Feb. 11, 2010

Complete Release in PDF Format

MARRIOTT HOUTON HOBBY CLASSIC TOURNAMENT CENTRAL

The Series
Baylor vs. Houston: Baylor leads, 10-5
Baylor vs. Louisville: First Meeting
Baylor vs. Ohio State: Ohio State leads, 2-1
Baylor vs. Sam Houston: Baylor leads, 41-27

Live Coverage
Radio: None
Live Audio (All games): www.BaylorBears.com
Live Stats: www.BaylorBears.com
Live Video: None

Rankings (NFCA, ESPN.com)
Baylor: 17, 15
Houston: RV, NR
Louisville: 22, 21
Ohio State: 14, 16
Sam Houston State: NR, NR

The No. 15 Baylor softball team will open up the 2010 season on the road for the second-consecutive season, traveling to Houston for the Marriott Houston Hobby Classic.

The Lady Bears play three games against ranked teams, beginning with No. 21 Louisville on Friday at 3:00 p.m. BU will follow with Sam Houston State at 5:00 p.m. On Saturday, the Lady Bears will take on No. 14 Ohio State at 11:00 a.m., followed by a rematch with UL. They will cap off the weekend with a game against host, Houston at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday.

All games can be heard live on baylorbears.com as Derek Smith and Alex Colyer bring you all the action.

SCOUTING THE FIELD
Louisville is coming off a record-setting season finishing at 48-11, setting a new mark for wins and tying the record for fewest losses after reaching their sixth straight NCAA regional appearance. The Cardinals return six starters, including a pair of All-Americans in pitcher, Kristen Waldwell and catcher Melissa Roth.
Sam Houston returns 15 letter winners from last year's team that rolled up a 28-26 overall record and finished sixth in the Southland Conference with a 15-14 mark.
Ohio State returns 14 letterwinners and seven starters from its 2009 squad that went 47-11 and 16-2 in the Big Ten, finishing second in the league. The Buckeyes have made three NCAA appearances in the last four years, including their first run in program history to the NCAA Super Regional in 2009.
Houston finished third in Conference USA a year ago, with a record of 25-24. The Cougars return seven letterwinners from last season and welcome nine newcomers.

ROAD TRIP TO BEGIN SEASON
The 2010 season will mark the second-straight season that the Lady Bears will begin their season schedule away from the friendly confines of Getterman Stadium. Last season, BU began on the road at No. 1 Florida, taking one-of-three games from the Gators.

TOUGH SCHEDULE
Just take one look at the schedule and you will see what a gauntlet it is. The Lady Bears will face seven teams ranked in the top-25, including No. 5/3 Florida, No. 4/6 Arizona, No. 6/8 UCLA, No. 9 Missouri, No. 10/11 Oklahoma, No. 16/14 Ohio State and No. 21/22 Louisville. Additionally, BU will face eight other teams that are receiving votes.

LADY BEARS PICKED THIRD IN PRESEASON BIG 12 CONFERENCE POLL
The Baylor softball team was picked to finish third in a pre-season vote conducted by league coaches. The Lady Bears were picked to finish sixth last season and ended up in third place. The Sooners (79 points) received seven of 10 first-place votes and Missouri (75) grabbed three. Nebraska (49) edged out Texas (48) for fourth place, followed by Texas A&M, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, Kansas and Texas Tech.

HANAFIN HOPES TO KEEP €ˆHAMMERING
Sophomore Bree Hanafin is currently bringing an eight-game hitting streak into the 2010 season. The streak began on May, 9 2009 against Texas A&M in the quarterfinal round of the Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City.

Tiffany Wesley HOLDS ERRORLESS STREAK
Senior left fielder Tiffany Wesley has gone 73-straight games without making an error (a program record), dating back to her last error on March 30, 2008 at Oklahoma State.

CANION LANDS €ˆON NATIONAL PLAYER €ˆOF €ˆTHE €ˆYEAR €ˆWATCH €ˆLIST
Sophomore pitcher Whitney Canion was one of 50 student-athletes named to the 2010 USA Softball Player of the Year Watch List, the Amateur Softball Association of America announced Wednesday. Canion is one of only six sophomores to make the list. Prior Lady Bears to make the initial list are Chelsi Lake (2006-07), Harmony Schwethelm (2006) and Brette Reagan (2007-09).
The 2010 Pre-Season Watch List is comprised of 50 players representing 35 schools and 14 different NCAA Division I Conferences. The list includes 27 seniors, 17 juniors and six sophomores. The ASA will announce the 25 finalists on April 7.

BAYLOR IN PRESEASON RANKINGS
The Baylor softball team earned a national ranking of 15th in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Preseason Poll, and a ranking of 17th in the USA Today/NFCA Preseason Poll. It is the highest preseason ranking since being ranked eighth in 2008. Baylor is one of three Big 12 teams to be ranked, joining Missouri (No. 9/9) and Oklahoma (No. 10/11).

SPEED RETURNS
Baylor returns 81.7 percent (85-of-104) of its stolen bases from last season, after totaling 104 swipes in 2009.

PLUG IN THE POWER
With the loss of graduates, Brette Reagan and Alex Colyer, the Lady Bears will be missing nearly 42 percent (13-of-32) of last season's home runs. The Bears will look to juniors Jordan Vannatta and Dani Leal along with others to pick up the slack and push up Baylor's slugging percentage.

CANION'S FABULOUS FRESHMAN CAMPAIGN
Canion finished up one of the best seasons in Baylor softball history, as the freshman lefty set new records in season strikeouts and most 10-plus strikeout games in a career. She finished 27-17 with a 1.80 ERA, registering 10 shutouts and 415 strikeouts. She not only led the league in strikeouts, but was third in the NCAA. In addition, Canion picked up the Big 12 Freshman of the Year and Pitcher of the Year honors. Canion became the third Lady Bear in the last four years to earn Freshman of the Year, and the first to win Pitcher of the Year. She was only the second freshman to lead the Big 12 in strikeouts, with the only previous being Cat Osterman.

NEW FACES
The Lady Bears welcome seven new faces to the squad this season, composed of five freshmen, one junior and a senior. Senior Mallory Craig will be utilized asd a pinch runner after spending the last three seasons on the Baylor Track & Field team. Junior transfer Dani Leal joins BU from Pratt CC (Kan.) and will fill the gap at shortstop with her strong arm and power potential at the plate. The crop of freshmen will be vital to Baylor's success, but they won't be asked to do too much, too early. Kathy Shelton was a top-20 recruit and shows flashes of brilliance both in the infield and outfield, and will be used in both areas throughout the year. In addition, her speed will make her very dangerous on the basebaths. Courtney Repka joins Canion to help make up a young, but very dynamic pitching staff. Repka recorded 95 wins, 1,462 strikeouts, 51 shutouts, 42 no-hitters and 23 perfect games, which was a Texas state record. Kelsi Kettler will back up Courtney Nieten behind the plate and has a very strong arm. She can also play third, and her bat will be utilized throughout the season. Walk-on Alicia Vasquez joined the Lady Bears at the beginning of the season and will add depth to Baylor's pitching staff. Holly Holl has battled some shoulder injuries, and will likely redshirt the 2010 season.

RECAPPING €ˆ2009
Despite ending the 2009 season with a pair of losses, the Lady Bears ended on a high note, capturing their third NCAA Regional title. It capped a season that saw the squad win at least 40 games for the fifth time in school history, while finishing third in the conference after being picked sixth. The coaching staff earned their second regional award, being named 2009 NFCA Division I Central Region Coaching Staff of the Year. In addition, Baylor had two student-athletes earn Academic All-America status for the first time since 2001, as Alex Colyer (first team) and Tiffany Wesley (second team) were as impressive in the classroom as they were on the field.