March 20, 2012

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Baylor (14-7) at Sam Houston State (11-8) March 21, 2012 | 6:30 p.m. CST Huntsville, Texas | Don Sanders Stadium (1,463) PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS (2012 STATISTICS) Baylor: RHP Joey Hainsfurther, Sr. (1-0, 3.00 ERA, 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 4 K) SHSU: LHP Andrew Godail, Fr. (0-0, 3.00 ERA, 9.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 9 BB, 2 K)

Listen | Game Notes

Baylor baseball heads back out on the road to take on Sam Houston State at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville, Texas. The Bears are playing their second of three consecutive midweek road games before returning home to host Kansas for a three-game Big 12 series this weekend.

Friday's game against Kansas has been moved up to 3:05 p.m. to avoid a conflict with the Baylor men's basketball team's Sweet 16 game against Xavier that is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. The first of two Dogtopia Bark in the Park events this season has been moved from Friday to Sunday due to the adjusted start time. Saturday's game begins at 3:05 p.m. and Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. For more information on Dogtopia Bark in the Park, visit www.baylorbears.com/barkinthepark.

All Baylor baseball games are broadcast live on Waco's 1660 ESPN Radio. Live streaming audio and GameTracker are available for all Baylor baseball games online at www.BaylorBears.com, the official website of Baylor Athletics and a member of the CBS College Sports Network.

Live streaming video is available for weekend games at Baylor Ballpark. Friday's game will not be streamed live due to the adjusted start time, but the final two games of this weekend's home series against Kansas will have live video on BaylorBears.com.

SERIES INFORMATION

SAM HOUSTON STATE BEARKATS
Overall: Baylor leads 58-39
Waco: Baylor leads 34-14
Huntsville: SHSU leads 25-24
Neutral Site: Never Met

Steve Smith vs. SHSU: 11-4
Streak: Baylor has won one

COACHES

BAYLOR: Steve Smith

Alma Mater: Baylor, 1986

Career Record: 633-422-1 (18th season)

Record at Baylor: 633-422-1 (18th season)

SAM HOUSTON STATE: David Pierce

Career Record: 11-8 (1st season)

Record at SHSU: 11-8 (1st season)

BAYLOR-IMG COLLEGE SPORTS NETWORK

Online at www.BaylorBears.com
1660 ESPN Radio in Waco

Tom Barfield (pxp) and Lark Smith (color)

BAYLOR VS. SAM HOUSTON STATE SERIES HISTORY
Baylor is 58-39 all-time against Sam €ˆHouston State, including a 24-25 mark in games played in Huntsville and a 11-4 record during the Steve Smith era. The Bears won 6-2 against Sam €ˆHouston State when the teams met on Feb. 28 earlier this season, improving their record against the Bearkats in games played in Waco to 34-14.

The last time the teams met in Huntsville, Sam Houston State rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the eighth inning to tie the game at 2-2 and force extra innings. A Baylor error in the bottom of the 10th led to an unearned run that scored on Braeden Riley's one-out walk-off single.

BAYLOR VS. SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE
Baylor is 309-138-1 all-time against teams currently playing in the Southland Conference. The Bears have played 10 different Southland teams: Lamar (41-31-1), McNeese State (8-7), Nicholls State (7-2), Northwestern State (11-7), Sam Houston State (58-39), Stephen F. Austin (27-0), Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5-0), Texas State (46-18), UT €ˆArlington (78-30) and UTSA €ˆ(28-4).

Wednesday's game will be the sixth of 13 games against Southland Conference teams in 2012. Baylor plays at home and on the road against four different Southland teams: Sam Houston State, UT €ˆArlington, UTSA and Texas State. The Bears host TAMU-Corpus Christi for two midweek games in April. Baylor is 2-3 so far this season against Southland teams. The Bears beat Texas State on Feb. 22 in €ˆRound Rock and defeated Sam €ˆHouston State on Feb. 28 in Waco. Baylor's last three games against Southland teams have been losses, two coming against Lamar in the QTI €ˆBaylor Classic (March 3-4) and the third coming at UT €ˆArlington on March 13 when an error contributed to the Bears losing a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the ninth inning.

BLANK-ING OPPONENTS
Baylor senior RHP €ˆTrent Blank leads the Big 12 Conference with five wins this season -- more victories than 41 Division I €ˆteams have through games of March 19. Combined with 15 teams sitting on five wins, Blank has as many victories as 56 Division I teams.

Blank's success can be attributed to a drop in his arm slot, which was done during a bullpen session at the recommendation of pitching coach Trevor Mote. Blank's first outing with the lower arm slot was May 10, 2011 at TCU, when he went 3.1 scoreless innings.

With the lower arm slot, Blank has combined to go 7-0 with a 2.90 ERA over 49.2 innings pitched. If one bad outing in the 2011 Houston €ˆRegional against California is removed from the record, he's gone 7-0 with a 2.02 ERA €ˆover 49.0 innings of work. Prior to changing his arm slot, Blank had gone 6-4 with a 6.15 ERA €ˆover 98.0 innings in his first two-and-a-half seasons at Baylor. Here's a before and after comparison of his numbers:

QUICK HITS
• SERIES: Baylor leads the all-time series 58-39, including a 24-25 mark in games played in Huntsville and a 11-4 record in the Steve Smith era. €ˆThe Bears are 34-14 against Sam €ˆHouston €ˆState in €ˆWaco.
• Baylor is 309-138-1 all-time against teams currently playing as members of the Southland Conference. The Bears are 2-3 this season in the first five of 13 scheduled games against Southland Conference teams.
• Baylor is 2nd among teams receiving votes (No. 27) in the latest USATODAY/ESPN Coaches' Top 25 Poll.
• Baylor's staff ERA €ˆof 3.45 ranks 5th in the Big 12, while its .231 opponents' batting average ranks 3rd.
• The Bears play all five March weekends at home, but they play four of five midweek games on the road.
• 17 Baylor relievers have combined for 66 strikeouts, 58 hits and a .197 opponents' batting average over 84.0 IP.
• Baylor's bullpen went 18.0 innings before allowing its first run this season (9th inning vs. TCU).
• Baylor went 6-2 in its first 8 games of the season -- all against 2011 NCAA €ˆTournament teams.
• Baylor's 8-2 start tied the second-best 10-game start of the 18-year Steve Smith era (9-1 in 2008).
• Six Baylor starters have on-base percentages of .421 or higher, including three at .466 or above.
• Baylor tied an NCAA €ˆrecord with 10 batters hit by pitch on March 6 at TCU. The teams combined to hit 13 batters in the game, breaking the previous NCAA €ˆrecord of 12 combined hit batsmen.
• Baylor has 4 of the top 10 players in the Big 12 in walks drawn: Logan €ˆVick, Cal Towey, Max Muncy and Michael Howard are all tied for 6th in the league with 14 walks on the season.
• Baylor is 12-3 at home in 2012, and the Bears are 50-21 in their last 71 home games (28-9 in non-conference games).
• For the first time in Big 12 history, Baylor plays its first 9 conference games at home. Baylor's longest previous league-opening homestand was 7 games in 2003 (Bears went 5-2).
• Baylor started a Big 12 season 3-0 for the first time since sweeping No. 1 Texas to open Big 12 play in 2005.
• Baylor's sweep of Texas Tech was its first Big 12 sweep since May 21-23, 2010 against Oklahoma State.
• According to WarrenNolan.com, Baylor has played the nation's 12th-toughest schedule to this point, which ranks No. 1 in the Big 12. Texas (No. 19) is the only other Big 12 team to have played a top-25 schedule.
• Baylor snapped a 13-game homerless drought with 3 home runs in the first 3 innings of the series finale at UCLA (Feb. 26), but since then the Bears have gone 425 at-bats without a homer, including 13 straight games.
• Baylor is 3-3 this season when scoring three or fewer runs. The Bears were 3-22 in such games last season.
• Baylor is currently 18th nationally in total home attendance (37,740) and 20th in average (2,695).
• Baylor has ranked in the nation's top 25 in attendance in all 13 years since Baylor Ballpark opened in 1999.
• Baylor's 2-1 win vs. Memphis was its first victory with 3 hits or less since March 15, 2005 against TCU.
• Senior RHP €ˆTrent Blank leads the Big 12 with 5 wins -- more wins than 41 Division I €ˆteams entering this week.
• Blank leads the Big 12 in wins (5), ranks 4th in IP (35.0), 4th in opp. batting average (.188) and 3rd in ERA €ˆ(2.06).
• Junior 1B Max Muncy has started 103 consecutive games at 1B for Baylor. He has missed one start in 140 team games since joining the Baylor program before the 2010 season.
• Junior CF €ˆLogan Vick has won Big 12 Player of the Week twice this season (Feb. 27 & March 19). He's the fifth player in program history to win multiple Big 12 Player of the Week awards in the same year.
• Baylor has swept two series this season (Oral Roberts, Texas Tech) after sweeping one series in 2011 (LaTech).
• Baylor has played two doubleheaders this season and has won both games both times.
• Baylor's 56-game 2012 schedule features 28 games against 2011 NCAA €ˆTournament teams.
• Baylor's complete 2012 schedule is rated the 13th-toughest nationally (No. 1 in Big 12) by Boyd's World.
• Since the start of the 2003 season, Baylor is 25-16 in extra-inning games.
• Baylor returned 20 of 25 letterwinners from last season's 31-28 Houston Regional runner-up team.
• The Bears were picked fourth in the Big 12 preseason coaches' poll, behind Texas A&M, Texas and Oklahoma.
• Eight players on Baylor's roster have been selected in previous MLB €ˆDrafts.
• Baylor is 1 of 14 programs nationally to play in 12+ NCAA Tournaments since 1998.
• Baylor has been ranked in at least one in-season Baseball €ˆAmerica Top 25 poll in 14 of the last 16 seasons.
• Three Baylor pitchers combined to carry a no-hitter through 7.2 IP in a 7-1 win vs. No. 15 TCU on Feb. 21.

UP NEXT
Baylor returns to Waco for its fourth of five consecutive home weekends. The Bears host Kansas for a three-game Big 12 series in the second of three straight Big 12 series at Baylor Ballpark. Baylor's nine straight home games to open the Big 12 season are its most ever, topping the longest previous conference-opening homestand of seven games in 2003.

Friday's series opener has been moved to 3:05 p.m. from a previously scheduled 6:35 p.m. first pitch in order to accommodate fans who wish to watch the Baylor men's basketball team play in the Sweet 16 at 6:15 p.m. Saturday's game (3:05 p.m.) and Sunday's series finale (1:05 p.m.) are still scheduled for their original times. The first of two Dogtopia Bark in the Park nights has also been moved from €ˆFriday to Sunday. The second Bark in the Park is still scheduled for April 11.