April 24, 2007
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#8 BAYLOR (41-11) TRAVELS TO TEXAS STATE (25-21)
APRIL 25, 2007 - 6:00 PM
BOBCAT FIELD
SAN MARCOS, TEXAS
THE SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 25
No. 8 Baylor at Texas State, 6:00 p.m.
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: None
Live Video: None
Live Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Television: None
THE SERIES
Baylor vs. Texas State: Baylor leads 29-12
Waco, Texas: Baylor leads 18-5
San Marcos, Texas: Baylor leads 8-6
Neutral: Baylor leads 3-1
The No. 8 Baylor softball team concludes a five-game road swing as the Lady Bears step out of Big 12 Conference play for a non-conference contest against Texas State on Wednesday, April 25, at 6:00 p.m.
The contest marks the final non-conference game for the Lady Bears as Baylor will return home for the start of a two-game series against Missouri beginning on Saturday, April 28, at 2:00 p.m.
Ashley Monceaux continues to lead the Lady Bears as the senior leads the team with an impressive .405 average with 15 home runs and 54 RBI. Brette Reagan is also putting together another outstanding season as the sophomore ranks second on the team with a .379 average, nine home runs and 41 RBI.
A number of pitchers will likely see time in the circle against the Bobcats as the Lady Bears are led by senior right-hander Lisa Ferguson, who leads the team with a 19-6 record and 1.92 ERA.
Baylor leads the all-time series, 29-12, as the Lady Bears have won six straight in the series.
Texas State enters with a record of 25-21 on the season after dropping two-of-three to Sam Houston State this past weekend.
Live stats and audio of the contest will be available on the official website of Baylor Athletics, www.BaylorBears.com.
SCOUTING TEXAS STATE
Texas State enters the contest with the Lady Bears with a record of 25-21 on the season after dropping two-of-three to Sam Houston State this past weekend.
Ragan Blake, a transfer from Mississippi State who held Texas to one hit in the Bobcats win over the Longhorns last week, leads the team with a 19-10 record and 1.58 ERA this season. In 186.0 innings of work, Blake has held opponents to a .189 batting average while striking out 181 batters.
Amy Krueger leads the way for Texas State at the plate as she leads the team with a .295 average and 16 runs scored on the season. Leah Boatwright provides the power in the Texas State line-up as she leads the team with five home runs and 20 RBI.
Baylor leads the all-time series, 29-12, and has won six straight in the series.
LISA FERGUSON NEARS BAYLOR CAREER WIN MARK
With a win in the series opener against Iowa State, Baylor senior Lisa Ferguson tied the Baylor career win mark as the right-hander now owns a career record of 75-35 in three-plus seasons.
Ferguson is one win shy of breaking Stacey Allison's (1996-99) career mark of 75 wins for the most career wins in Baylor softball history.
The senior has been a force in the circle this year, posting a 19-6 record and 1.92 ERA on the year. In all but four innings this season, the right-hander has been in complete control. In games (30-of-34 appearances) in which she did not allow an inning of four or more runs, she has posted a 19-3 record and 1.08 ERA.
BAYLOR STREAKING
Baylor enters the single game with the Bobcats as winners of 15-of-17 contests. During the hot streak, which included a 13-game winning streak, the Baylor offense has hit at an impressive .317 clip while the pitching staff has been dominant in the circle, posting a 15-2 record and 2.00 ERA while holding opponents to a .210 average.
Brette Reagan has led the attack during the streak, posting a .457 batting average with six home runs and 23 RBI. Kirsten Shortridge has also been hot at the plate, posting a .375 average with eight runs scored. During the streak, five players are currently batting over .300 as four players have scored at least 10 runs in the last 17 games.
In the circle, Lisa Ferguson and Shortridge have combined for a 13-2 record as the duo has combined to strike out 70 batters while holding opponents to a .207 batting average.
CHELSI LAKE MAKING HER MARK ON CAREER CHARTS
With a home run at the Bank of Hawai'i Invitational, Chelsi Lake moved into first place, surpassing former Baylor star Kelly Osburn (2003-06),in the Baylor career home run category. Lake has now hit 43 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 has passed during the 2007 campaign as the senior already holds the Lady Bears career record with 175 RBI. In addition, Lake just surpassed Osburn's career total bases mark of 395 as she now has 398 for her career and recently broke Osburn's career doubles mark of 43 with a double in the victory over Oklahoma State.
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 .322 batting average on the year and currently ranks second in the league and ninth in the country in the category. In addition, the Lady Bears have hit 50 home runs on the season and have posted an impressive .484slugging percentage.
Leading the way for Baylor has been senior Ashley Monceaux. Monceaux leads the Lady Bears with a .405 batting average, 15 home runs and 54 RBI. The senior first baseman has posted an almost unbelievable .797 slugging percentage and 118 total bases as she ranks among the top ten in the conference in eight different categories.
As a team, Baylor currently features six players batting over .300 on the season, including freshman Kirsten Shortridge (.362), Nicole Wesley (.335) and Tiffany Wesley (.315).
BAYLOR SOFTBALL IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
The Baylor softball team is currently ranked No. 8 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. In addition, Baylor earned a No. 10 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. 6, No. 5), Oklahoma (No. 3, No. 4) and Texas (No. 23, No. 15) 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 53rd consecutive week the Lady Bears have appeared in the NFCA Top 25 and the 52nd 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.
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 (99, 7th)
HITS: Chelsi Lake (209, 7th)
MULTIPLE-HIT GAMES: Chelsi Lake (52, t-6th)
DOUBLES: Chelsi Lake (45, 1st)
TRIPLES: Chelsi Lake (t-10th, 4)
HOME RUNS: Chelsi Lake (1st, 42); Ashley Monceaux (4th, 23); Brette Reagan (6th, 21)
TOTAL BASES: Chelsi Lake (398, 1st)
SACRIFICE FLIES: Chelsi Lake (t-1st, 9)
PITCHING RECORDS
APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (3rd, 162); Ashley Monceaux (10th, 29)
GAMES STARTED: Lisa Ferguson (3rd, 111)
RELIEF APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 51)
WINS: Lisa Ferguson (t-1st, 75); Kirsten Shortridge (9th, 14)
LOSSES: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 35); Brittany Turner (t-8th, 5)
DECISIONS: Lisa Ferguson (3rd, 110)
COMPLETE GAMES: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 59)
SHUTOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 27)
SAVES: Lisa Ferguson (1st, 19)
INNINGS PITCHED: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 743.1); Kirsten Shortridge (9th, 113.0); Ashley Monceaux (10th, 103.1)
STRIKEOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (3rd, 565); Ashley Monceaux (10th, 76); Kirsten Shortridge (9th, 96)
UP NEXT...
Baylor hosts Missouri in a battle for first-place in the Big 12 Conference. The two-game series begins on Saturday, April 28, at 2:00 p.m. with the series finale scheduled for Sunday, April 29, at 1:00 p.m. Tickets to the series can be purchased by calling the Baylor Ticket Office at 1-800-BAYLOR-U or 254-710-1000.
