Mizzou Baseball Game Day: Baylor Bears

Schedule Note: If you hadn't noticed, the MU-BU series is scheduled for Thursday through Saturday. Sunday is Resurrection Sunday.

■ The numbers (from BoydsWorld.com):

• Record: MU 14-22 (2-9); BU 20-18 (6-9)
  
• RPI: MU 130th; BU 38th
• ISR: MU 158th; BU 49th
• Strength of Schedule: MU 47th; BU 12th
• Team Batting Avg: MU .258; BU .276
• Team ERA: MU 4.77; BU 4.47

■ BU ballpark vendors cover all the bases (The Lariat)

A new concession stand behind the third base bleachers known as the Hot Corner offers a wide selection where everything is served straight off the grill or fryer, as opposed to steamers at the other concession stands. Chicken fajitas, sandwiches, onion rings and jalapeno peppers are among the popular choices at the stand.
The untraditional ballpark food offered at the Hot Corner gives fans all the more reason to come out and enjoy another day at the ballpark.
“People want to experience different types of food. The Hot Corner brings a lot of people back to the ballgames,” Tino Juandiego, assistant concessions director for Baylor, said.
. . .
“There is something for everyone … from a [small snack] to a catfish dinner. Everybody wants to eat; the more variety you give them, the more they will eat,” he said.
There are also various options for people with different sized wallets, as prices range from $1 to $7.

■ Pitching can't contain UNLV in Bears' loss (The Lariat, April 20)

Baylor pitching and hitting alike appeared bogged down as the Bears dropped the muggy Tuesday night matchup to the University of Nevada Las Vegas, 7-4, at Baylor Ballpark.

Three UNLV pitchers held Baylor’s (20-18) lineup to seven hits while the Rebels (25-14) posted 15 hits against the six Bears’ pitchers they faced.

“We hit some balls good, but timing is everything when it comes to hitting,” head coach Steve Smith said. “I don’t like taking anything away from the way they pitched, particularly the left-hander, because he did a good job himself of changing speeds. They played a good ballgame.”

■ Baylor pounds A&M 12-1 to even baseball series (Houston Chronicle, April 16)

“I kind of stood there for a second, I’m not going to lie,” Evatt said of watching his second home run of the night at Texas A&M sail along the left-field line.

The ball bounced off the foul pole, and Evatt quickly started his trot toward first base in the eighth inning of the Bears’ 12-1 whipping of the eighth-ranked Aggies before 7,409 fans in Olsen Field. Evatt, a junior from Grapevine, has five homers in 51 at bats, and raised his batting average from .188 to .216 courtesy of his two hits and five RBIs on Saturday, as the Bears (20-16, 6-8) evened their series with A&M (25-10, 10-4).

“It was almost a reversal of (Friday) night’s game,” Baylor coach Steve Smith said.
Then in Waco, the Aggies defeated the Bears 5-1 behind John Stilson’s strong outing on the mound. On Saturday it was Trent Blank’s turn, as the Baylor junior from Columbia, Ill., allowed a lone run over 5 1/3 innings.

■ Turley helps BU to lone weekend win vs. Texas (Baylor Lariat, April 12)

Baylor starting pitcher Josh Turley wasn’t used to the media attention he got following the Bears’ 7-6 win over Texas Saturday. But if having a career day means pushing back postgame plans because of interviews, Turley welcomes it with open arms.

“I’d rather pitch well and get the win than pitch poorly and go eat dinner,” Turley said.

Turley tossed eight innings, holding the Longhorns (23-8, 8-3) to three runs on seven hits while striking out five and allowing just one walk. His innings thrown set a new career high, as did his 114 pitches.

“For us to have a chance, Josh had to be special today. And he was,” head coach Steve Smith said.

■ The brief Baylor football career of baseball coach Steve Smith (Waco Tribune)

"Eventually a couple of the little girl trainers grabbed me and hauled me inside the old training room, put me on the table. I waited there until the doctor came. He sewed me up on the table in the training room.

"It was never X-rayed. It was sewed up right there on that training room table on what we now know as Floyd Casey Stadium. That basically ended my football career. I missed a whole week because I wasn't going to be doing anything, and I wasn't going to be doing anything anyway. I found out later on that Mickey (Sullivan) had talked to Corky and told him this kid's got a chance to help us in baseball, so don't kill him."

■ CBD interview with Steve Smith, Baylor (College Baseball Daily)

The biggest challenge will be to replace the innings that we lost from last year. Replacing (catcher) Gregg Glime will also be a challenge. I expect that we will be a very competitive team. We’re talented across the board and we’ve got a lot of experience with position players. We’ve got to replace some innings on the mound, but we’ve got some guys in the pipeline that are ready to get after it.