (FSN), 4:30 p.m.

Game 14 - Game 9 Winner vs. Game 12 Winner, 7:00 p.m.

SATURDAY, MAY 13

Game 15 - If necessary game - Field 4, 11:00 a.m.

Game 16 - If necessary game, 11:00 a.m.

Game 17 - Championship Game (FSN), 3:00 p.m.

(Game 13/Game 15 Winner vs. Game 14/Game 16 Winner)

The No. 18 Baylor softball team opens post-season play as the No. 3 Lady Bears face No. 6 Kansas in the opening round of the Big 12 Conference Championships on Thursday, May 11 at 11:00 a.m.

Should Baylor (36-18, 12-6) defeat the Jayhawks (30-24, 8-10), the Lady Bears will play the winner of No. 2 Nebraska and No. 7 Missouri and No. 10 Texas Tech on Thursday, May 11, at 7:30 p.m. A loss would send the Lady Bears to the loser's bracket where they would play the loser of the Nebraska game at 2:00 p.m. on Thursday.

Winners of 8-of-10, the Lady Bears enter the championships after establishing a new school record for most conference wins in a season. Baylor owns a 9-16 record all-time at the Big 12 Championships; however, the Lady Bears have advanced to the semi-finals in each of the last two years.

Baylor split with Kansas earlier this season in Waco as the Jayhawks picked up a 2-1 win in 10 innings in game one before the Lady Bears rebounded with a 2-1 victory in game two. Baylor is 0-2 all-time against Kansas at the Big 12 Championships as the Jayhawks picked up a 10-4 victory over the Lady Bears at the 2001 championships.

SCOUTING KANSAS (30-24, 8-10)

Kansas enters the Big 12 Championships as the top-ranked pitching team in the Big 12 Conference after finishing the conference season with a league-leading 0.97 ERA in conference games.

Kassie Humphreys and Serena Settlemier form a formidable pitching duo as Humphreys (14-16) has posted an impressive1.31 ERA while striking out 217 in 191.2 innings of work while Settlemier enters the championships with a 16-6 record and 1.21 ERA in 139.1 innings of work.

At the plate, Kansas is led by Settlemier, who leads the team with a .331 batting average and leads the team with 21 home runs and 59 RBI.

Kansas leads the all-time series 19-11; however, the Lady Bears have won 5-of-6 from the Jayhawks after splitting the series in Waco earlier this season.

LADY BEARS TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CLUTCH HITTING

With a 36-18 record 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 280 runs scored by Baylor so far this season, 99 (34 percent) have come on two-out RBI hits.

Freshman Brette Reagan leads the team with 22 RBI with two outs as the tandem is currently leading a Baylor team that is hitting .284 (124-of-438) on the year with two outs while opponents are only hitting .221 (99-of-448) in the same situation.

Kelly Osburn ACCOMPLISHES BIG 12 FIRST

With a walk against Nebraska, senior outfielder Kelly Osburn became the first player in Big 12 history to surpass 200 hits, 150 runs scored, 30 home runs, 40 doubles, 100 RBI, 100 walks and 75 stolen bases for her career.

For her career, the senior has posted 219 hits, 159 runs scored, 36 home runs, 43 doubles, 106 RBI, 104 walks and 77 stolen bases as she helped lead Baylor to consecutive NCAA Softball Championship appearances. A two-time all-Big 12 Conference selection, Osburn is Baylor's career leader in five categories.

SCHWETHELM REACHES 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 230 after collecting a hit in the loss to Texas.

Schwethelm ranks second on Baylor's career hits list and is now 18 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 219 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 96 stolen bases in 111 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 .865 to rank second on the Baylor career charts.

CHELSI LAKE BREAKS CAREER RBI MARK

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 week, Lake has recorded 130 RBI during her two-plus year career.

Senior Kelly Osburn recently became the third player in school history to surpass the 100-RBI plateau as the outfielder has reached 105 RBI for her career.

BAYLOR SOFTBALL IN THE NATIONAL POLLS

After falling to to No. 2 Texas in its only contest last week, 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. 18 ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25.

Baylor is one of five Big 12 Conference schools ranked in the current polls as Texas (No. 2 ESPN.com/No. 2 USA Today), Texas A&M (No. 16, No. 17), Oklahoma (No. 21, No. 22) and Nebraska (No. 14, No.16) join Baylor in the rankings.

Baylor's appearance in both polls marks the 39th consecutive week the Lady Bears have appeared in the NFCA Top 25 and the 38th 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.

Chelsi Lake SETS SINGLE SEASON HOME RUN MARK

With a pair of home runs in the series split against Nebraska, junior Chelsi Lake broke the Baylor, single-season home run mark as the catcher blasted her 15th and 16th home runs of the season. Lake broke the record she had set last year after hitting 15 round-trippers during the 2005 campaign.

Lake, who ranks second on the career list with 32 home runs, is only five home runs shy of teammate Kelly Osburn (36) from establishing a new career mark.

BAYLOR SETS SINGLE SEASON HOME RUN MARK

After blasting 57 home runs a year ago to set a school record, the Baylor softball team would need a significant power surge in order to break the mark this season. However, behind the power of four players with at least 10 home runs, Baylor has established a new single-season school record with 63 home runs so far this season.

Chelsi Lake leads the way with 16 home runs as Kelly Osburn and Tessa Lynam currently ranks second with 13 round-trippers. Brette Reagan has recorded 12 home runs on the year as Baylor leads the Big 12 Conference in the category.

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, 159); Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 133); Tessa Lynam (9th, 81)

HITS: Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 230); Kelly Osburn 5th, 219); Chelsi Lake (8th, 164)

MULTIPLE-HIT GAMES: Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 62); Kelly Osburn (6th, 52); Chelsi Lake (7th, 39)

DOUBLES: Kelly Osburn (1st, 43); Chelsi Lake (3rd, 36); Tessa Lynam (t-7th, 26)

TRIPLES: Harmony Schwethelm (t-1st, 9); Kelly Osburn (t-5th, 7); Chelsi Lake (t-10th, 4)

HOME RUNS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 36); Chelsi Lake (2nd, 32); Tessa Lynam (3rd, 27)

RBI: Chelsi Lake (1st, 130); Kelly Osburn (2nd, 105); Tessa Lynam (5th, 93)

TOTAL BASES: Kelly Osburn (1st, 384); Harmony Schwethelm (5th, 272); Chelsi Lake (3rd, 304)

WALKS: Kelly Osburn (1st, 104)

HIT BY PITCH: Kelly Osburn (2nd, 23); Kylie Conroy (6th, 11)

SACRIFICE FLIES: Kelly Osburn (t-6th; 4); Chelsi Lake (t-6th, 4); Tessa Lynam (t-8th, 3)

SACRIFICE HITS: Harmony Schwethelm (6th, 25)

STOLEN BASES: Harmony Schwethelm (1st, 96); Kelly Osburn (3rd, 77)

STOLEN BASE ATTEMPTS: Harmony Schwethelm (2nd, 111); Kelly Osburn (3rd, 94)

PITCHING RECORDS

APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 122); Tessa Lynam (8th, 40); Nicole Jackson (10th, 29)

GAMES STARTED: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 83); Tessa Lynam (8th, 14)

RELIEF APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 39); Tessa Lynam (5th, 26); Nicole Jackson (5th, 26)

WINS: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 54); Tessa Lynam (8th, 15)

LOSSES: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 26); Tessa Lynam (t-9th, 4)

DECISIONS: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 80); Tessa Lynam (8th, 19)

COMPLETE GAMES: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 43); Tessa Lynam (10th, 4)

SHUTOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (3rd, 20); Tessa Lynam (t-9th, 1)

SAVES: Lisa Ferguson (1st, 15); Tessa Lynam (t-5th, 4); Nicole Jackson (t-8th, 1); Sarah Hausner (t-8th, 1)

INNINGS PITCHED: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 545.0); Tessa Lynam (8th, 115.2)

STRIKEOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 392); 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 156 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 (36), walks (104), runs scored (160), total bases (384) and doubles (43), Osburn ranks fourth in triples (7) and third in stolen bases (77).

UP NEXT...

Baylor will learn where it is heading for the 2006 NCAA Softball Championships when the field is announced on Sunday, May 14, at 2:30 p.m. on ESPNews.