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Feb. 22, 2007
2007 NFCA LEADOFF CLASSIC
#16 BAYLOR (12-2) TRAVELS TO THE NFCA LEADOFF CLASSIC
Feb. 23-25, 2007
SOUTH COMMONS COMPLEX • COLUMBUS, GA.
THE SCHEDULE
Friday, Feb. 23
Baylor vs. Georgia Tech, 11:00 a.m.
Baylor vs. No. 24 UMass, 1:30 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 24
Baylor vs. DePaul, 2:30 p.m.
Baylor vs. No. 19 Florida, 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 25
Pool Play, TBA
THE SERIES
Baylor vs. DePaul: DePaul leads 3-0
Baylor vs. Florida: Baylor leads 5-0
Baylor vs. Georgia Tech: Georgia Tech leads 1-0
Baylor vs. UMass: Baylor leads 1-0
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: None
Live Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Television: None
The No. 16 Baylor softball team returns to action this week as the Lady Bears travel to Columbus, Ga., for the prestigious NFCA Leadoff Classic. Baylor opens play at the classic when the Lady Bears face Georgia Tech on Friday, Feb. 23, at 11:00 a.m. before a meeting with No. 24 UMass at 1:30 p.m.
Baylor will continue pool play at the tournament on Saturday, Feb. 24, when the Lady Bears face DePaul at 2:30 p.m. with a meeting against No. 19 Florida at 5:00 p.m.
The trip to the NFCA Leadoff Classic marks the first time the Lady Bears will play in the invitation-only tournament as pool play will determine seedings and pairings on the final day of action on Sunday, Feb. 25.
The Lady Bears are coming off a mid-week sweep of Houston as Ashley Monceaux led the way for the Lady Bears in the victory, going 5-for-7 in two games with a game-winning, walk-off single in the 2-1 victory in game two.
Baylor is 8-4 all-time against teams in its pool, with the latest meeting between the teams in the pool coming last season when the Lady Bears dropped an 8-0 decision to Georgia Tech in Waco.
The Lady Bears are 0-1 all-time against the Yellow Jackets and 0-3 all-time against DePaul; however, own a perfect 5-0 record against the Gators and a 1-0 record against UMass.
Live audio and stats are available for every Baylor game at the tournament at www.baylorears.com.
Ashley Monceaux AND BAYLOR OFFENSE OFF TO HOT START
Perhaps no team in the country had a more successful start at the plate than Baylor to start off the 2007 season. Among Big 12 Conference teams, Baylor ranks first in every hitting category except for doubles and on-base percentage where the team ranks second.
So far this season, Baylor has posted a .362 batting average on the season to lead the league. In addition, the Lady Bears have hit 19 home runs on the season to lead the Big 12 Conference and have posted an impressive .583 slugging percentage on the year.
Leading the way for Baylor has been senior Ashley Monceaux. Monceaux, who earned Big 12 Conference Player of the Week honors for her performance last week, leads the Lady Bears with a Big 12 Conference leading .650 batting average, seven home runs and 24 RBI. The senior first baseman has posted an almost unbelievable 1.325 slugging percentage and 53 total bases as she leads the conference in six hitting categories.
HEAD COACH Glenn Moore REACHES CAREER MILESTONE
With a 7-2 win over Iowa State at the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational, Baylor head coach Glenn Moore reached a career milestone as he recorded his 400th career victory with the win. In 10-plus seasons as a head coach, Moore now has a career record of 403-166.
While at Baylor, Moore has posted a career record of 264-124 as he has posted at least 30 wins in each of his first six seasons with the Lady Bears and has posted at least 35 wins in all but one season.
Moore has led Baylor to three consecutive NCAA Championship appearances, the first appearances in school history, as the Lady Bears captured the 2005 NCAA Auburn Regional title and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional round.
Chelsi Lake TIES CAREER HOME RUN MILESTONE
With a home run at the Ragin' Cajuns Invitational, Chelsi Lake moved into a tie with for Baylor star Kelly Osburn (2003-06) for the Baylor career lead in the category. Lake has now hit 38 career home runs as the senior already holds the Baylor single-season home run mark with 18 round-trippers in 2006.
The career milestone is just one of a number of Baylor marks Lake will likely pass during the 2007 campaign as the senior already holds the Lady Bears career record with 147 RBI. In addition, Lake is just 53 total bases shy of surpassing Osburn's career total bases mark of 395.
SCOUTING DePAUL
DePaul enters the weekend with a record of 5-2 as the Blue Demons, who advanced to the Women's College World Series two years ago, are currently receiving votes in the national polls.
The Blue Demons are currently led by Linda Secka who leads the team with a .409 batting average, two home runs and seven RBI. Marcy Wilus is also off to a fast start, hitting .381 on the season with a home run.
As a team, DePaul is currently batting .261 on the season and has outscored opponents 27-12 on the year.
Tracie Adix leads the way for the Blue Demons in the circle as she has posted an impressive 3-0 record and 0.00 ERA in 19 innings of work as she has not allowed a run. Megan Heteniak has also seen significant time in the circle, posting a 2-0 record and 2.15 ERA in 13 innings of work.
SCOUTING FLORIDA
No. 19 Florida enters the week with a 12-3 record after sweeping a mid-week doubleheader against North Florida on Wednesday.
The Gators have seen solid production from a number of players this season as Kim Waleszonia leads the way for Florida so far, posting a .373 batting average on the season and leading the way with 11 runs scored on the year.
Florida is hitting .259 as a team so far this season with Melissa Zick providing the power in the Gators line-up, leading the way with three home runs on the year.
In the circle, Florida is led by Stacey Nelson who has posted an impressive 7-1 record with a 0.25 ERA so far on the season. In 55.0 innings of work, Nelso has struck out 55 batters and has held opponents to a .206 batting average against.
SCOUTING GEORGIA TECH
Georgia Tech comes into the NFCA Leadoff Classic riding a six-game winning streak, including posting a pair of victories over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday.
The Yellow Jackets have posted an impressive .359 batting average on the season as five players in the Georgia Tech line-up are batting over .400 on the season.
Caitlin Lever leads the way with a .520 average on the season, posting 13 hits and ranking second on the team with 12 runs scored. Brittney Barnes is also off to a hot start at the plate, leading the team with five home runs and 21 RBI on the season while posting a .455 batting average.
In the circle, Georgia Tech is paced by Whitney Humphreys who has posted a 4-0 record on the season with a 0.67 ERA in 21 innings of work. In addition, Sarah Wood and Tiffany Johnson have seen significant time in the circle.
SCOUTING UMASS
UMass, who enters the weekend with a 2-2-1 record, comes into the Leadoff Classic ranked No. 24 in the nation as the Minutewomen had last weekend off.
Candice Molinari leads the Minutewomen in the early portion of the season, posting a .538 batting average and leading the team with seven hits and six runs scored.
Whitney Mollica leads the team with five RBI on the season as UMass has posted victories over nationally-ranked Cal and San Diego State this season.
Brandice Balschmiter leads the way for the Minutewomen in the circle, posting a 1-1 record on the season with a 0.37 ERA in 19 inning of work.
BAYLOR SOFTBALL IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
The Baylor softball team is currently ranked No. 16 in the preseason ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll released at the start of the season. In addition, Baylor earned a No. 17 ranking in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25.
Baylor is one of five Big 12 Conference school ranked in the preseason polls as Texas A&M (No. 2, No. 3), Nebraska (No. 21, No. 21), Oklahoma (No. 10, No. 9) and Texas (No. 11, No. 10) join the Lady Bears in the polls.
Tennessee, after opening the year No. 2 in the national polls, has moved to No. 1 in the rankings in both polls.
Baylor's appearance in both polls marks the 45th consecutive week the Lady Bears have appeared in the NFCA Top 25 and the 44th 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.
UP NEXT...
Baylor will return to action on Tuesday, Feb. 27, when the Lady Bears host a doubleheader against Stephen F. Austin beginning at 4:00 p.m.
