May 16, 2007
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2007 NCAA SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
#7 BAYLOR (45-13) TRAVELS TO THE NCAA HEMPSTEAD REGIONAL
MAY 18-20, 2007
HOFSTRA SOFTBALL STADIUM
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y.
THE SCHEDULE
FRIDAY, MAY 18
Game 1 - No. 8 Baylor vs. Albany, 11:00 a.m.
Game 2 - Hofstra vs. Harvard, 1:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, MAY 19
Game 3 - Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, 9:00 a.m.
Game 4 - Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 11:30 a.m.
Game 5 - Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 winner, 2:00 p.m.
SUNDAY, MAY 20
Game 6 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 11:00 a.m.
Game 7 - If necessary game, 30 minutes following Game 6
BAYLOR AGAINST THE FIELD
vs. Albany: 0-0
vs. Harvard: 0-0
vs. Hofstra: 0-0
LIVE COVERAGE
Radio: ESPN Radio 1660 AM (Fri. and Sat.)
KWGW 104.9 FM (Sunday)
Live Video: None
Live Audio: www.BaylorBears.com
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Television: None
The No. 7 Baylor softball team returns to action this week as the Lady Bears open play at the NCAA Hempstead Regional on Friday, May 18, at 11:00 a.m. against Albany at Hofstra Softball Stadium in Hempstead, New York. The Lady Bears, the No. 8 overall seed at the NCAA Championship, enter the regional as the top-seed as Hofstra, champions of the Colonial Athletic Association, will serve as the host for the regional while Harvard, Ivy League champions, rounds out the four-team regional field.
The Lady Bears, who have never faced a team in the four-team regional field in school history, earned an at-large bid to the championship and will open play against Albany. The Great Danes, who earned an automatic bid by winning the America East post-season title, enter the championship with a 33-15 record after posting an 11-9 record in conference play. Kelly Ogden leads the way for Albany, hitting .357 on the season while leading the team with 10 home runs and 43 RBI.
The selection for the Lady Bears marks the fourth consecutive season the team has been selected to the NCAA Softball Championship. Baylor owns an 8-6 all-time record in NCAA championship play and captured the 2005 NCAA Auburn Regional title.
The Hempstead regional is paired with the Ann Arbor regional as the winners of the two regionals will square off in a best-of-three series to determine who advances to the NCAA Women's College World Series. The Ann Arbor regional consists of Michigan, the No. 9 overall seed, as well as Oregon State, Louisville and Eastern Michigan.
Every Baylor contest at the NCAA Hempstead Regional can be heard on ESPN Radio 1660 AM (Fri. and Sat.) or KWGW 104.9 FM (Sunday) in the Waco area. Each game will also be available online at www.BaylorBears.com.
SCOUTING ALBANY
Albany earned its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance by winning the America East Tournament as the fourth seed. The Great Danes are led offensively by senior infielder Kelly Ogden, who has batted .357 with 10 homers and 43 RBI on the season. Casey Halloran leads the Great Danes in the circle, entering the regional with an 18-9 record and a 2.15 earned run average. Leah McIntosh has tallied a 10-5 record and a 2.96 ERA for the Great Danes.
Last season, Albany put a scare into No. 13 Texas A&M at the NCAA Championship as the Aggies were forced to come-from-behind to claim a 6-5 win over the Great Danes.
SCOUTING HOFSTRA
Hofstra makes its 10th consecutive appearance at the NCAA Softball Championship after claiming the Colonial Athletic Association postseason title. Pitcher Kayleigh Lotti leads the Pride as she enters NCAA play with a 22-4 record, including wins in each of her last 16 decisions. The right-hander ranks in the top 15 in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings (9.88) as she enters the tournament with 304 strikeouts.
Offensively, the Pride are led by outfielder Ashley Lane who enters the regional hitting .321 with a team-leading nine homers and 44 RBI this season.
SCOUTING HARVARD
Harvard enters the NCAA Hempstead Regional with a record of 31-13 after capturing the automatic berth as the Ivy League champions. Lauren Murphy leads the Crimson as she leads the team in batting average (.359), home runs (18) and RBI (47). Junior Shelly Madick leads the way in the circle, compiling a 16-4 record and 1.45 ERA in the circle this season while Amanda Watkins has had a solid 7-1 season with a 2.54 ERA as the Crimson's No. 2 starter.
BAYLOR AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The selection to the 2007 NCAA Softball Championship mark the fourth consecutive season the Lady Bears have been invited to NCAA post-season play. Baylor is 8-6 all-time at the championship after going 2-2 last season while advancing to the NCAA Corvallis Regional Final before falling to Oregon State.
In 2005, Baylor came within one win of its first appearance at the Women's College World Series. After capturing the NCAA Auburn Regional title, Baylor faced No. 2 Cal in a best-of-three series to determine who would advance to the series in Oklahoma City, Okla. After dropping game one to the Golden Bears, Baylor responded with a victory in game two before Cal picked up the win in game three.
Baylor's first-ever contest in NCAA Championship play might have been one of the most memorable in school history as the Lady Bears defeated North Carolina, 1-0, in a 16-inning marathon. The game received national attention as Baylor's Cristin Vitek established a new NCAA, NCAA Championship and Big 12 Conference record with 28 strikeouts to help lead the Lady Bears to the victory over the Tar Heels. Baylor finished the regional with a 2-2 record as the Lady Bears were eliminated with losses at the hands of LSU and Illinois.
LISA FERGUSON BREAKS BAYLOR CAREER VICTORY MARK
With a win against Texas State, Baylor senior Lisa Ferguson broke the Baylor career win mark as the right-hander now owns a career record of 77-36 in three-plus seasons. With the victory against the Bobcats, Ferguson broke Stacey Allison's (1996-99) career mark of 75 wins for the most career wins in Baylor softball history. Ferguson is starting to rewrite the Baylor record book as the senior owns the career lead in saves (19) and victories (75) and ranks in the top three in 10 career categories.
The senior has been a force in the circle this year, posting a 21-7 record and 2.06 ERA on the year.
BAYLOR SOFTBALL LANDS SIX ON ALL-BIG 12 CONFERENCE SQUAD
Kirsten Shortridge was named Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year and Chelsi Lake became the first player in school history to be a three-time first-team all-conference selection as the No. 5 Baylor softball team landed six players on the All-Big 12 Conference squad the conference office announced on Thursday.
Joining Lake and Shortridge on the first-team all conference squad are seniors Ashley Monceaux and Lisa Ferguson as well as sophomore Brette Reagan. Senior Miriam Romero earned second-team honors for the Lady Bears.
Lake, a senior from Keller, Texas, earns her third selection to the all-conference squad while Shortridge becomes the second consecutive Baylor player to earn Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year honors after Reagan won the award last season.
Monceaux earns her second consecutive first-team all-conference honor as Reagan, who earned second-team honors a year ago, picked up first-team honors for the first time.
Rounding out the members of the first-team is Ferguson. Baylor's career leader in victories, the senior right-hander set a new single-season career high with 21 victories as Ferguson enters post-season play with a 21-7 record and 2.06 ERA.
Romero picked up her first all-conference honor as the senior was named to the second-team.
BAYLOR STREAKING
Baylor enters the championship as one of the hottest teams in the country, winning 19-of-23 contests dating back to the team's trip to the Bank of Hawai'i Invitational. During the hot streak, which included a 13-game winning streak, the Baylor offense has hit at an impressive .305 clip while the pitching staff has been dominant in the circle, posting a 19-4 record and 2.11 ERA while holding opponents to a .213 average.
Brette Reagan has led the attack during the streak, posting a .388 batting average with seven home runs and 25 RBI. Ashley Monceaux has also been hot at the plate, posting a .347 average with seven home runs and 23 RBI. During the streak, five players are currently batting .300 or higher as six players have scored at least 10 runs in the last 23 games.
In the circle, Kirsten Shortridge has led the way during the streak as the freshman has posted an 8-1 record with a 1.92 ERA while holding opponents to an impressive .188 batting average against.
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 42 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 .316 batting average on the year and currently ranks second in the league and 11th in the country in the category. In addition, the Lady Bears have hit 52 home runs on the season and have posted an impressive .470 slugging percentage.
Leading the way for Baylor has been senior Ashley Monceaux. Monceaux leads the Lady Bears with a .399 batting average, 16 home runs and 60 RBI. The senior first baseman has posted an almost unbelievable .780 slugging percentage and 131 total bases as she ranks among the top ten in the conference in eight different categories.
As a team, Baylor currently features five players batting over .300 on the season, including freshman Kirsten Shortridge (.364) and Nicole Wesley (.322).
HONORS CONTINUE TO POUR IN FOR BAYLOR SOFTBALL\
Baylor softball players have seen their fair share of recognition throughout the season as a number of players have won individual honors so far this year.
The lengthy list is highlighted by senior Ashley Monceaux, who was recently named one of 25 finalists for the USA Softball National Player of the Year award and was named Big 12 Conference Player of the Week during the final week of the season, marking the second time Monceaux has been given the honor this season.
Earlier this year Baylor swept the national player of the week honors as Alex Colyer captured the USA Softball National Player of the Week award and senior Lisa Ferguson was named NFCA National Player of the Week following the Lady Bears series victory over then-No. 2 Arizona.
With Monceaux's selection on the last week of the season, six Baylor players have been named Big 12 Conference Pitcher of Player of the Week, the most in school history.
Ferguson has picked up a pair of Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors this year as Colyer and Brette Reagan have earned player of the week honors for the Lady Bears this season. The previous high for most player of the week honors was set in 2004, when Baylor picked up four Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Week awards.
BAYLOR SOFTBALL IN THE NATIONAL POLLS
The Baylor softball team is currently ranked No. 7 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. In addition, Baylor earned a No. 8 ranking in the latest USA Today/NFCA Top 25.
Baylor is one of five Big 12 Conference school ranked in both polls as Texas A&M (No. 8, No. 8), Oklahoma (No. 1, No. 3), Missouri (No. 19, RV) and Texas (RV, No. 18) join the Lady Bears in the polls.
After win the Big 12 Conference post-season title, Oklahoma has moved to No. 1 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll while Tennessee is No. 1 in the NFCA national rankings.
Baylor's appearance in both polls marks the 56th consecutive week the Lady Bears have appeared in the NFCA Top 25 and the 55th 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.
SEVERAL LADY BEARS EARN ACADEMIC HONORS
The Baylor softball team placed five players on the first-team Academic All-Big 12 Conference squad the conference office announced. Baylor senior Chelsi Lake led the way with her third selection to the first-team academic all-conference squad.
Joining Lake on the squad are first-time selections Alex Colyer, Lisa Ferguson, Miriam Romero and Brittany Turner.
Lake, who also earned first-team all-conference honors, is majoring in political science as fellow seniors Ferguson and Romero join her on the squad for the first time. Ferguson is majoring in general studies while Romero is a fourth-year communications major.
Colyer and Turner make their first appearances on the academic all-conference squads. Colyer is a sophomore majoring in health science studies while Turner is a sophomore majoring in business.
In addition, Colyer and Lake earned first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District VI honors as the duo is now eligible for academic All-America honors.
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 (100, 7th)
HITS: Chelsi Lake (219, 4th)
MULTIPLE-HIT GAMES: Chelsi Lake (55, 5th)
DOUBLES: Chelsi Lake (46, 1st)
TRIPLES: Chelsi Lake (t-10th, 4)
HOME RUNS: Chelsi Lake (1st, 42); Ashley Monceaux (4th, 24); Brette Reagan (t-5th, 22)
TOTAL BASES: Chelsi Lake (398, 1st)
SACRIFICE FLIES: Chelsi Lake (t-1st, 9)
PITCHING RECORDS
APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (1st, 167); Ashley Monceaux (10th, 29); Kirsten Shortridge (9th, 30)
GAMES STARTED: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 114); Kirsten Shortridge (8th, 22)
RELIEF APPEARANCES: Lisa Ferguson (t-1st, 53)
WINS: Lisa Ferguson (1st, 77); Kirsten Shortridge (8th, 16)
LOSSES: Lisa Ferguson (5th, 36); Brittany Turner (t-8th, 5)
DECISIONS: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 113)
COMPLETE GAMES: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 59)
SHUTOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 27)
SAVES: Lisa Ferguson (1st, 19)
INNINGS PITCHED: Lisa Ferguson (2nd, 762.0); Kirsten Shortridge (8th, 151.2); Ashley Monceaux (10th, 103.1)
STRIKEOUTS: Lisa Ferguson (3rd, 560); Ashley Monceaux (10th, 76); Kirsten Shortridge (9th, 115)
UP NEXT...
Should Baylor advance out of the NCAA Hempstead Regional, the Lady Bears would host a best-of-three series against the winner of the Ann Arbor regional the weekend of May 25-27. Times and dates of the NCAA Super Regional round have yet to be determined.
