May 21, 2007
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GAME 56 • MAY 23 • 8 P.M. CDT
BAYLOR (31-24) vs. OKLAHOMA STATE (38-16)
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP • BRICKTOWN BALLPARK • OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA.
GAME 57 • MAY 25 • 4:30 P.M. CDT
BAYLOR vs. MISSOURI (39-14)
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP • BRICKTOWN BALLPARK • OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA.
GAME 58 • MAY 26 • 8 P.M. CDT
BAYLOR vs. OKLAHOMA (32-23)
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP • BRICKTOWN BALLPARK • OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLA.
Baylor baseball begins postseason play Wednesday, May 23, at the 2007 Big 12 Conference Championship at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City. The sixth-seeded Bears join second-seeded Missouri, third-seeded Oklahoma State and seventh-seeded Oklahoma in Pool Two. Baylor faces Oklahoma State at 8 p.m. CDT Wednesday, Missouri at 4:30 p.m. Friday and Oklahoma at 8 p.m. Saturday. The top teams from each pool meet in the championship game Sunday at 1 p.m. on Fox Sports Net.
Baylor (31-24) finished the regular season with a three-game series sweep of Kansas State at home. The Bears are 7-3 in their last 10 games, a run that started when they erased a three-run deficit in the top of the ninth inning for a 16-12 victory in the series finale April 29 at Texas A&M. Baylor was 5-2 in Big 12 play during that stretch. The Bears were 8-13 against the seven other teams that qualified for the Big 12 Championship, including a 3-6 mark against the teams in their pool.
Oklahoma State (38-16) was swept at home by Missouri (39-14) in the season's final weekend. Oklahoma (32-23) took two of three at home against Texas Tech in the season's final weekend, winning the first two games before a 15-5, seven-inning loss in Sunday's finale. Baylor was swept at Oklahoma State in the regular season, lost two of three at home to Missouri and won two of three at home against Oklahoma.
Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are the only programs to have appeared in each of the Big 12 Conference's postseason tournaments since the league's first season in 1997.
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 Big 12 Championship. For more information, visit www.Big12Sports.com.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23
Game 1: No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 5 Texas A&M, 1:00 p.m.
Game 2: No. 1 Texas vs. No. 8 Kansas State, 10:00 a.m.
Game 3: No. 2 Missouri vs. No. 7 Oklahoma, 5:00 p.m.
Game 4: No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. No. 6 BAYLOR, 8:00 p.m.
THURSDAY, MAY 24
Game 5: No. 1 Texas vs. No. 5 Texas A&M, 4:30 p.m.
Game 6: No. 4 Nebraska vs. No. 8 Kansas State, 7:30 p.m.
FRIDAY, MAY 25
Game 7: No. 2 Missouri vs. No. 6 BAYLOR, 4:30 p.m.
Game 8: No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. No. 7 Oklahoma, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, MAY 26
Game 9: No. 1 Texas vs. No. 4 Nebraska, 10:00 a.m.
Game 10: No. 5 Texas A&M vs. No. 8 Kansas State, 1:00 p.m.
Game 11: No. 2 Missouri vs. No. 3 Oklahoma State, 5:00 p.m.
Game 12: No. 6 BAYLOR vs. No. 7 Oklahoma, 8:00 p.m.
SUNDAY, MAY 27
Championship Game, 1:00 p.m. FSN
THE OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES
Overall: Oklahoma State leads 32-22
Waco: Oklahoma State leads 11-10
Stillwater: Oklahoma State leads 14-10
Neutral Site: Oklahoma State leads 7-2
Since Start of Big 12: Oklahoma State leads 20-16
Regular-Season Big 12: Oklahoma State leads 16-15
Big 12 Tournament: Oklahoma State leads 2-1
Smith vs. OSU: 17-19
2007 Series: at Oklahoma State 3, Baylor 0
First Meeting: OSU 8, Baylor 7 [4/29/1925]
Last Meeting: at OSU 10, Baylor 5 [4/1/2007]
THE MISSOURI SERIES
Overall: Baylor leads 24-19
Waco: Baylor leads 11-9
Columbia: Baylor leads 8-7
Neutral Site: Baylor leads 5-3
Since Start of Big 12: Baylor leads 20-18
Regular-Season Big 12: Baylor leads 17-15
Big 12 Tournament: tied 3-3
Smith vs. Missouri: 22-19
2007 Series: Missouri 2, at Baylor 1
First Meeting: result unknown [5/5/1905]
Last Meeting: at Baylor 8, Missouri 3 [4/22/2007]
THE OKLAHOMA SERIES
Overall: Baylor leads 30-26
Waco: Baylor leads 21-10
Norman: Oklahoma leads 16-6
Neutral Site: Baylor leads 3-0
Since Start of Big 12: Baylor leads 19-15
Regular-Season Big 12: Baylor leads 18-15
Big 12 Tournament: Baylor leads 1-0
Smith vs. Oklahoma: 20-20
2007 Series: at Baylor 2, Oklahoma 1
First Meeting: Baylor 9, Oklahoma 7 [4/4/1938]
Last Meeting: at Baylor 5, Oklahoma 2 [4/6/2007]
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.Big12Sports.com
NATIONAL RANKINGS
Baseball America NR
USA Today/ESPN Coaches NR
NCBWA NR
Collegiate Baseball NR
QUICK HITS
• Since the start of the 2003 season, Baylor is:
- 138-55 (.715) when its starting pitcher lasts at least 5.0 innings
- 36-9 (.800) when its pitching staff records at least 10 strikeouts
- 131-40 (.766) when scoring first
- 152-29 (.840) when out-hitting its opponent
- 144-38 (.791) when holding its opponent to fewer than five runs
- 128-27 (.826) when scoring at least six runs
- 115-19 (.858) when scoring at least seven runs
• Since the start of the 2002 season, Baylor is 180-8 (.957) when leading after eight innings, winning 40 of the last 41, 74 of the last 76 and 109 of the last 112 such games. The Bears are 23-1 when leading after eight innings this season; the lone loss was the middle game of the Texas Tech series.
• 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 55-18 (.753) at Baylor Ballpark since the start of the 2005 postseason.
• Baylor is 20-3 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 88-53 in the first two innings and 51-23 in the eighth inning this season. However, opponents have out-scored Baylor 44-22 in the third inning.
• Baylor is 22-9 this season when scoring first (9-15 when the opponent scores first).
• Saturday's 13-7 victory over Kansas State snapped a 10-game losing streak for Baylor in weekend middle games. The Bears finished 1-8 in Big 12 Conference series middle games, posting a 5-4 mark in openers and a 6-3 mark in finales.
• Baylor is 4-10 on Saturday this season, going 27-14 elsewhere in the week.
• 19 of Baylor's 24 losses were to opponents ranked at some point this season.
• Baylor's sweep of Kansas State was its first series victory in the final weekend of the regular season since sweeping at Kansas State in 2000.
• Baylor topped the 100,000 mark in total home attendance for the second time in school history (2005) and for the first time without the benefit of postseason games. The Bears' season average of 3,180 also is a school record. It marks the third consecutive season and the fourth time in five years that Baylor has averaged 3,000-plus.
BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
The Big 12 Championship makes its ninth appearance at Oklahoma City this season. Each of the first five Big 12 Tournaments and the 2003, 2005 and 2006 events were played in Oklahoma City. The 2002 and 2004 tournaments, both at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, were the only Big 12 tournaments not played in OKC. All-Sports Stadium was the site of the first conference tournament in 1997; the next year, Bricktown Ballpark opened in OKC, and it served as the host site from 1998 to 2001.
BAYLOR BIG 12 CHAMPIONSHIP TIDBITS
• Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are the only schools to have participated in every Big 12 Tournament.
• Baylor has made four championship game appearances: 1999, 2000, 2003 and 2005. Only Nebraska (six) has made more.
• This is the second time Baylor has been the sixth seed but the first time at Oklahoma City. The Bears were the sixth seed in 2004 at Arlington. Baylor reached the semifinals with a 2-2 record, defeating Texas Tech (8-3) and Oklahoma (14-4) but losing twice to Missouri (12-1, 10-7).
• Baylor is 29-30 all-time in conference tournaments, including a 17-17 mark in the Big 12 event.
• Only Oklahoma (35) and Nebraska (35) have played more Big 12 Tournament games than Baylor (34).
THE OKLAHOMA STATE SERIES
Baylor and Oklahoma State meet for the 55th time Wednesday. Oklahoma State holds a 32-22 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to an 8-7 Cowboys' victory April 29, 1925, at Stillwater. The Cowboys swept this season's series at Stillwater in the third weekend of Big 12 play.
The teams have met seven times in postseason play; OSU holds a 4-3 advantage in those meetings. This is the fourth time Baylor and Oklahoma State have met at the Big 12 Tournament. The Cowboys won 11-8 in 1997 and 18-4 in 2001, while Baylor was an 8-3 winner in 2004. The teams have played four games in NCAA Tournament play. Baylor was a 9-8 winner at the 1948 NCAA Western Regional in Denver. Oklahoma State won two of three at the 1999 NCAA Waco Super Regional.
Baylor holds a slim 16-15 advantage in regular-season meetings since the inception of the Big 12 in 1997. The Bears have won five series, the Cowboys have won four series, and two series were rain-shortened, two-game sets and were split. Oklahoma State has posted two sweeps (1998, 2007), while Baylor has posted one sweep (2006).
THE MISSOURI SERIES
Baylor and Missouri meet for the 44th time Friday. The Bears hold a 24-19 advantage in a series that dates back to the 1905 season. Missouri won two of three games in this season's series at Baylor Ballpark during the sixth weekend of Big 12 play.
The teams have met six times in postseason play with each team winning three times. All six meetings have come at the Big 12 Tournament. Missouri was a 9-8 winner at the inaugural Big 12 Tournament in 1997, while Baylor answered with a 7-3 victory the following season. The Bears posted two wins against the Tigers at the 2003 event, winning 11-0 in seven innings and 9-8 to eliminate Missouri. The Tigers returned the favor the following season at Arlington, winning 12-1 in seven innings and 10-7 to eliminate the Bears.
Baylor holds a slim 17-16 edge in regular-season meetings since the inception of the Big 12 in 1997. However, the Tigers have won 11 of the last 17 meetings. Baylor has won six of the 11 series, but Missouri has won each of the last three and five of six since 2002. This is the only Big 12 series that has never featured a sweep.
THE OKLAHOMA SERIES
Baylor and Oklahoma meet for the 57th time Saturday. The Bears hold a 30-26 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to an 8-5 Baylor victory during the 1936 season. Baylor took two of three games in this season's series at Baylor Ballpark in the fourth weekend of Big 12 play.
This is just the second time Baylor and Oklahoma have met in postseason play; the Bears defeated the Sooners 14-4 in seven innings at the 2004 Big 12 Tournament in Arlington, Texas. Mike Pankratz delivered a two-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh as the mercy rule was invoked.
Baylor holds a slim 18-15 advantage in regular-season meetings since the inception of the Big 12 in 1997. The Bears have won seven of the 11 series. Both teams have claimed one series sweep -- Baylor in 2003 and Oklahoma in 2004. The home team has won each of the last seven series since Baylor won two of three at Norman in 2000.
BAYLOR STARTERS
RHP Jeff Mandel will start Wednesday's game against Oklahoma State. The Bears have not announced a starter for either of the other two games.
Mandel, one of only two seniors on the 27-man roster for the Big 12 Championship who have spent their entire collegiate careers at Baylor, is 6-7 with a 4.77 ERA in 14 appearances (all starts) this season. He has allowed 93 hits and 26 walks against 69 strikeouts over 83.0 innings with a .285 opponents' batting average.
Last Friday, Mandel did not escape the first inning against Kansas State in the shortest outing of his career. He allowed six runs, five earned, on six hits and one walk in just one-third of an inning. However, Baylor rallied for a 9-8 victory in the series opener, and Mandel did not factor in the decision. It was his first no-decision of the season.
Mandel is 2-4 this season away from Baylor Ballpark, but he has won his last two road starts. He has made one neutral-site start this season. That was a loss to then-No. 8 and now top-ranked Vanderbilt in his first start of the season at the Houston College Classic.
Wednesday will be Mandel's first career start at the Big 12 Championship. He has made two appearances, both in relief. In 2004, he allowed three runs on four hits and three walks with three strikeouts over 3.1 innings in Baylor's 12-1, seven-inning loss to Missouri. Last season, he was touched for two runs on four hits with one strikeout in two-thirds of an inning against Texas in the Bears' 16-8 loss.
Ironically, Mandel's best memories from Big 12 Tournament play probably are as a batter. He was 4-for-14 with two doubles and five RBI while playing first base in four games at the 2005 event when the Bears were runners-up. All four hits were against Oklahoma State, including a three-run double in the Bears' five-run third that broke a 2-2 tie and propelled Baylor an 8-3 victory.
CZIMSKEY CONTINUES TEAR
C Matt Czimskey was 1-for-4 with a sacrifice fly and three RBI in Sunday's regular-season finale. That pushed his career-long hitting streak to 16 games, tied for the 10th-longest in Baylor history. Czimskey's streak is the longest by a Baylor player since Michael Griffin's 16-gamer in 2004. It also is the second-longest by a Baylor catcher behind only Kelly Shoppach's 28-game run (2001) that is the second-longest in school-history.
Czimskey finished the Big 12 season with a league-best .386 batting average in conference games. It marked the second consecutive season in which a Baylor catcher led the league in batting average. Zach Dillon led last season with a school-record .421 average in Big 12 play.
VERY UN-FRESHMAN-LIKE
Freshman All-America candidate 3B Raynor Campbell has made a strong statement for Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors this season. His .345 batting average is not only the top average on the Baylor team among players with at least 2.5 at bats per game, it also is the best of any freshman in the Big 12.
The last time a freshman led Baylor in batting average was in 1993 when Marty Crawford paced the Bears at .350. Crawford led the team in batting average in each of his four seasons at Baylor; he is the only player in school history to lead the team in batting average more than twice.
Campbell, who also has seen time at second base this season, is tied for third on the team in doubles (11), tied for fifth in home runs (four), fourth in hits (58) and fifth in runs scored (34). He also has committed just 11 errors on the season.
However, Campbell is not the only Baylor freshman with strong Freshman All-America credentials. 1B Dustin Dickerson, who led all Big 12 freshmen and ranked sixth overall with a .373 batting average in league play, and RF Aaron Miller, who has missed the past four weeks due to injury, also have enjoyed strong freshman campaigns.
SCHEDULE AMONG NATION'S TOUGHEST
Baylor's 2007 schedule is rated as the nation's 19th-toughest through games of May 19, according to listings at www.BoydsWorld.com. The Bears' schedule ranks fourth among Big 12 Conference schools behind only Nebraska (eighth), Texas (10th) and Oklahoma (11th).
Not surprisingly, 11 of the top 20 teams nationally in strength of schedule are from California. Also not surprisingly, Baylor has faced four of the top 20 teams: Rice (18th), Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska. The Bears are 3-8 against those teams.
CAS-SAVE-CHIA'S VALUE
RHP Nick Cassavechia, a member of the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's 35-man National Stopper of the Year Watch List, has been one of the league's most valuable pitchers. Cassavechia, joins Texas sophomore Austin Wood as the only Big 12 pitchers on the watch list, has recorded a decision in 14 of Baylor's 31 victories this season for a 45.2 team win participation percentage. Cassavechia's percentage was even better in Big 12 play (50.0) with three wins and three saves in Baylor's 12 victories. He leads the Bears in both wins (six) and saves (eighth).
Cassavechia, who arrived at Baylor as a pitcher/catcher, has tallied 16 career saves in just one-and-half seasons as the Bears' closer in mid-March 2006. He already ranks fourth on Baylor's all-time career saves list. He has eight career saves in Big 12 play, tied with Abe Woody for second in school history behind only Zane Carlson (17). Cassavechia and Carlson are the only pitchers in Baylor history to record at least eight saves in multiple seasons.
Entering the Big 12 Championship, Cassavechia is fourth in the Big 12 in saves. He is second on the team with 63 strikeouts over 43.0 innings, averaging 13.19 strikeouts per nine innings, against only 14 walks (three of which have been intentional).
In Big 12 play, Cassavechia finished fifth in the league in ERA (2.43), tied for fifth in saves (three), tied for ninth in strikeouts (44), first in strikeouts per nine innings (13.35) and 10th in opponents' batting average (.248).
Earlier this season, Cassavechia enjoyed a 21.0-inning streak during which he did not walk a batter; he posted 33 strikeouts during that time. Over the last half of the 2006 season and the first month of this season, he stranded 22 consecutive inherited runners. He has recorded at least one strikeout in 23 of his 25 appearances this season with multiple strikeouts 18 times, including 14 of the last 15 and a streak of 10 consecutive appearances from March 20 to April 22.
Cassavechia has shown his value even more so late in the season as he has been called upon earlier in games. He has logged at least 2.1 innings in five of his last seven appearances, including 3.0-plus innings four times. He earned the victory in the series opener against Kansas State, holding the Wildcats scoreless on one hit with three walks over 2.1 innings. In that game, Cassavechia escaped a bases-loaded, no-outs jam in the eighth unscathed and retired the side in order in the ninth. The following night, he entered the game in a non-save-situation with the bases loaded and no outs in the ninth. Cassavechia struck out three consecutive batters to end the game and clinch Baylor's berth in the Big 12 Championship.
TRIPLE YOUR PLEASURE
Baylor is second in the Big 12 Conference with 25 triples this season, trailing only Oklahoma (26).
Through games of May 13, Baylor ranked eighth nationally in triples per game with 0.45. Brigham Young was the national leader at 0.67. Baylor was 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) had 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.
Individually, LF Ben Booker leads the Big 12 with seven triples, two more than any other player in the league. Through games of May 13, he ranked 30th nationally in triples per game. SS Beamer Weems is tied for second in the Big 12 with five triples, while RF Aaron Miller is tied for sixth with four.
The Bears had 10 triples in Big 12 play, ranking third in the league behind only Texas (13) and Oklahoma (12). Weems finished in a three-way tie for the conference lead with three triples in league play, while Booker, Miller and CF Chase Gerdes tied for fourth with two.
BEARS ARE EXTRA SPECIAL
Baylor is 14-4 in extra-inning games since the start of the 2003 season, including a 2-1 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.
BAYLOR 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 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 ...
Baylor awaits word from the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee. Pairings for the 2007 tournament will be announced Monday, May 28, at 11:30 a.m. CDT on ESPN.
