Softball Hosts No. 13 Missouri

Softball 3/27/2009 12:00:00 AM

March 27, 2009

The Baylor softball team (25-10, 2-0) will open the home portion of conference play, taking on No. 13 Missouri (28-4, 1-1) beginning Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and wrapping up on Sunday at noon.

Baylor, who is 18-0 at home this season, is 2-9 against ranked opponents but will be facing its first ranked oppnent in the friendly confines of Getterman Stadium.

The Lady Bears have won seven straight and are coming off a road sweep of Texas Tech this past weekend and a 10-2 victory over Central Arkansas on Monday.

Missouri has won 14 of its last 15 entering this weekend's contests and most recently defeated Houston in a pair of midweek games. As a team, Missouri leads the conference in both batting average (.340) and ERA (1.28) overall.

Saturday, the first 300 fans will receive Baylor Softball jersey shirts, and Sunday the first 200 fans will be given a pack of Baylor softball player cards.

Saturday's game can be heard on 104.9 FM with Derek Smith delivering all the action beginning at 1:45 p.m. Live audio and video can also be found for each game by visiting www.baylorbears.com.

SCOUTING MISSOURI
Missouri has won 14 of its last 15 entering this weekend's contests and most recently defeated Houston in a pair of midweek games. The Tigers are led by sophomore Shana White, who leads the conference with a .463 batting average and 24 stolen bases. As a team, Missouri leads the conference in both batting average (.340) and ERA (1.28) overall.

THE SERIES
These two teams played just one game in 2008 due to rain and split the series in 2007. Missouri leads 21-15 overall and has a 10-8 mark in Waco.

Nicole Wesley WHITE HOT
Junior Nicole Wesley has been on fire over her last five games, recording 12 hits during that span. She has recorded at least two hits in each of the last five games and has raised her batting average from .271 to .360.

3 LIKES 2
Kayce Walker (No. 3) has found her niche at the two hole ever since being moved out of the leadoff spot on Feb. 21. The freshman has been hitting .508 with a two doubles, two triples and 10 stolen bases.

NO-HITTER? No PrOBLEM
Whitney Canion has two no-hitters to her credit thus far in her freshman campaign. The lefty threw her first no-no on Feb. 28 against Rutgers and tossed the second on March 17 versus Prairie View A&M. Each game lasted just five innings.

REAGAn TEARS ACL
Three-time All-American, Brette Reagan, tore her ACL in the top of the third against No. 1 Washington on March 6. Reagan's status for the remainder of her senior campaign remains uncertain.

HANAFIN HAMMERIN'
Bree Hanafin has busted out to take the "slugger" position in Brette Reagan's absence. Since Regan has been out (10 games), the freshman has three home runs and 12 RBI, including 10 RBI in her last seven games.

COLYER SAVES BEST FOR LAST
Senior Alex Colyer is having her best season as a Lady Bear. Heading into 2009, Colyer was a career .281 htiter, but the first-year first baseman has come alive to hit .398 entering this contest.

CANION'S STRIKEOUTS GRAND
Whitney Canion went over the 200 strikeout mark for the season on Saturday at Texas Tech, becoming the second Baylor player in history to do so. Cristin Vitek had 264 in 2004.

Canion already has 10 games of 10-plus strikeouts after just appearances young career. The freshman sits three away from tying the school's all-time mark of 13 set by Cristin Vitek.

NEVER GONNA GIVE YOU UP
Baylor is a perfect 16-0 when leading after four innings. The Lady Bears have outscored their opponents 98-42 from the fourth inning on this season.

CANION'S CANNON
Freshman left-hander Whitney Canion was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week for the third-straight time the league office announced Feb. 24. It marked the first time in Lady Bear softball history that a Baylor player has won the award in back-to-back weeks. Canion is the first freshman in league history and first since 2006 (Cat Osterman, Texas) to win pitcher honors in the first three weeks of the season.

BRING ON THE BEST
Head coach Glenn Moore knew what kind of non-conference schedule his team had in front of them entering 2009, but even he could not forese playing the No. 1 team six times. Baylor has played a team ranked No. 1 in the country six times so far in 2009, and holds a 1-5 mark. The Lady Bears have played at Florida, at Alabama and a neutral site game against Washington.

In addition, Baylor has played 11 games against ranked teams, going 2-9.

HOME SWEET HOME
The Lady Bears are 18-0 at home this season, surpassing the win total of 11 in 2008.

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