May 17, 2007
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GAMES 53-55 • MAY 18-20 • 6:30 P.M. / 6:30 P.M. / 1 P.M. CDT
BAYLOR (28-24, 9-15) vs. KANSAS STATE (33-19, 10-13)
BAYLOR BALLPARK • WACO, TEXAS
THE SERIES
Overall: Baylor leads 24-9
Waco: Baylor leads 16-1
Manhattan: Baylor leads 8-7
Neutral Site: Kansas State leads 1-0
Since Start of Big 12: Baylor leads 23-8
Regular-Season Big 12: Baylor leads 23-7
Smith vs. K-State: 23-8
First Meeting: at Baylor 2, K-State 0 [3/28/1966]
Last Meeting: at K-State 3, Baylor 2 [5/21/2006]
COACHES
BAYLOR: Steve Smith
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986
Career Record: 482-308-1 [13th season]
Record at Baylor: 482-308-1 [13th season]
KANSAS STATE: Brad Hill
Alma Mater: Emporia State, 1985
Career Record: 621-235-2 [16th season]
Record at K-State: 120-94-2 [4th 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, May 18
BU RHP Jeff Mandel (6-7, 4.25 ERA, 82.2 IP, 87 H, 25 BB, 69 K)
KSU RHP Brad Hutt (8-4, 3.01 ERA, 86.2 IP, 85 H, 26 BB, 55 K)
Saturday, May 19
BU RHP Kendal Volz (5-2, 5.27 ERA, 56.1 IP, 72 H, 13 BB, 45 K)
KSU RHP Trevor Hurley (1-3, 3.65 ERA, 44.1 IP, 39 H, 13 BB, 36 K)
Sunday, May 20
BU RHP Wade Mackey (3-2, 2.16 ERA, 50.0 IP, 51 H, 13 BB, 33 K)
KSU LHP Chase Bayuk (5-4, 4.71 ERA, 63.0 IP, 56 H, 41 BB, 45 K)
Baylor baseball returns to action this weekend, hosting Kansas State for a three-game Big 12 Conference series at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears and the Wildcats meet Friday at 6:30 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 6:30 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. This series concludes the 2007 regular season for both teams. Seven Baylor seniors -- C Matt Czimskey, CF Chase Gerdes, 1B Tim Jackson, RHP Jeff Mandel, RHP Andy Pape, C Matt Sodolak and RHP Jake Weghorst -- will be honored prior to Saturday's game.
Baylor (28-24, 9-15) has lost three straight after a 13-0 loss Tuesday night at No. 2 Rice. The Bears dropped two of three at Nebraska last weekend, winning the series opener before falling in the final two games. Baylor is 5-5 in its last 10 games with only three home games during that time. The Bears are 20-10 at home this season, including a 5-7 mark in Big 12 play. The Bears are unranked in all four major polls.
Kansas State (33-19, 10-13) has won two straight after a 10-3 victory Tuesday at home against Illinois State. The Wildcats dropped two of three at home against Texas A&M last weekend, salvaging Sunday's finale 11-6. Kansas State is 7-3 in its last 10 games with wins in both road games during that time. The Wildcats are 14-10 away from home this season, including a 7-9 mark on opponents' home fields. Kansas State is 4-6 on the road in Big 12 play and has not won a conference road series since taking two of three at Missouri in March, 2004. The Wildcats are unranked in all four major polls.
Baylor and Kansas State have played no common opponents outside of the Big 12 this season.
The Bears and the Wildcats meet for the 34th, 35th and 36th times this weekend. Baylor holds a 24-9 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to a 2-0 Baylor victory March 28, 1966, in Waco. The Bears have dominated the series in Waco, winning 16 of 17 meetings and all 15 meetings in Waco since the inception of the Big 12 Conference. Kansas State's lone victory in Waco was the same day as the first game of the all-time series (March 28, 1966) as the Wildcats took the nightcap of a doubleheader 5-0. Baylor is 23-8 against Kansas State since the inception of the Big 12 with one of those losses coming in Big 12 Tournament play. However, Kansas State swept last season's series at Manhattan.
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 Missouri series. For more information, follow the Baylor All-Access link at www.BaylorBears.com.
QUICK HITS
• Since the start of the 2003 season, Baylor is:
- 137-55 (.714) when its starting pitcher lasts at least 5.0 innings
- 35-9 (.795) when its pitching staff records at least 10 strikeouts
- 129-40 (.763) when scoring first
- 149-29 (.837) when out-hitting its opponent
- 143-38 (.790) when holding its opponent to fewer than five runs
- 125-27 (.822) when scoring at least six runs
- 112-19 (.855) when scoring at least seven runs
• Since the start of the 2002 season, Baylor is 177-8 (.957) when leading after eight innings, winning 37 of the last 38, 71 of the last 73 and 106 of the last 109 such games.
• Baylor has won 27 of its last 30 games when hitting at least two home runs.
• Baylor is 14-4 in extra-inning games since the start of the 2003 season.
• The Bears are 52-18 (.743) 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 out-scored their opponents 79-44 in the first two innings and 48-23 in the eighth inning this season. However, opponents have out-scored Baylor 42-18 in the third inning.
• Baylor is 20-9 this season when scoring first (8-15 when the opponent scores first).
• The Bears are 0-8 this season in Big 12 Conference series middle games. The Bears have lost 10 consecutive weekend middle games.
• Baylor is 3-10 on Saturday this season, going 25-14 elsewhere in the week.
• 19 of Baylor's 24 losses were to opponents ranked at some point this season.
BIG 12 PICTURE STILL JUMBLED: Entering the final weekend of the regular season, no seeds for next week's Big 12 Conference Championship have been secured. Texas, Missouri, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Nebraska have clinched berths in the championship; however, none of the teams has clinched a seed. Also, none of the other five teams has been eliminated from contention for the championship. This weekend's matchups are Texas against Texas A&M, Missouri at Oklahoma State, Nebraska at Kansas, Kansas State at Baylor and Texas Tech at Oklahoma. Here is what Baylor must do and/or have happen this weekend in order to clinch a spot in the championship:
• three wins
• two wins plus one Kansas loss or one Oklahoma loss
• one win plus two Kansas losses or two Oklahoma losses
• no wins plus three Kansas losses and two Texas Tech losses
SEPTET EARNS ACADEMIC ALL-BIG 12 HONORS: Seven Baylor baseball student-athletes were named first-team Academic All-Big 12 Conference this season. Baylor and Oklahoma State led all schools with seven first-team selections. Oklahoma State, which also had two second-team honorees, led the conference with nine total selections, while Baylor was second with seven. Baylor baseball student-athletes have received 56 first-team Academic All-Big 12 Conference honors in the league's 11-year history. That total leads the conference ahead of Oklahoma State (44) and Nebraska (43). The seven Baylor student-athletes honored were senior C Matt Czimskey, 1B Tim Jackson, RHP Wade Mackey, RHP Jeff Mandel, RHP Tim Matthews, RHP Andy Pape and C Matt Sodolak. Pape becomes the 10th Baylor baseball student-athlete to be named first-team Academic All-Big 12 three times. This is the third year in which Mandel has earned Academic All-Big 12 honors, collecting first-team honors last season and second-team honors in 2005. Czimskey, Jackson, Mackey, Matthews and Sodolak all were first-time honorees.
BAYLOR BALLPARK TOPS 90,000 PLATEAU AGAIN: Baylor eclipsed the 90,000 mark in total season attendance Wednesday. This is the fourth consecutive season and the sixth year in Baylor Ballpark's nine-year history that the 90,000 plateau has been eclipsed. Last season, Baylor established a facility record for total regular-season attendance at 96,427. The Bears must average 2,374 per game in the season's final three home games to top 100,000 for the second time in school history.
TRIPLE YOUR PLEASURE: Through games of May 13, Baylor ranks eighth nationally in triples per game with 0.45. Brigham Young is the national leader at 0.67. With 23 three-baggers, Baylor is one of only 22 teams nationally with at least 20 triples this season. Only Jackson State (33), Brigham Young (33), Arizona (27) and Charlotte (26) have more triples than Baylor. Last season, the Bears tied for second nationally with 32 triples, which also tied for the fourth-best season total in school history.
BAYLOR AMONG NATIONAL APR LEADERS: Baylor received a public recognition award from the NCAA Division I Academic Performance Program for having an Academic Progress Rate (APR) score which ranks among the top 10 percent within their sport. The Bears' most-recent APR score was 983 with an adjusted squad size mark of 992. Baylor was one of 30 Division I programs honored by the NCAA. Head coach Steve Smith's squad was the only of Baylor's 19 varsity teams so honored.
UP NEXT: Following this weekend's action, the top eight teams in the conference will convene at AT&T Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City, Okla., for the 2007 Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Championship.
