Big 12 Sports Blog by Big 12 Fans

BAYLOR BASEBALL UPDATE: Bears slide into six-seed, defeat Nebraska in round one action

By Denton Ramsey, Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – For a season that began on a high note, then quickly turned sour, the Baylor Bears baseball team (32-24) – along with skipper Steve Smith – have got to be happy with Wednesday’s 10-4 round one victory over Nebraska (39-13-1).

BU went back to their roots on Wednesday evening in Oklahoma City – beginning with pitching perfection on the mound and ending with offensive outbursts at the plate.

“For us it all started on the mound, and Shawn [Tolleson] gave us a really good performance,” Smith said following the Bears round one victory. “[Tolleson had] very good command, kept his fastball down and didn’t make very many mistakes at all. He gave up a two strike hit and followed it up with a walk or a hit batter, and they were able to create some offense there and get a couple of runs on the board. He pitched really well, and that was as important for us as anything.”

Baylor’s offense was also awakened from a prolonged slumber, as the Bears faired well at the plate – scoring 10 runs on nine hits.

“The guys just did a great job at the plate,” Smith said. “Nebraska threw a bunch of really good arms at us, and while we didn’t get a ton of hits – you’re not usually going to get a ton of hits against those kinds of arms – we did get some free bases, and we got some timely hits.

“The big hit in the game was when they chose to take a gamble and play the infield in with the bases loaded, and that’s a gamble. Shaver’s [Hansen] bounding ball gets over the first baseman and cleared the bases, and then they had to play again after that and [Adam] Hornung got one to go through on the right side. Those two balls weren’t well struck. They were just situations where we put the ball in play and got the benefit out of it.”

BU third baseman Shaver Hansen led the way for the Bears on Wednesday, going 3-for-4 at the plate with four runs batted in (RBI).

“We really wanted to go up there and be aggressive and to be ready to jump on that first pitch fastball if they were throwing it,” Hansen said. “The lefty [Dan] Jennings that threw today, we saw him in relief during the Big 12 games that we had during the year, and he had a pretty good slider, so being able to attack his fastball was important for us. We all went out there with a do or die attitude and we got it done.”

According to the skipper, relaxation and confidence – along with superb mound work –helped propel the Bears in Wednesday’s tourney opener.

“Our guys were relaxed and took good at bats,” Smith said. “It looked like a pretty confident, pretty mature group of guys. Ben [Booker] says we did, but we didn’t play a flawless game because he didn’t get the bunt down. But, the next couple of times up he got a base hit to load the bases before Shaver did what he did, and then he absolutely scolded that ball of the right field fence after they had answered.

“They were back in the game; they’ve still got outs to play with. That was as big as anything. We got off to a good start, they responded, and then we responded. We didn’t shut it down; we played the game all the way from start to finish.”

Freshman Shawn Tolleson picked up with W for the Bears, going 6.1 solid innings – yielding four runs on five hits while walking three and striking out two.

“Early in the game I was able to get good command of my pitches,” Tolleson said. “I was getting my fastball down in the zone. They were hitting a lot of ground balls and infield pop ups. Later in the game I struggled a bit with control, but luckily I was able to get a few outs.”

Despite going 1-2 in their final season road woes in a pair of setbacks against Texas Tech, the Bears locked up the six-seed in the conference tournament with a blowout victory over the Red Raiders in the middle game of the three-game series.

And despite starting the season hot before taking a turn for the worse, Baylor’s baseball team compiled an impressive 31-24 regular season record while bouncing back in Big 12 play after a rough start – ending the year with an 11-16 mark in conference contests.

“After our last game at [Texas] Tech, we knew that we had to come out and bring our ‘A’ game to win this thing and do what we want to do,” Baylor junior left fielder Ben Booker said following the Bears victory. “This is a new start for us. We need to play every game like we did today. This was the ‘A’ team that we brought today, and most of the year we really haven’t brought that. Everyone knows now what we are expected to do, so we just need to bring that game out again [on Friday].

“We have to [win] or we are not going to play anymore. We have been telling each other that for the last three weeks, but it hasn’t really clicked. I don’t really know what the problems have been, but today on the field you could tell it was a different team. We drew walks, we situational hit, we pitched well and there were no flaws in the game today, so that is what we need to do [on Friday].”

Baylor enjoyed a day off on Thursday before returning to the diamond on Friday, May 23 in a round two match-up with Oklahoma State. First pitch is slated for 7:30 p.m. CT at Oklahoma City’s Bricktown Ballpark.

“I’m sure it will be the same as it was last night – it is intense,” Hansen said. “We are gunning for everybody because we know we can win; we think we can win. We are happy that we won, but we know that we have another good to team to face, and another good team after that. We have to take it one game at a time, one pitch at a time. It is pretty intense because we need to play our best ball and we know it.”

The Bears continue Big 12 Tourney play on Saturday, with Baylor scheduled to face Kansas State at 7:30 p.m. prior to Sunday’s Big 12 Championship.

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

BAYLOR BASEBALL UPDATE: No. 20 Bears bounce back with big win over Houston Baptist after three-game skid, improve to 14-7 overall

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – After a trio of games saw the Baylor baseball team scratch across just two runs while dropping all three games against Big 12 rival Missouri, the No. 20 Bears bounced back against Houston Baptist University on Tuesday night, March 25 in Waco.

Baylor (14-7) reestablished their offensive groove against HBU on Tuesday evening at their home ballpark, knocking in run after run en route to a 12-4 victory while the Bears’ Tim Matthews picked up his first win of the season after relieving BU starter Craig Fritsch after 3.1 innings of play.

“I wanted to split the game up between [Tim Matthews] and Craig [Fritsch],” Baylor Head Coach Steve Smith said. “I wanted to give Craig an opportunity to start a game and to get his feet wet like that, but I’ve seen him better.

“He wasn’t as good tonight as what we’ve seen. That experience and that extended look out there will help him. Tim has a lot of experience and has done everything. He did a good job.”

After Smith’s duo of pitchers handled the first seven innings of work, the Bears handed the ball to Baylor’s bullpen beast, Nick Cassavechia – who pitched two innings of one-hit baseball after BU’s weekend collapse against the Tigers.

“He [Cassavechia] looked a lot better,” Smith said. “His stuff was better, his velocity was better, and he was sharper. That’s a good feeling for him. All of this stuff is just about confidence, and you can’t do anything without it.

“Some of the things that have gone against him and some of the bad games he’s had, obviously they’ve taken a toll on him mentally. From a hitter’s perspective, the whole weekend took a toll on us, so tonight was a good opportunity to get well in terms of confidence.”

Leading the offensive charge for the Bears was a trio of talent, as Beamer Weems, Adam Hornung and Aaron Miller picked up three hits apiece.

“It [bouncing back with a win] was definitely big,” sophomore Baylor outfielder Weems said. “We take nothing away from the Missouri staff because they threw us really well, and that’s a place where you don’t want to go when you’re not on your A-game.

“After the weekend we had, to come out here and jump out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, you could see it in the dugout that everybody’s shoulders dropped a little bit, and everybody relaxed and started having more fun.”

The more fun the Bears had, the more their lead extended over HBU – as Miller posted back-to-back homers after going 0-for-12 prior to Tuesday’s match-up in Waco.

“I just let them come to me,” Weems said. “The whole problem I’ve had has been pitch selection. In the last couple of weekend I haven’t been swinging the bat too well, and I’d been going out of the zone and trying to make something happen instead of just letting it happen. I told myself today that I was just going to make them throw strikes before I started swinging, and I got a few I could handle.”

Count Coach Smith as one to echo his star outfielder’s comments – as the BU skipper was the first to let the media know that Weems would probably be sleeping a bit better in the nights to come.

“He squared the ball up pretty well,” Smith said. “He’s just got some pop, and when he gets the ball up in the air like he does, it can blow out of the park on a night like tonight. It was good to see him swing the bat better after the weekend he had. He’ll sleep a little better tonight.”

Baylor junior first baseman Hornung also had a major impact in the Bears 12-run outburst against HBU – helping to break BU’s three-game skid.

“It was definitely a big improvement from the weekend; it was good to see us start driving some balls again and putting up runs,” Hornung said. “In the first inning we put up four runs, so it was good to see that early.

“At Missouri we had the chance to score early twice and we didn’t, so it’s good to see us get on the board and keep getting on the board. It definitely helped us relax a little more once we put up four in the first, and then we scored in every inning except for two, so it was good to see.”

Matthews, who pitched 3.2 innings of two-hit, no-run baseball, picked up his first win of the season on Tuesday night against HBU – improving his overall ERA to 1.62.

“Lately I’ve just been attacking guys with fastballs,” Matthews said. “That’s pretty much my thing, throwing the sinker and just going right after guys without trying to be too fine. It’s been working out.”

Working out is exactly right, and despite an evening with high winds, the senior pitcher accomplished the task at hand – successfully taking the mound and attacking the HBU batters.

“I’m pretty much a groundball pitcher, and throwing a two-seamer down in the zone is usually pretty good on a night like this,” Matthews said. “Keeping the ball out of the air is always good, and usually I do a pretty good job of keeping the ball out of the air. Nights like this don’t worry me too much, but if you do get it up, it’s one of those nights that can be dangerous. If you just try to keep it down and induce groundballs, it usually works out.”

Fortunately, skipper Smith and his young and talented BU baseball team have bounced back after dropping a trio of games in Missouri – and even with extensive winds blowing out of Baylor Ballpark Tuesday night, the Bears picked up a much-needed W.

“This would’ve been a tough night had we come out here and had the wind blowing in our faces after this weekend,” Smith said. “The hitters needed a night that at the least didn’t work against them, and this one definitely worked for them. We had some guys that took some good at bats, and we made some good contact.”

The Bears return to the diamond on Wednesday, March 26 in a one-game match-up with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Baylor Ballpark at 4 p.m. CT before opening a three-game series at Oklahoma on Friday, March 28 at 6 p.m. CT.

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com

2008 BAYLOR BASEBALL PREVIEW: Bears look to redefine Big 12 baseball as team strives for postseason success

By Denton Ramsey, NCAA Sportswriter/Big 12 Fans Baylor Correspondent

WACO, Texas – With Baylor’s baseball team having eight pitchers returning, as well as adding four freshman to the mound, the Bears are hoping to have some postseason success this year after 2007 saw the group take an early exit in the NCAA Houston Regional.

Baylor last tasted true playoff success when the Bears reached the pinnacle of NCAA baseball by getting to the College World Series in 2005 – eventually falling to the Texas Longhorns in a controversial and heated match-up.

“The expectations [for the 2008 Baylor Baseball season] are extremely high, and we’re holding ourselves accountable,” Baylor senior relief pitcher Nick Cassavechia said. “The expectations on the team are really high, and everyone else has expectations, too. We’re expecting to make it back to Omaha and get a national championship.”

For the time being, we’ll let the past be the past and will focus on the here and now – the 2008 NCAA baseball season.

Preseason polls have Baylor ranked as high as 15 according to the Baseball America Preseason College Top 25 (NCAA.com), with the Bears compiling an overall 2007 record of 35-27 (while garnering a disappointing 12-15 mark in the Big 12).

“I participate in those rankings, so I buy them,” Baylor Head Coach Steve Smith said. “Time will tell. This sport determines its champion on the field and not in the polls, so that’s one good thing we have going for us.”

The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA), meanwhile, has the Bears ranked 26 in preseason polls, while the USA Today/ESPN Preseason Poll places the BU baseball team at 24.

“We should compete for the [Big 12 Conference] championship, but there are other good teams in this league that could feel just as strongly,” Smith said. “The league is good, there are some very good teams in it, and Missouri has probably got their strongest team in the history of their school. There are some other programs in the league that are just as capable of setting that goal.”

Baylor joins four other Big 12 teams in many of the preseason rankings – showing the need to succeed in conference play in ’08 as the Bears aim for a much more successful season in the Big 12.

“It [our team] is very experienced, but it’s still very young,” Smith said. “I just think it’s extremely talented. I don’t think we’ve ever had as much talent across the board – offensive, defensive and pitching – as we have right now.

“They’re highly motivated, they’re very disciplined, and they’ve set their goals really high. They’re all smart kids. They look around and they know how good this club can be, and they’re going to apply themselves. We’ll play it out on the field over the course of the next few months and we’ll see how it shakes out.”

The Bears begin the 2008 season with a three-game series beginning Feb. 22 at Baylor Ballpark, hosting Purdue with the opening pitch slated for 6:30 p.m. on Friday evening.

“We’re going to be able to match up offensively with anyone in the country,” Baylor sophomore outfielder Aaron Miller said. “All the way up and down the lineup we have so many power threats that one swing can drastically change a game.”

The Bears return 19 lettermen from the 2007 squad, returning with six starters and eight pitchers while entering the ’08 season with 11 newcomers.

“From an opposing team view, attacking our lineup is going to be really hard because we have so many match-up problems with left-handed and right-handed power, and with guys who can run,” Miller said. “We have three or four guys who can hit a home run, get a triple, or steal a base, so it’s going to be really hard to match up with our lineup.”

After Saturday’s season opener in Waco, the Bears conclude their series with Purdue on Saturday, Feb. 23 at 3 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 24 at noon.

“A lot of people are looking forward to this year with everybody that we’ve got coming back and all of the firepower,” Miller said. “We’re all anxious to take it off of paper and put it on the field to see what we can do.”

For many of the Baylor baseball players, just hitting the field for regular season play will be a blessing – as the Bears aim to prove to the nation, as well as the Big 12 conference, that they are a much-improved team from 2007.

“We’ve definitely got some talent out here, so it should be a great year,” Baylor junior shortstop Beamer Weems said. “Omaha is where we want to go, so we’ll see what happens. Hopefully we’ll start off well this season and take it from there.”

The Bears return to the diamond on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at Baylor Ballpark, against Texas Southern at 6:30 p.m. before hosting the QTI Baylor Classic beginning Friday, Feb. 29, and running through Sunday, March 2.

Teams invited to this year’s QTI Baylor Classic include Illinois, Illinois-Chicago and Stephen F. Austin.

After hosting the annual tourney in Waco, the Bears have two more home games – a two-game series against Louisiana Tech (Tuesday, March 4 at 6:30 p.m. and Wednesday, March 5 at 4 p.m.) before hitting the road for a three-game series with Mississippi State (March 7-9) and a two-game series with Oral Roberts (March 11-12).

“We’ve got great leadership on the team,” Weems said. “The freshman came in here and worked really hard this year. From the freshman to the seniors, everybody’s working really hard, and there’s a lot of dedication out here so it should be fun.”

Denton Ramsey may be reached via email at denton.ramsey@gmail.com