March 1, 2007
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GAMES 13-15 • MARCH 2-4, 2007
BAYLOR (8-4) at PACIFIC STATE BANK CLASSIC
KLEIN FIELD • UNIVERSITY OF THE PACIFIC • STOCKTON, CALIF.
SCHEDULE (all times CST)
Friday, March 2
BAYLOR vs. San Francisco, noon
San Diego State at Pacific, 4 p.m.
Saturday, March 3
San Diego State vs. San Francisco, noon
BAYLOR at Pacific, 4 p.m.
Sunday, March 4
BAYLOR vs. San Diego State, noon
San Francisco at Pacific, 4 p.m.
COACHES
BAYLOR: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 462-288-1 [13th season]
Record at Baylor: 462-288-1 [13th season]
SAN FRANCISCO: Nino Giarratano
Alma Mater: William Jewell, 1985
Career Record: 229-240 [9th season]
Record at USF: 229-240 [9th season]
PACIFIC: Ed Sprague
Alma Mater: Stanford, 1988
Career Record: 84-96 [4th season]
Record at UoP: 84-96 [4th season]
SAN DIEGO STATE: Tony Gwynn
Alma Mater: San Diego State
Career Record: 121-139 [5th season]
Record at SDSU: 121-139 [5th season]
BAYLOR/ISP NETWORK
1660 ESPN RADIO (Waco)
Tom Barfield, play-by-play
Lark Smith, color
INTERNET FEEDS
GameTracker: www.BaylorBears.com
Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Video: none
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Baseball America NR
USA Today/ESPN Coaches 24th
NCBWA RV
Collegiate Baseball 29th
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday, March 2
BU RHP Randall Linebaugh (1-1, 2.25 ERA, 16.0 IP, 11 K)
USF LHP Aaron Poreda (2-1, 1.45 ERA, 18.2 IP, 14 K)
Saturday, March 3
BU LHP Cliff Springston (1-1, 4.97 ERA, 12.2 IP, 10 K)
UoP RHP Hunter Carnevale (2-2, 3.63 ERA, 22.1 IP, 15 K)
Sunday, March 4
BU RHP Jeff Mandel (1-2, 5.00 ERA, 18.0 IP, 22 K)
SDSU LHP Lance Sewell (2-0, 2.66 ERA, 20.1 IP, 26 K)
Baylor returns to action this weekend, traveling to Stockton, Calif., for the Pacific State Bank Tiger Classic hosted by University of the Pacific at Klein Field. The Bears face San Francisco at noon CST Friday, host Pacific at 4 p.m. Saturday and San Diego State at noon Sunday. This is Baylor's first trip to Pacific in baseball competition.
The Bears (8-4) rallied twice Tuesday night for a 9-7, 10-inning victory over UT-Arlington at Baylor Ballpark. Raynor Campbell ended the game with a two-run, walk-off homer. Unranked in this week's Baseball America Top 25, Baylor has won eight of its last nine. The Bears, ranked 24th nationally in the USA Today/ESPN Preseason Coaches' Poll, are ranked 29th in this week's Collegiate Baseball Top 30 and are among teams receiving votes in this week's National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 30.
San Francisco (7-5) has won three of its last four, including a pair of shutouts over the weekend at Sacramento State, 9-0, and at UC Davis, 8-0. USF pitchers have allowed 13 hits in the last three games. The Dons are unranked in all four major polls.
Pacific (4-9) has lost seven of its last nine after being swept at second-ranked Clemson. All three games of the Clemson series were competitive; after an 8-3 loss in the series opener, Pacific was clipped 4-3 in 11 innings Saturday and 5-4 in Sunday's finale. Pacific is unranked in all four major polls.
San Diego State (8-7) has lost three of its last four after a 9-8 loss Tuesday night at 10th-ranked Cal State Fulleton. The Aztecs defeated Cal State Fullerton 8-7 at home one week earlier before dropping two of three at UC Riverside over the weekend. SDSU is unranked in all four major polls.
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:
- 123-45 (.732) when its starting pitcher lasts at least 5.0 innings
- 30-7 (.811) when its pitching staff records at least 10 strikeouts
- 117-32 (.785) when scoring first
- 135-25 (.844) when out-hitting its opponent
- 125-34 (.786) when holding its opponent to fewer than five runs
- 113-22 (.837) when scoring at least six runs
- 103-15 (.873) when scoring at least seven runs
• Since the start of the 2002 season, Baylor is 161-7 (.958) when leading after eight innings. The Bears have won 21 straight, 55 of their last 56 and 90 of their last 92 such games.
• Baylor has won 22 of its last 23 games when hitting at least two home runs.
• Baylor is 14-3 in extra-inning games since the start of the 2003 season.
• The Bears are 40-9 (.816) at Baylor Ballpark since the start of the 2005 postseason.
• Baylor is 19-3 all-time at Baylor Ballpark in finales with a chance to sweep a three-game series (does not include the Texas and Texas A&M split series).
• The Bears have two last-at-bat victories in their last four games.
• Despite going 3-for-11 (.283) over the last three games, LF Ben Booker has reached safely in six of 14 plate appearances in that time for a .429 on base percentage.
• 3B Raynor Campbell has hit safely and/or produced an RBI in six consecutive games; he is hitting .423 (11-for-26) in that time.
• Campbell's walk-off home run Tuesday against UT-Arlington was Baylor's first walk-off home run since April 30, 2003, when Josh Ford's 10th-inning leadoff homer beat Houston 5-4.
• Campbell's home run was Baylor's first extra-inning home run since Jeff Mandel's eventual game-winner in the top of the 11th against Stanford in the 2005 NCAA Houston Regional championship game.
• RHP Nick Cassavechia allowed an inherited runner to score Tuesday against UT-Arlington, snapping a streak of 22 consecutive inherited runners stranded by the Baylor closer. Cassavechia has stranded 27 of 31 inherited runners in his career.
• 1B/DH Dustin Dickerson has reached safely in 10 of 11 starts.
• CF Chase Gerdes has reached safely and/or scored in every game this season. He has reached safely in nine consecutive games.
• Gerdes is hitting .333 (8-for-24) over the last seven games.
• C Gregg Glime has reached safely in all six games in which he has played. He has drawn a walk in five of his 12 plate appearances.
• 3B Seth Hammock has reached safely in each of his four starts this season.
• 1B/DH Tim Jackson is 6-for-9 (.667) in his Baylor career with the bases loaded.
• Jackson enjoyed a stretch of seven consecutive games with at least one RBI from Feb. 11 to Feb. 23.
• Both of Jackson's home runs have tied the score and set the stage for Baylor to win the game with the next run scored.
• Baylor is 12-4 in RHP Randall Linebaugh's 16 career starts.
• After having never recorded more than four strikeouts in a game, RHP Jeff Mandel has notched five or more in three consecutive outings.
• RF Aaron Miller has hit safely in all but two games this season, including nine of the last 10.
• Miller has reached safely in 11 of 12 games this season.
• SS Beamer Weems has hit safely in all but two games this season, including nine of the last 10.
THE SAN FRANCISCO SERIES
Baylor and San Francisco meet for the first time ever Friday. The two teams meet again next weekend at the Quala-T Imprints Baylor Classic.
BAYLOR vs. THE WEST COAST CONFERENCE
Baylor is 2-1 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference. All three games were against Loyola Marymount. The Bears took two of three against the Lions at Baylor Ballpark to open the 2004 season.
THE PACIFIC SERIES
Baylor and Pacific meet for the second time Saturday. The only previous meeting was the Bears' 5-4 victory in last season's Quala-T Imprints Baylor Classic at Baylor Ballpark.
Overall: Baylor leads 1-0
Waco: Baylor leads 1-0
Stockton: Never Met
Neutral Site: Never Met
Smith vs. UoP: 1-0
First Meeting: at Baylor 5, Pacific [3/10/2006]
Last Meeting: at Baylor 5, Pacific [3/10/2006]
LAST TIME vs. PACIFIC
BAYLOR 5, PACIFIC 4 • MARCH 10, 2006 • WACO, TEXAS
Zach Dillon lined a 2-2 Curtis Pasma offering through the left side and Cliff Springston trotted home from third as Baylor scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth to rally past Pacific 5-4.
Pacific held a 4-3 lead after retiring Jeff Mandel to begin the ninth. Pinch hitter Matt Czimskey got the rally started with a single through the left side. Springston then moved pinch-runner Paul Miles to third with a pinch-hit, check-swing double that drew chalk down the left-field line.
Beamer Weems followed with a sacrifice fly to deep right-center, scoring Miles and pushing Springston to third. Dillon, who laced the first 2-2 pitch he saw foul down the line in right, ripped a fastball through the six hole for the game-winner.
The Bears' ninth-inning rally made a winner of reliever Nick Cassavechia, who held Pacific scoreless on two hits and a walk with one strikeout over 2.2 innings. Cassavechia relieved starter Ryan LaMotta, who surrendered four runs, only one of which was earned, on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts over 6.1 innings.
Pasma was saddled with the loss as he allowed two runs on four hits with one strikeout in 1.2 innings. He relieved starter Luke Massetti, who was touched for three runs on six hits and four walks with five strikeouts in 7.0 innings.
BAYLOR vs. THE BIG WEST CONFERENCE
Baylor is 11-17 all-time against current members of the Big West Conference, all coming during head coach Steve Smith's tenure. Pacific is the only Big West team Baylor is scheduled to play this season.
THE SAN DIEGO STATE SERIES
Baylor and San Diego State meet for the seventh time Sunday. This is the first meeting between the Bears and the Aztecs since March 12, 1994, when San Diego State posted an 11-6 victory in Waco.
All six previous meetings came in the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Baylor swept a three-game series at San Diego to open the 1993 season, winning 11-4, 7-4 and 11-3 to spark a seven-game winning streak. The following season, Baylor won the first two games of a three-game series at Ferrell Field 11-2 and 10-5, respectively, before the Aztecs' 11-6 victory in the finale.
Overall: Baylor leads 5-1
Waco: Baylor leads 2-1
San Diego: Baylor leads 3-0
Neutral Site: Never Met
Smith vs. SDSU: 0-0
First Meeting: Baylor 11, at SDSU 4 [1/28/1993]
Last Meeting: SDSU 11, at Baylor 6 [3/12/1994]
LAST TIME vs. SAN DIEGO STATE
SAN DIEGO STATE 11, BAYLOR 6 • MARCH 12, 1994 • WACO, TEXAS
Four Baylor errors led to seven unearned runs as San Diego State pulled away in the last two innings for an 11-6 victory in the final game of a three-game series at Ferrell Field. The Aztecs scored seven runs in the final two innings and avoided being swept after the Bears won the first two games of the series.
Leading 4-2 through seven innings, San Diego State scored three runs in the eighth, sparked by Thomas Lee's leadoff home run. Two walks, a Baylor error and a single led to the final two runs of the inning. Baylor got a run back in the bottom of the inning on Mike Bohny's RBI single, but the Aztecs answered with four runs, only one of which was earned, in the top of the ninth. Trent Zaragoza's three-run homer capped the inning. Baylor scored three unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth, but the rally fell short.
Ben Bronson had two of Baylor's six hits on the day and scored three times. Bohny finished with three RBI.
BAYLOR vs. THE MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE
Baylor is 140-101 all-time against teams currently playing in the Mountain West Conference. The majority of that history comes from Baylor's all-time series with TCU, against which the Bears are 132-100. TCU also is the only MWC team Baylor has faced during head coach Steve Smith's tenure prior to Sunday's game against San Diego State. The Bears are 13-12 against TCU under Smith.
BAYLOR IN THE BIG 12 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Through games of Feb. 27, Baylor ranks eighth in the Big 12 Conference in batting average (.269), fourth in ERA (3.17) and sixth in fielding (.965).
Individually, RF Aaron Miller is 19th in batting average (.356) and tied for second in triples (2). 1B/DH Tim Jackson and SS Beamer Weems are tied for eighth in home runs (2), while 2B Shaver Hansen is tied for 10th in stolen bases.
RHP Tim Matthews leads the Big 12 with a 0.71 ERA; he also ranks second in opponents' batting average (.163) and tied for fifth in appearances (7). RHP Randall Linebaugh is tied for eighth in ERA (2.25), while RHP Nick Cassavechia is tied for fifth in wins (2). Cassavechia and RHP Jake Weghorst are tied for seventh in appearances (7). RHP Jeff Mandel ranks third in strikeouts (22) and leads all Big 12 starters in strikeouts per nine innings (11.00).
TRIPLE YOUR PLEASURE
Baylor tied a school single-game record last Tuesday against UTSA with three triples. LF Ben Booker, CF Chase Gerdes and 1B/DH Dustin Dickerson each recorded a three-bagger. It was the fourth time in school history that Baylor had three triples in a game and the first time since April 6, 2002, when the Bears accomplished the feat against Oklahoma State.
Through games of Feb. 27, Baylor leads the Big 12 Conference with nine triples this season. Booker leads the conference individually after recording his third triple of the season Tuesday against UT-Arlington. RF Aaron Miller is tied for second in the league with two triples. 3B Raynor Campbell, Dickerson, Gerdes and 1B/DH Tim Jackson also have one triple each.
Last season, Baylor tied for second nationally with 32 triples, which also tied for the fourth-best season total in school history.
FRESHMAN BATS WARMING UP
Four true freshmen have been regular starters in Baylor's lineup this season: 3B Raynor Campbell, 1B/DH Dustin Dickerson, 2B Shaver Hansen and RF Aaron Miller. That quartet hit .158 (6-for-38) in the season's first three games with no extra-base hits and no RBI. However, the foursome are hitting .308 (37-for-120) with nine doubles, four triples, two home runs and 26 RBI in nine games since.
Campbell and Miller have led the way, combining for 25 hits in the last nine games. Miller is hitting .400 (14-for-35) with three doubles, two triples, one home run and 10 RBI in that time. Campbell has been even hotter, hitting .423 (11-for-26) with three doubles, one triple, one home run and six RBI in seven games, having missed two games in that time due to a shoulder injury.
MIDWEEK SUCCESS CONTINUES
With Tuesday's 9-7 victory over UT-Arlington, Baylor improved to 16-4 in non-conference midweek games since the start of the 2006 season, including a 14-3 mark on Tuesdays. The the Bears were 7-8 in non-conference midweek games during the 2005 season, including a 6-6 mark on Tuesdays.
BEARS STRONG AT BAYLOR BALLPARK
Last Sunday's loss to Oral Roberts snapped a 14-game winning streak for the Bears at Baylor Ballpark. It was Baylor's longest home winning streak since a facility-record 15-game run in 2000.
Since the start of the 2005 postseason, the Bears are 40-9 (.816) at Baylor Ballpark. Six of those nine losses were to ranked opponents. Baylor also has five home wins against ranked opponents during that time, including a sweep of fifth-ranked Nebraska last May.
Baylor has lost consecutive home games only once since the start of the 2005 postseason: a 6-4 loss to second-ranked Rice on a Josh Rodriguez ninth-inning home run and a 7-6, 13-inning loss to eighth-ranked Texas two days later.
BEARS ARE EXTRA SPECIAL
Baylor is 14-3 in extra-inning games since the start of the 2003 season, including a 2-0 mark in such games this season. Last year, the Bears lost their only extra-inning game -- a 13-inning, 7-6 loss at home to Texas. Baylor was 6-1 in extra-inning games in 2005, 1-0 in 2004 and 5-1 in 2003.
Five of the 14 wins over the past five seasons have come on an opponent's home field (Arizona twice, Arizona State, Texas and Vanderbilt); another was at Baylor Ballpark when the Bears were the visitor (vs. Stanford in the 2005 NCAA Waco Regional championship game). Four of the wins have come in postseason play, including two at the Big 12 Tournament and one at the College World Series.
Baylor's luck was not as good in 2002 when the Bears were 1-5 in extra-inning games, including a span of three consecutive games lost in extra innings in mid-May.
CASSAVECHIA NAMED TO STOPPER WATCH LIST
RHP Nick Cassavechia was named to the 2007 Stopper of the Year Watch List, announced in early February by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Cassavechia joined Texas sophomore Austin Wood as the only Big 12 pitchers on the 35-man list.
A product of St. Mark's High School in Dallas, Texas, Cassavechia posted a 3-4 record with eight saves and a 3.03 ERA as a sophomore in 2006. He stranded 24 of 27 inherited runners (88.9 percent) and held a lead or a tie in 16 of 18 opportunities (88.9 percent). Cassavechia was dominate when entering a game as opponents were 2-for-25 (.080) in first at bats against the Baylor closer.
Cassavechia's 2006 saves total tied for the sixth-best tally in school history. He tied fellow Bear Jeff Mandel for fourth in the Big 12 last season in saves. Cassavechia and Mandel, who moves to the starting rotation for 2007, are the two top returning pitchers in saves in the conference this year.
SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST
Baylor's 2007 schedule is projected as the nation's 20th-most difficult slate, according to Boyd Nation of BoydsWorld.com. The Bears' schedule is rated as the third-most difficult in the Big 12 behind Texas (10th) and Texas A&M (17th). In fact, Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M and Georgia (18th) are the only non-California and/or non-Pac 10 teams in the top 25.
Long Beach State's schedule is predicted to be the most difficult, followed by Southern California, UCLA, Stanford, Cal Poly, Pacific, Cal State Northridge, Cal State Fullerton, UC Santa Barbara and Texas.
BEARS PICKED FOURTH IN PRESEASON BIG 12 COACHES' POLL
Baylor was picked to finish fourth in the Big 12 Conference, according to the preseason coaches' poll released by the league office. The Bears garnered 57 total points, seven behind third-place Nebraska and 11 ahead of fifth-place Oklahoma.
Defending regular-season champion Texas was picked as the preseason favorite, receiving 79 total points and seven of nine first-place votes. Oklahoma State was picked to finish second with 70 points and two first-place votes. Texas Tech was picked to finish sixth, followed by Texas A&M, Missouri, Kansas and Kansas State. Coaches are not permitted to vote for their own teams.
This is the third consecutive season in which Baylor was picked to finish fourth in the preseason coaches' poll. In the 10-year history of the Big 12 Conference, only five schools have claimed regular-season titles: Baylor (2000, 2005); Nebraska (2001, 2003, 2005); Texas (2002, 2004, 2006); Texas A&M (1998, 1999) and Texas Tech (1997).
BAYLOR RANKED NATION'S 17TH-BEST PROGRAM
Baylor was listed as the nation's 17th-best collegiate baseball program since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1999, according to a recent study by Baseball America. The publication's study focused on 11 categories, including winning percentage, NCAA Tournament appearances, tradition, All-Americans and players drafted in the top 10 rounds.
With 150 total points, Baylor was the third highest-rated Big 12 Conference program behind only top-rated Texas and 11th-rated Nebraska. Miami, Fla., Stanford, Cal State Fullerton, Rice, Louisiana State, Florida State, Clemson, South Carolina and Southern California rounded out the top 10 of the 64-team list. Other Big 12 programs on the list were Texas A&M (24th), Oklahoma State (29th), Oklahoma (35th), Texas Tech (40th) and Missouri (59th).
Baseball America last did such a study in 1997 and focused only on the 1990s. Baylor ranked 80th in that study; the Bears' 63-spot jump was the second-largest behind only Tulane, which climbed from 83rd in 1997 to one spot ahead of Baylor at No. 16 in this study. With that, Baylor ranked second in the publication's list of top five "rising" programs; Rice and Wake Forest, both up 59 spots, tied for third on the list, followed by Nebraska (up 51 spots).
Programs were awarded one point for every .010 above a .500 winning percentage, five points for each regional appearance, seven points for each super regional appearance, 10 points for each College World Series appearance, 20 points for each national title, one point for each CWS appearance prior to 1999, five points for each first-team All-American, three points for each second-team All-American, two points for each third-team All-American, two points for each player drafted in the top 10 rounds and two points for each former player to play in the Major Leagues during the period of study.
With 19 players drafted in the top 10 rounds since 1999, Baylor tied Louisiana State, Nebraska, North Carolina and Texas A&M for 11th in that category. The Bears tied for 15th in total All-Americans since 1999. Baylor also is one of only 20 programs to make at least seven NCAA Tournament appearances in the last eight years.
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.
INSIDE BAYLOR SPORTS
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 13th season as head coach of Baylor's baseball program in 2007. In his first 12 years, Smith guided the program to unprecedented heights, including the most successful nine-year run in the program's 102-season history and a College World Series appearance in 2005.
Smith has compiled a 462-288-1 career record, all at Baylor. He ranks second among the program's 18 head coaches in career victories. Smith has led Baylor to eight 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.
UP NEXT ...
Baylor begins a five-game home stand Tuesday, March 6, hosting Texas State for a 6:30 p.m. CST first pitch at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears defeated the Bobcats 10-4 last month in Baylor's home opener.
