March 22, 2007
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GAMES 24-26 • MARCH 23-25
BAYLOR (13-10, 0-3) vs. TEXAS TECH (17-8, 2-1)
BAYLOR BALLPARK • WACO, TEXAS • 6:30 P.M. CDT/6:30 P.M. CDT/1:00 P.M. CDT
COACHES
BAYLOR: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 467-294-1 [13th season]
Record at Baylor: 467-294-1 [13th season]
TEXAS TECH: Larry Hays
Alma Mater: Eastern New Mexico, 1966
Career Record: 1,473-811-4 [37th season]
Record at Texas Tech: 778-430-3 [21st 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: www.BaylorBears.com
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Baseball America NR
USA Today/ESPN Coaches NR
NCBWA NR
Collegiate Baseball NR
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday, March 23
BU RHP Jeff Mandel (2-4, 3.60 ERA, 40.0 IP, 10 BB, 38 K)
TTU RHP A.J. Ramos (5-1, 2.90 ERA, 40.1 IP, 11 BB, 47 K)
Saturday, March 24
BU RHP Randall Linebaugh (2-2, 3.12 ERA, 34.2 IP, 11 BB, 20 K)
TTU LHP Aaron Odom (3-2, 3.82 ERA, 37.2 IP, 15 BB, 27 K)
Sunday, March 25
BU TBA
TTU LHP Colt Hynes (2-1, 4.50 ERA, 44.0 IP, 4 BB, 29 K)
Baylor returns to action this weekend, hosting Texas Tech for a three-game Big 12 Conference series at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears and the Red Raiders meet Friday at 6:30 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. This is the second conference series of the season for both teams.
Baylor (13-10, 0-3) snapped a three-game losing streak Tuesday night with a 22-1 victory over Texas Southern at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears are unranked in all four major polls.
Texas Tech (17-8, 2-1) did not play a midweek game after taking two of three against Nebraska at home last weekend. The Red Raiders are 6-4 in their last 10 games, 6-1 away from Lubbock and 1-0 on opponents' home fields. Unranked in this week's Baseball America Top 25, Texas Tech is among teams receiving votes in this week's USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll and in this week's NCBWA Top 30.
Baylor and Texas Tech have played two common opponents this season -- Rice and Stephen F. Austin. The Bears were 3-0 against Stephen F. Austin, while the Red Raiders were 1-1. Both teams have lost to Rice once.
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.
Live streaming video also is available for the Texas Tech series. For more information, follow the BearCasts link at www.BaylorBears.com.
QUICK HITS
• Since the start of the 2003 season, Baylor is:
- 126-48 (.724) when its starting pitcher lasts at least 5.0 innings
- 31-7 (.816) when its pitching staff records at least 10 strikeouts
- 120-35 (.774) when scoring first
- 137-26 (.841) when out-hitting its opponent
- 130-36 (.783) when holding its opponent to fewer than five runs
- 115-23 (.833) when scoring at least six runs
- 104-15 (.874) when scoring at least seven runs
• Since the start of the 2002 season, Baylor is 166-7 (.960) when leading after eight innings. The Bears have won 26 straight, 60 of their last 61 and 95 of their last 97 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 43-10 (.811) 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 three walk-off victories this season, one shy of their total from the last two seasons combined.
• Baylor has out-scored its opponents 30-4 in the eighth inning and 22-5 in the second inning this season.
• Baylor's bullpen is 6-1 with a 2.74 ERA this season.
• The Bears are hitting .315 (114-for-362) with runners on base this season but only .279 (68-for-244) with runners in scoring position. That means Baylor is hitting .390 (46-for-118) with a runner only at first base.
• Baylor is in the middle of a stretch where it plays 22 of its 26 games against 2006 NCAA Tournament participants.
• The Bears' six-hole hitters are hitting .355 (33-for-93) with six doubles, four triples, three home runs, 15 RBI and 19 runs scored this season.
THE TEXAS TECH SERIES
Baylor and Texas Tech meet for the 131st, 132nd and 133rd times this weekend. The Raiders hold a slim 67-63 advantage in the all-time series, the seventh most-played series in Baylor baseball history. The series dates back to a 14-1 Baylor victory in 1928.
The series is decidedly tilted toward the home team. While the Bears are 39-23 against the Raiders in Waco, Baylor is 20-42 at Lubbock. The Bears won the opener of last year's series at Lubbock, snapping a nine-game losing streak at Dan Law Field.
Tech holds an 18-12 advantage in regular-season meetings since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997. Baylor won the series in 1998, 1999 (sweep), 2003 and 2005. Tech has won each of the other six series, including sweeps in 2000, 2002 and 2004. Baylor is 16-26 against Texas Tech during head coach Steve Smith's tenure. Tech and Oklahoma (18-19) are the only Big 12 schools against whom the Bears have a sub-.500 record under Smith.
Overall: Texas Tech leads 67-63
Waco: Baylor leads 39-23
Austin: Texas Tech leads 42-20
Neutral Site: Baylor leads 4-2
Since Start of Big 12: Texas Tech leads 19-15
Regular-Season Big 12: Texas Tech leads 18-12
Smith vs. Texas Tech: 16-26
First Meeting: Baylor 14, Texas Tech 1 [1928]
Last Meeting: Baylor 5, Texas Tech 3 [5/27/2006]
PLAYER NOTES
LF Ben Booker
• Currently riding a career-long eight-game hitting streak
• Hitting .357 (10-for-28) during eight-game streak with nine runs, three doubles, two triples, four RBI, a .607 slugging percentage and four stolen bases
• Has walked five times and been hit by a pitch three times against only three strikeouts during eight-game streak for a .500 on base percentage
• Hitting .306 (15-for-49) in the leadoff spot with a .571 slugging percentage and a .424 on base percentage ... Hitting .207 (6-for-29) elsewhere in the lineup
• Tied for first in Big 12 with five triples
IF RAYNOR CAMPBELL
• Has missed seven games this season due to injury (shoulder, two; hamstring, five)
• Has hit safely in nine games this season with seven multiple-hit games
RHP Nick Cassavechia
• Has stranded 30 of 36 inherited runners during career, including a streak of 22 consecutive inherited runners stranded (ended 2/27/07 vs. UT-Arlington)
• Nine scoreless outings in 11 appearances this season
• Has recorded at least one strikeout in nine of 11 appearances
• Has not allowed multiple earned runs in 17 consecutive outings and in 38 of 43 career appearnaces
• Currently sixth all-time at Baylor in career saves (11) and tied for fifth in career Big 12 saves (5)
• Tied for seventh in Big 12 with three saves
DH/1B Dustin Dickerson
• Has hit safely in six of last eight games after breaking an 0-for-16 skid
CF Chase Gerdes
• Has reached safely and/or scored in 21 of 23 games this season
• Has stolen thrid base four times this season
• Hitting .351 (13-for-37) in the seventh spot with seven runs, three doubles, a triple, two home runs, nine RBI, a .649 slugging percentage and a .409 on base percentage ... Hitting .182 (6-for-33) elsewhere in the lineup
3B Seth Hammock
• Leads team in percentage of first-pitch swings
• Did not strikeout Tuesday against Texas Southern, snapping a nine-game streak
• Has hit safely in 10 of 15 starts this season
2B Shaver Hansen
• Tuesday night's 5-for-5 performance snapped a streak of five consecutive strikeouts
• Nine of 13 hits this season have come in three games
• Has hit safely in four of last five starts
1B/DH Tim Jackson
• Is hitless in last four at bats with the bases loaded after starting Baylor career 6-for-7 in such situations
• All three home runs this season have tied the score
• Hitting .184 (9-for-49) in the cleanup spot and .360 (9-for-25) elsewhere in the lineup
• 2-for-18 since a fifth-inning single against Mississippi State (3/10/07)
RHP Willie Kempf
• Has not allowed a run in first six career appearances (8.0 innings)
RHP Randall Linebaugh
• Baylor is 14-5 in his 19 career starts, including a 14-3 mark in 17 career regular-season starts
• 7-2 with four no-decisions in 12 career starts in which he has lasted at least 5.0 innings
• 8-1 in 24 career appearances at Baylor Ballpark
• Has allowed two or fewer earned runs in 16 of 19 career starts
• Has logged at least 5.0 innings in every non-predetermined start (innings, pitch count) since going 3.1 innings in first career start
• 15th in Big 12 with 3.12 ERA
• 10th in Big 12 with a .222 opponents' batting average
RHP Jeff Mandel
• Has been given just nine runs of support in four losses this season
• 1-3 with a 2.48 ERA in last four starts
• 8-2 with a 2.68 ERA in 35 career appearances (nine starts) at Baylor Ballpark
• Tied for fifth in Big 12 with 38 strikeouts
• Tied for first in Big 12 with one complete game
RHP Tim Matthews
• Has not allowed a run in 13 of last 15 relief appearances
• First batters faced are 0-for-10 with six strikeouts this season
• Has recorded at least one strikeout in nine of 10 appearances this season, including each of the last eight
• 4-2 with a 2.32 ERA in 19 career appearances (six starts) at Baylor Ballpark, holding opponents to a .226 batting average in those games
OF Aaron Miller
• Has not gone hitless in consecutive games this season
• Has suffered two hitless games in a three-game span only once
• Has reached safely in 21 of 23 games this season
• Has reached safely and/or produced an RBI in 15 consecutive games
• Leads team with a .417 average (15-for-36) with runners on base
• Hitting .308 (8-for-26) with seven RBI with two outs
C Matt Sodolak
• Has hit safely in four consecutive games
• Hitting .304 (7-for-23) in the eighth spot and .211 (4-for-19) elsewhere in the lineup
SS Beamer Weems
• Has hit safely in five consecutive games and in 18 of 23 games this season
• Has gone hitless in consecutive games only four times in 85 career games
• Has hit safely in 17 of last 19 games at Baylor Ballpark
• 11 career home runs (nine from right side of plate)
• Tied school record with two triples in one game vs. Texas Southern (3/20/07)
RHP Jake Weghorst
• Has not allowed an earned run in five consecutive appearances (3.2 innings)
• Has not allowed an earned run in 26 of 32 career relief appearances
• Ended 2006 season on a 27.0-inning scoreless streak that covered 17 appearances
BAYLOR IN UNFAMILIAR BIG 12 WATERS
Baylor started 0-3 in Big 12 play for the first time ever; it marked the first time the Bears started 0-3 in conference play since 1990 when the Bears were swept by Rice to start Southwest Conference play. This marks the first season since 1998 that Baylor did not win its first Big 12 series of the season. That year, the Bears dropped the first two games of a three-game set at home against Nebraska. Baylor won the finale to start a six-game winning streak and went on to win 14 of their next 15 conference games.
BEARS IN THE BIG 12 STATISTICAL RANKINGS
Through games of March 21, Baylor ranks 10th in the Big 12 Conference in batting average (.266), sixth in ERA (3.41) and eighth in fielding (.963). The Bears lead the conference in triples (15).
Individually, LF Ben Booker is tied for the conference lead in triples (5). RHP Randall Linebaugh is 15th in ERA (3.12) and 10th in opponents' batting average (.222). RHP Nick Cassavechia is tied for seventh in saves (3) and tied for eighth in appearances (11). RHP Jeff Mandel is tied for fifth in strikeouts (38); he also is one of seven Big 12 pitchers with a complete game this season.
BAYLOR IN THE MIDST OF TOUGH STRETCH
Baylor is in the middle of a span where it plays 22 of 26 games against 2006 regional participants. The only games between March 9 and April 22 against teams that did not reach the NCAA Tournament last season are Tuesday's 22-1 victory over Texas Southern and the Texas Tech series, after which Baylor plays 16 consecutive games against 2006 regional participants.
A LITTLE HELP, PLEASE
RHP Jeff Mandel has been given just nine runs of support in his four losses this season, including five runs of support in his last three losses. Meanwhile, Mandel allowed just eight earned runs over 20.0 innings (3.60 ERA) in his last three losses. Baylor batters have given Mandel 4.0 runs of support in his six starts, the lowest of Baylor's five starters.
Mandel has posted a 2.48 ERA in his last four starts, allowing eight earned runs in 29.0 innings. He has 23 strikeouts against seven walks and has held opponents to a .252 batting average in that time. However, Mandel is only 1-3 in those four starts.
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). Three of the 14 wins were either neutral-site games or games at Baylor Ballpark in which the Bears were the visitor. Four of the 14 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.
TRIPLE YOUR PLEASURE
Through games of March 21, Baylor leads the Big 12 Conference with 15 triples this season. LF Ben Booker is tied for the league lead with five triples. 1B/DH Dustin Dickerson, RF Aaron Miller and SS Beamer Weems have two triples each, while IF Raynor Campbell, CF Chase Gerdes, 3B Seth Hammock and 1B/DH Tim Jackson also have one triple each.
Baylor tied a school record Tuesday against Texas Southern with three triples. It marked the fifth time in school history and the second time this season the Bears have tallied three triples in one game. Weems had two triples Tuesday against Texas Southern, also tying Baylor's single-game record. He became the first Bear to collected two triples in one game since April 6, 2002, when Chris Durbin had two triples against Oklahoma State.
Last season, Baylor tied for second nationally with 32 triples, which also tied for the fourth-best season total in school history.
MIDWEEK SUCCESS CONTINUES
Baylor is 18-4 in non-conference midweek games since the start of the 2006 season, including a 16-3 mark on Tuesdays. The Bears have won 11 consecutive Tuesday games and 18 straight Tuesday home games against non-ranked opponents. Baylor was 7-8 in non-conference midweek games during the 2005 season, including a 6-6 mark on Tuesdays.
BEARS STRONG AT BAYLOR BALLPARK
Baylor's series-finale loss to Oral Roberts earlier this season 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 44-12 (.786) at Baylor Ballpark. Eight of those 12 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 twice since the start of the 2005 postseason: losses to second-ranked Rice and eighth-ranked Texas last season, and consecutive losses to 10th-ranked Texas last weekend.
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.
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 467-294-1 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 four-game road trip Tuesday, March 27, traveling to Arlington, Texas, for a midweek game at Texas-Arlington. The Bears and the Mavericks meet at 6:30 p.m. CDT at Clay Gould Ballpark on the UTA campus.
This is the second of three scheduled meetings between Baylor and UTA this season. The Bears rallied for a 9-7 victory over the Mavericks at Baylor Ballpark earlier this season. In that game 1B/DH Tim Jackson led off the bottom of the 10th with a game-tying home run, and IF Raynor Campbell hit a two-run walk-off homer two batters later.
