March 29, 2007
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#12 BAYLOR (32-9, 2-0) TRAVELS TO KANSAS (25-9-1, 2-0)
March 31, 2007 - 2:00 PM
April 1, 2007 - 12:00 PM
Arrocha Ballpark
Lawrence, Kan.
THE SCHEDULE
SATURDAY, MARCH 31
No. 12 Baylor at Kansas, 2:00 p.m.
SUNDAY, APRIL 1
No. 12 Baylor at Kansas, 12:00 p.m.
THE SERIES
Baylor vs. Kansas: Kansas leads 20-11
Waco, Texas: Kansas leads 8-7
Lawrence, Kan.: Kansas leads 5-3
Neutral: Kansas leads 7-1
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: None
Live Video: None
Live Audio: None
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Television: None
The No. 12 Baylor softball team opens a six-game conference road swing as the Lady Bears travel to Lawrence, Kan., to face Kansas for a key, two-game series. The series opens with a single game on Saturday, March 31, at 2:00 p.m. followed by the conclusion of the series with a single game on Sunday, April 1, at 12:00 p.m.
Baylor and Kansas enter the weekend tied atop the Big 12 Conference standings with 2-0 records as the Jayhawks opened the conference slate with a sweep of Oklahoma State while the Lady Bears took a pair of games against Nebraska to open conference play.
The Lady Bears enter the series riding a six-game winning streak after posting a perfect 6-0 record on their recent home-stand. Reigning Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week Lisa Ferguson leads the way as the senior right-hander boasts a 14-4 record on the year with a 1.61 ERA in 113.1 innings of work.
Ashley Monceaux continues to lead the way for the Lady Bears at the plate, leading the team with a .412 average 10 home runs and 42 RBI on the season.
Kansas took 2-of-3 from the Lady Bears last season, including a win at the 2006 Big 12 Conference Championship, as the Jayhawks own a 20-11 edge in the series. Kansas leads the series in Lawrence, 5-3; however, Baylor managed to sweep the Jayhawks the last time the teams met at Arrocha Ballpark in 2006.
SCOUTING KANSAS
Kansas opened Big 12 play last weekend with a series sweep of Oklahoma State in Stillwater and swept a twin bill at Missouri State Wednesday to improve its record to 25-9-1 overall and 2-0 in league action.
The Jayhawks have won eight of their last nine games, all on the road, and 12 of their last 13 contests. Sophomore Val George (8-2) has pitched KU to victory in her last eight starts and senior Kassie Humphreys (12-3) leads the Big 12 with four saves and has 129 strikeouts on the season. Sophomore shortstop Stevie Crisosto boasts a 13-game hitting streak and is leading the KU offense with a .364 batting average.
The Jayhawks return 10 letterwinners from last year's Big 12 postseason championship team, including senior All-Big 12 pitcher Kassie Humphreys (12-3). Sophomore shortstop Stevie Crisosto paces the offense with a .364 batting average in 2007. Head coach Tracy Bunge is in her 11th season at KU with a 343-280-2 record.
QUICK NOTES
• Baylor is No. 16 in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25 and No. 12 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25.
• Baylor's appearance in both polls marks the 50th consecutive week the Lady Bears have appeared in the NFCA Top 25 and the 49th consecutive week the team has appeared in the USA Softball Top 25.
• Baylor is 170-10 over the past six seasons when scoring at least four runs.
• Baylor is 141-18 over the past five seasons when collecting at least eight hits.
• Baylor is 203-20 over the past five seasons when out-hitting its opponent.
• Baylor is 94-19 over the past four seasons at Getterman Stadium, including a 23-1 mark at home this season.
• For the first time in school history, Baylor swept the national player of the week honors after taking two-of-three from No. 2 Arizona. Alex Colyer was named USA Softball National Player of the Week while Lisa Ferguson was named Louisville Slugger/NFCA National Player of the Week. Both earned Big 12 Conference player of the week honors as well.
• Baylor's Chelsi Lake and Brette Reagan were named to the ASA Softball National Player of the Year Preseason Watch List. The selection to the watch list marked the second time in school history Baylor players have been named to the preseason list.
• Baylor's Chelsi Lake was selected as a first-team ESPN.com Preseason All-America at the catcher position.
• For the first time in history, live, streaming audio will be available for every Baylor softball game. Sign-up for audio is free and fans can listen to every Baylor softball game by visiting www.baylorbears.com.
Ashley Monceaux AND BAYLOR CONTINUE TO PRODUCE
Over the past few years, the Baylor offense has had tremendous success at the plate and this year has been no different. So far this season, Baylor has posted a .325 batting average on the year and currently ranks second in the league in the category. In addition, the Lady Bears have hit 34 home runs on the season and have posted an impressive .474 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 earlier this season, leads the Lady Bears with a .412 batting average, 10 home runs and 42 RBI. The senior first baseman has posted an almost unbelievable .754 slugging percentage and 86 total bases as she ranks among the top five in the conference in nine different categories.
As a team, Baylor currently features seven players batting over .300 on the season, including freshman Kirsten Shortridge (.375), Nicole Wesley (.365) and Tiffany Wesley (.321).
BAYLOR SOFTBALL IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
The Baylor softball team is currently ranked No. 12 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. In addition, Baylor earned a No. 16 ranking in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25.
Baylor is one of four Big 12 Conference school ranked in both polls as Texas A&M (No. 2, No. 2), Oklahoma (No. 3, No. 4) and Texas (No. 10, No. 9) 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 49th consecutive week the Lady Bears have appeared in the NFCA Top 25 and the 49th 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. Within the Big 12 Conference, only Texas A&M and Oklahoma have currently appeared in the national polls for more consecutive weeks.
LADY BEARS PICKED SECOND IN BIG 12 CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL
In a pre-season vote conducted by league coaches, the Baylor softball team has been picked to finish second in the Big 12 Conference. The second-place preseason prediction marks the highest the Lady Bears have appeared in the league preseason vote.
The Lady Bears return eight players, including NFCA All-Americans Brette Reagan and Chelsi Lake, from last year's squad that finished 38-22 on the season and finished third in the Big 12 Conference and advanced to the NCAA Corvallis Regional final.
Texas A&M (80 points) was picked to win the league and received eight of the possible 10 first-place votes to edge out second-place Baylor, which earned 69 points, including one first-place tally.
Nebraska was ranked third followed by Oklahoma, defending-conference champion Texas, and 2006 postseason winner Kansas.
The Sooners also claimed a vote for first place. Filling the remaining spots in the preseason poll were Oklahoma State, Missouri, Texas Tech and Iowa State, respectively.
BAYLOR LADY BEARS IN THE CAREER CHARTS
Several Lady Bears are aiming to continue making their way up the career charts in 2007. Below is a list of Lady Bears who currently rank in the top ten in one of the career categories:
BATTING RECORDS
RUNS: Chelsi Lake (96, 7th)
HITS: Chelsi Lake (199, 7th)
MULTIPLE-HIT GAMES: Chelsi Lake (49, 7th)
DOUBLES: Chelsi Lake (43, t-1st)
TRIPLES: Chelsi Lake (t-10th, 4)
HOME RUNS: Chelsi Lake (1st, 40); Ashley Monceaux (6th, 18); Brette Reagan (7th, 16)
TOTAL BASES: Chelsi Lake (380, 2nd)
SACRIFICE FLIES: Chelsi Lake (2nd, 8)
PITCHING RECORDS
APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (3rd, 152); Ashley Monceaux (10th, 29)
GAMES STARTED: Lisa Ferguson (3rd, 104)
RELIEF APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 48)
WINS: Lisa Ferguson (3rd, 70)
LOSSES: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 33); Brittany Turner (t-8th, 5)
DECISIONS: Lisa Ferguson (3rd, 103)
COMPLETE GAMES: Lisa Ferguson (3rd, 53)
SHUTOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 26)
SAVES: Lisa Ferguson (1st, 17)
INNINGS PITCHED: Lisa Ferguson (4th, 691.2); Ashley Monceaux (9th, 103.1)
STRIKEOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (3rd, 532); Ashley Monceaux (10th, 76); Kirsten Shortridge (9th, 87)
UP NEXT...
Baylor continues a six-game road swing through Big 12 Conference play as the Lady Bears travel to College Station, Texas, to face No. 3 Texas A&M on Wednesday, April 4, at 6:30 p.m.
