Week 13 Recap
11:10 A.M. TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2012
DAVID KAYE

We've returned to posting the weekly recap here every week. Heart of the Order members receive these e-mails every Sunday night, but if you haven't seen them, weeks 1-11 are linked at the bottom of the blog.

There was no recap for Week 12 since the Bears had a 10-day break for final exams, but here's the Week 13 Recap (PDF here):

Current 2012 Record: 39-11
Current Big 12 Conference Record: 18-3
Current Streak: Lost 3
Last Week: 1-3

Last Week's Results:
Wednesday (5/9) – won at Texas State, 3-0
Saturday (5/12) – lost at Oklahoma, 1-0 (10 innings)
Saturday (5/12) – lost at Oklahoma, 2-1
Sunday (5/13) – lost at Oklahoma, 12-6

Upcoming Schedule (all times Central):
Tuesday (5/15) - vs. UTSA, 6:35 p.m.
Thursday (5/17) - vs. Texas, 6:35 p.m.
Friday (5/18) - at Texas, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday (5/19) - at Texas, 2 p.m.

TEAM NOTES

- Baylor entered the week ranked No. 2 in every major national poll.

- Baylor can finish with the 2nd-best regular season winning percentage in Big 12 history with two wins in next weekend’s series against Texas.

- Baylor entered the weekend 26-0 this season in games started by Trent Blank (11-0), Josh Turley (11-0) or Tyler Bremer (4-0), but Baylor lost with all three starting on the mound against Oklahoma.

- Baylor was swept in a three-game series for the first time since Texas completed a sweep on May 2, 2010. The Bears had played 22 three-game series without getting swept and had won nine straight Big 12 series.

- Baylor took as many losses this weekend as its previous nine Big 12 series combined (24-3).

- Baylor pitchers allowed one earned run or fewer in 3 of the 4 games during the week. The Bears shut out Texas State on Tuesday, allowed one earned run in 10.0 innings in game one vs. Oklahoma and allowed one earned run in game two vs. Oklahoma.

- Five Baylor pitchers combined to shut out Texas State on Wednesday in San Marcos.

- Baylor fell to 18-5 in games decided by 1 or 2 runs with the pair of 1-run losses on Saturday. The Bears are 24-4 this season when their starting pitcher goes at least 5.0 innings.

- The Bears went 2-for-20 with runners in scoring position during Saturday’s doubleheader at Oklahoma (1-0 loss in 10 innings and 2-1 loss).

- Baylor’s offense leads the Big 12 in batting (.309), on-base percentage (.402), slugging percentage (.435), runs per game (6.38), home runs (31) and RBI (290).

- The Baylor pitching staff leads the Big 12 in saves (17) and fewest home runs allowed (9). The Bears have allowed half as many home runs as the next closest Big 12 team.

- In Big 12 games, Baylor leads the league in batting (.316), on-base percentage (.393), slugging percentage (.475), runs (134), hits (230), home runs (21) and RBI (123).

- Baylor’s team slugging percentage in Big 12 games (.475) is 80 points higher than the next closest team, and the Bears’ 21 home runs in league play are 9 more than any other team.

- Baylor ranks 2nd in the Big 12 with a 2.96 ERA in league play and leads the league in fewest home runs allowed (5) and saves (10).

- Seven Baylor players rank in the Big 12’s top 15 in hits in conference play with at least 25.

- Baylor’s current 20-game home winning streak is a school record and the nation’s longest active streak.

- Baylor’s 18-game Big 12 winning streak ended as the longest by any team in the conference’s 16-year history.

- Baylor’s 18-0 start in Big 12 play was 11 wins better than the longest previous undefeated start by any team in the Big 12 Conference’s 16-year history. The best previous start was 7-0 by Texas in 1999.

- Seven Baylor starters have on-base percentages above .421 for the season: Lawton Langford (.449), Nathan Orf (.445), Logan Vick (.431), Josh Ludy (.427), Cal Towey (.425), Max Muncy (.421) and Michael Howard (.421).

- Nine Baylor players have started at least 20 games and have batting averages over .290: Josh Ludy (.349), Lawton Langford (.340), Logan Vick (.339), Michael Howard (.321), Max Muncy (.314), Nathan Orf (.305), Adam Toth (.296), Dan Evatt (.296) and Cal Towey (.294).

- Baylor is 27-3 this season at Baylor Ballpark, and the Bears have won a school-record 20 consecutive home games.

- Baylor has 7 players who have started at least 43 of the team’s 50 games this season: Logan Vick (49 in CF), Jake Miller (48 at SS), Cal Towey (50 at 3B), Max Muncy (50 at 1B), Nathan Orf (15 in LF, 34 as DH), Josh Ludy (46 at catcher, 1 as DH) and Lawton Langford (43 at 2B). The only field position where the Bears haven’t had the same player start most games is right field, where Adam Toth has started 26 games (he missed 20 games with a broken wrist).

PLAYER NOTES

- Junior C/OF Nathan Orf has been hit by a pitch 25 times this season, breaking the Baylor single-season record. Orf is two HBP shy of the Big 12 record set by Kansas State’s Daniel Dellasega in 2010. Despite playing only one season in Waco, Orf ranks 5th in program history in career HBP, and he has reached base safely in a career-high 19 consecutive games.

- Senior RHP Trent Blank leads the Big 12 with 9 wins. He pitched his first career complete game in game two vs. Oklahoma, but he took the loss in a 2-1 game, snapping his winning streak at 11 straight.

- Blank has pitched with a lower arm slot since May 10, 2011. Here’s a photo of his previous arm slot: yfrog.com/kik6qpzj, a photo of his current arm slot: http://yfrog.com/kkzcljnj.

- Junior LHP Josh Turley has led Baylor to wins in 11 of 12 starts this season (each the first game of a weekend series/tournament) – vs. Oral Roberts, at UCLA, vs. UC Irvine, vs. Memphis, vs. Texas Tech, vs. Kansas, vs. Oklahoma State, at Missouri, at Kansas State, at Texas A&M and vs. New Mexico State.

- Turley pitched 7.0 shutout innings against Oklahoma and has allowed only three earned runs in 38.2 innings over his last five starts.

- Turley had allowed one earned run or fewer in 9 of his 12 starts this season. He leads the Big 12 with a 5-0 record in conference play and ranks 3rd with a 1.82 ERA in league games.

- Blank and Turley - Baylor’s Friday and Saturday starters - have combined to go 16-1 with a 1.94 ERA and 131 hits allowed in 157.2 innings pitched. The duo averages only one extra-base hit allowed per 6.86 innings (18 doubles, 2 triples, 3 HR).

- Junior 1B Max Muncy has started at first base in 132 consecutive games and 168 of 169 team games since arriving on campus. Muncy has reached base safely in a career-long 20 straight games.

- Muncy became Baylor's all-time leader in putouts in Sunday's game at Oklahoma. He passed Mike Huggins (1,498).

- Muncy had Baylor’s only RBI in Wednesday’s 3-0 win at Texas State. He had a pair of opposite-field hits, including a RBI double in the third inning.

- Junior CF Logan Vick leads the Big 12 with 20 doubles on the season – 4 more than any other player – and he ranks 8th in walks (30). Vick has drawn 121 career walks, which is tied for 5th in program history, and he needs only 1 more walk to crack the Big 12’s all-time top 10.

- Vick became the first Baylor player with 20 or more doubles in a season since current assistant coach Zach Dillon hit 20 doubles in 2005.

- Sophomore 2B Lawton Langford has started 36 of the last 39 games at second base. He ranks 3rd in the Big 12 with a .372 batting average in league play and 8th with a .340 batting average in all games. Langford’s .473 on-base percentage in Big 12 play ranks 2nd in the league.

- Junior RHP Max Garner has 7 saves in Big 12 play, while no other pitcher in the league has more than 3. Garner picked up his Big 12-leading 10th save of the season by working a scoreless 9th inning in Wednesday’s 3-0 win at Texas State. It was the 10th consecutive outing in which Garner recorded a save (all since April 5). The save gave Garner the 8th double-digit saves season ever by a Baylor pitcher, and his 18 career saves are tied for 4th in program history.

- Senior C Josh Ludy has started 46 of 50 games behind the plate this season. He leads the Big 12 with 52 RBI overall and 27 RBI in conference play (3 more than any other player), and his 7 home runs in Big 12 play are 2 more than any other player in the league.

- Freshman RHP Ryan Smith lowered his season ERA to 1.90 with 0.2 inning of scoreless relief in game one vs. Oklahoma. Smith hasn’t allowed an earned run in 8 of 11 appearances and has allowed more than one earned run only once.

- Freshman OF Adam Toth has started 19 of 22 games in right field since returning from a broken wrist. When healthy, Toth has started 26 of 30 games.

- Senior RHP Tyler Bremer improved to 5-0 on the year with 3.0 shutout innings in a pre-determined short start at Texas State on Wednesday.

- Senior LF Dan Evatt has reached base safely in 15 consecutive Big 12 games.

- Freshman OF Michael Howard returned after serving a 9-game suspension for a violation of team academic rules. He had a pinch-hit single in his first action on Wednesday at Texas State, and he started in left field in game two of the Oklahoma series.

- Junior 3B Cal Towey hit his team-leading 4th triple in the series finale at Oklahoma. Towey’s 9 career triples are also the most of any current Baylor player.

- Junior SS Jake Miller had his 6th career 3-hit game in Sunday’s series finale at Oklahoma. He also had his team-leading 9th bunt single in game two of the series.

- Junior LHP Crayton Bare worked 1.1 innings of scoreless relief in the series opener at Oklahoma to lower his season ERA to 1.98. He hasn’t allowed a run in 8 straight and 13 of his last 14 outings, and he had 5 strikeouts over 2.1 scoreless innings of relief this week.

- Sophomore RHP Dillon Newman allowed only one hit in 3.2 innings of scoreless relief in Wednesday’s win at Texas State.

BIG 12 RANKINGS (ALL GAMES)

TRENT BLANK
1st — Wins (9)
7th — ERA (2.30)
8th — Opponents’ Batting Average (.223)

DAN EVATT
7th — Home Runs (7)

MAX GARNER
1st — Saves (10)

LAWTON LANGFORD
6th — On-Base Percentage (.449)
8th — Batting Average (.340)
10th — Walks (28)

JOSH LUDY
1st — RBI (52)
4th — Slugging Percentage (.554)
5th — Batting Average (.349)
5th — Total Bases (97)
5th — Home Runs (8)
10th — On-Base Percentage (.427)
10th — Doubles (12)
10th — Hits (61)

MAX MUNCY
4th — Walks (33)
6th — RBI (45)
7th — Runs (43)
10th — Home Runs (5)
10th — Doubles (12)

DILLON NEWMAN
11th — Saves (2)

NATHAN ORF
1st — HBP (25)
4th — Runs (46)
7th — On-Base Percentage (.445)

CAL TOWEY
6th — Triples (4)
10th — RBI (39)
14th — Walks (27)
17th — Home Runs (4)

JOSH TURLEY
2nd — ERA (1.59)
6th — Wins (7)
9th — Innings Pitched (79.1)

LOGAN VICK
1st — Doubles (20)
8th — Walks (30)
9th — Batting Average (.339)
9th — On-Base Percentage (.431)

BIG 12 RANKINGS (CONFERENCE GAMES)

TRENT BLANK
3rd — Wins (4)
7th — ERA (2.40)
9th — Innings Pitched (45.0)
10th — Opponents’ Batting Average (.221)

DAN EVATT
7th — Home Runs (3)

MAX GARNER
1st — Saves (7)
4th — Opponents’ Batting Average (.211)
7th — Appearances (11)
15th — ERA (3.24)

BRAD KUNTZ
14th — Wins (2)

LAWTON LANGFORD
1st — Walks (15)
2nd — On-Base Percentage (.473)
3rd — Batting Average (.372)
6th — Hits (29)

JOSH LUDY
1st — Home Runs (7)
1st — RBI (27)
2nd — Slugging Percentage (.679)
2nd — Total Bases (57)
4th — Hits (30)
5th — Batting Average (.357)
7th — On-Base Percentage (.432)
7th — Doubles (6)
12th — Walks (10)

JAKE MILLER
3rd — Triples (2)
15th — Hits (25)

MAX MUNCY
1st — Runs (20)
7th — Doubles (6)
7th — Home Runs (3)
8th — RBI (14)
8th — Total Bases (42)
11th — Slugging Percentage (.477)
12th — Walks (10)
15th — Hits (25)

DILLON NEWMAN
14th — Wins (2)

NATHAN ORF
5th — Runs (19)
8th — On-Base Percentage (.430)
10th — Hits (26)
11th — Home Runs (2)
14th — Batting Average (.325)
15th — Stolen Bases (4)

CAL TOWEY
3rd — Home Runs (4)
3rd — Slugging Percentage (.587)
3rd — Triples (2)
5th — Total Bases (44)
6th — RBI (15)
10th — On-Base Percentage (.427)
11th — Batting Average (.333)
12th — Runs (15)
15th — Hits (25)

JOSH TURLEY
1st — Wins (5)
3rd — ERA (1.82)
6th — Innings Pitched (49.1)

LOGAN VICK
1st — Doubles (10)
6th — Runs (18)
8th — Walks (11)
9th — Batting Average (.346)
12th — Total Bases (38)

Here are links to PDFs of each week's recap for this season:

Week 1 Recap

Week 2 Recap

Week 3 Recap

Week 4 Recap

Week 5 Recap

Week 6 Recap

Week 7 Recap

Week 8 Recap

Week 9 Recap

Week 10 Recap

Week 11 Recap

Week 13 Recap

For updates during every game, follow the Baylor Baseball Twitter feed (@BaylorBaseball).

Week 11 Recap
2:20 P.M. MONDAY, APRIL 30, 2012
DAVID KAYE

We're going to return to posting the weekly recap here every week. Heart of the Order members receive these e-mails every Sunday night, but if you haven't seen them, weeks 1-10 are linked at the bottom of the blog.

And now the Week 11 Recap (PDF here):

Current 2012 Record: 38-8
Current Big 12 Conference Record: 18-0
Current Streak: Won 3
Last Week: 3-1

Last Week's Results:
Tuesday (4/24) – lost at UTSA, 4-1
Wednesday (4/25) – won vs. UT Arlington, 6-4 - highlights: http://bit.ly/J893ql
Friday (4/27) – won vs. No. 25 New Mexico State, 5-0 - highlights: http://bit.ly/LcOUiT
Saturday (4/28) – won vs. No. 25 New Mexico State, 15-5 (8 innings) - highlights: http://bit.ly/KQxWE9

Upcoming Schedule (all times Central):
---10 days off for final exams---
Wednesday (5/9) - at Texas State, 6:30 p.m.
Friday (5/11) - at Oklahoma, 6 p.m.
Saturday (5/12) - at Oklahoma, 2 p.m.
Sunday (5/13) - at Oklahoma, 1 p.m.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE
Josh Turley, Baylor University, Junior, LHP, 6-0, 190, Texarkana, Texas (Texas)
Carried no-hitter through 7.1 innings against nation’s No. 1 offense in hits, runs scored and on-base percentage – No. 25 New Mexico State … One-out error in 8th inning was followed by single, ending Turley’s day after 7.1 shutout innings … Allowed only three Aggies to advance past first base … Lowered season ERA to 1.74, which ranks 3rd in Big 12 … Baylor improved to 11-0 this season in games started by Turley, which were all the first game of a weekend series or tournament … Allowed one earned run or less for eighth time in 11 starts this season … Combined on shutout of New Mexico State, marking first time Aggies were shut out since April 22, 2011 … Threw 75 of his 106 pitches for strikes and threw first-pitch strikes to 21 of 28 batters faced … Improved to 5-0 with 2.13 ERA in Big 12 play, making him only pitcher in league with five conference wins.

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE
Nathan Orf, Baylor University, Junior, C/OF, 5-9, 180, Wentzville, Mo. (Illinois-Chicago)
Hit .462 (6-for-13) with five runs, one RBI, five walks and three stolen bases to lead Baylor to 3-1 week … Batted leadoff in all four games and reached base at .611 clip … Reached base safely three times in each of last three games and twice in Tuesday’s game … Extended career-long hitting streak to 12 games – longest by a Baylor player this season … Walked twice, singled and scored one run in Friday’s win vs. No. 25 New Mexico State … Singled twice, stole two bases, walked, scored two runs and drove in one run in Saturday’s win vs. New Mexico State … Went 2-for-4 in Tuesday’s game at UTSA … Reached base safely three times and had sacrifice bunt in Wednesday’s win vs. UT Arlington … Drew two walks, scored two runs and singled against Mavericks.

24-GAME WINNING STREAK NOTES

- Baylor’s 24-game winning streak ended as the longest winning streak in program history.

- The Bears had 13 victories by 1 or 2 runs and came from behind to win 14 times during the 24-game winning streak.

- During the 24-game streak, Baylor won 14 games against teams currently ranked in the RPI top 100 (according to WarrenNolan.com).

- Baylor’s 24-game winning streak was the longest streak by any Division I team this season and tied Arizona State (2010) for the longest in Division I since at least 2007.

- Baylor tied the school record for longest road winning streak at 9 straight games before Tuesday’s loss.

- Baylor outscored opponents 192-93, hit .339 as a team and posted a 2.92 ERA during its 24-game winning streak. Ten different Baylor pitchers earned wins in the streak – including seven with multiple wins – and five different pitchers accounted for the 12 Bears’ saves.

- Baylor’s bullpen went 11-0 with a 2.55 ERA and 12 saves in 84.2 innings during the 24-game winning streak. Five different Bears recorded saves during the streak: Max Garner (8 saves, 0.96 ERA), Kolt Browder (1 save, 0.00), Ryan Smith (1 save, 2.70), Tyler Bremer (1 save, 3.38) and Brad Kuntz (1 save, 3.75).

TEAM NOTES

- Baylor was ranked No. 1 in the nation for the first time in program history on Monday. The Bears shared the top spot in the Collegiate Baseball poll with Kentucky.

- Baylor clinched a share of the Big 12 regular-season title on Saturday, despite having played on 75% of the league schedule. It’s the Bears’ third Big 12 title and first since sharing the league championship in 2005.

- Baylor’s magic number to clinch the Big 12 Championship outright is 1. One more Baylor win or one more Texas loss in conference play would give the Bears an outright championship. Texas plays at Missouri next week and Baylor plays at Oklahoma in two weeks. If the Bears haven’t clinched the outright championship after those series, Baylor has a three-game series with Texas to close out the regular season.

- Baylor is 27-0 this season in games started by Trent Blank (11-0), Josh Turley (11-0) or Joey Hainsfurther (5-0). All 11 of Turley’s starts have been in the first game of a weekend series or tournament.

- Baylor finished the month of April 17-1, tying the most wins in a month during the 18-year Steve Smith era (17-3 in April, 2000).

- Baylor’s 38-8 record is its best through 46 games in program history.

- Baylor’s offense leads the Big 12 in batting average (.316), on-base percentage (.412), slugging percentage (.446), runs (309), hits (480), home runs (30) and RBI (281).

- The Baylor pitching staff ranks 3rd in the Big 12 in ERA (3.15) and 1st in saves (16) and fewest home runs allowed (8).

- In Big 12 games, Baylor leads the league in batting average (.327), on-base percentage (.407), slugging percentage (.497), runs (127), hits (206), doubles (37), home runs (20), RBI (116), walks (69), ERA (2.66) and saves (10).

- Baylor’s team slugging percentage in Big 12 games (.497) is .105 better than the league’s 2nd-best team (Texas, .392).

- Baylor has hit 20 home runs in Big 12 play – twice as many as any other team. The rest of the league teams have combined for 49 home runs.

- Baylor’s current 20-game home winning streak is a school record and the nation’s longest active streak.

- Baylor’s current 18-game Big 12 winning streak is the longest by any team in the league’s 16-year history.

- Baylor’s 18-0 start in Big 12 play is 11 wins better than the longest previous undefeated start by any team in the Big 12 Conference’s 16-year history. The best previous start was 7-0 by Texas in 1999.

- Baylor is the first team ever to sweep six consecutive Big 12 series – the Bears had never swept three straight Big 12 series prior to this season.

- The Bears’ 18-game conference winning streak is twice as long as Baylor’s previous best Big 12 winning streak (9 games in 1999).

- Baylor joins Utah Valley (16-0) as the nation’s only teams still undefeated in conference play. Delaware State (14-1) is the nation’s only other team with less than two conference losses.

- Baylor has won a Big 12 record six Big 12 Player of the Week honors this season. The Bears have also had two Pitchers of the Week and three Newcomers of the Week.

- Seven Baylor starters have on-base percentages above .425 for the season: Lawton Langford (.465), Josh Ludy (.450), Cal Towey (.447), Logan Vick (.443), Nathan Orf (.443), Michael Howard (.429) and Max Muncy (.426). Baylor has 5 of the Big 12’s top 8 players in on-base percentage.

- Nine Baylor players have started at least 19 games and have batting averages over .300: Josh Ludy (.371), Lawton Langford (.352), Logan Vick (.346), Michael Howard (.325), Max Muncy (.314), Adam Toth (.314), Cal Towey (.310), Nathan Orf (.309) and Dan Evatt (.305).

- Baylor is 27-3 this season at Baylor Ballpark, and the Bears have won a school-record 20 consecutive home games.

- Baylor has 7 players who have started at least 39 of the team’s 46 games this season: Logan Vick (45 in CF), Jake Miller (44 at SS), Cal Towey (46 at 3B), Max Muncy (46 at 1B), Nathan Orf (15 in LF, 30 as DH), Josh Ludy (42 at catcher, 1 as DH) and Lawton Langford (39 at 2B). The only field position where the Bears haven’t had the same player start most games is right field, where Adam Toth has started 22 games (he missed 20 games with a broken wrist).

PLAYER NOTES

- Senior RHP Trent Blank ranks 2nd nationally and leads the Big 12 with 9 wins (9-0).

- Junior LHP Josh Turley has led Baylor to wins in all 11 starts this season (each the first game of a weekend series/tournament) – vs. Oral Roberts, at UCLA, vs. UC Irvine, vs. Memphis, vs. Texas Tech, vs. Kansas, vs. Oklahoma State, at Missouri, at Kansas State, at Texas A&M and vs. New Mexico State.

- Turley had a no-hitter through 7.1 innings vs. New Mexico State on Friday. A one-out error was followed by a single to end his no-hit bid against a team that leads the nation in hits, on-base percentage and runs scored.

- Turley had allowed one earned run or fewer in 8 of his 11 starts this season.

- Blank and Turley - Baylor’s Friday and Saturday starters - have combined to go 16-0 with a 2.09 ERA and 122 hits allowed in 142.1 innings pitched. The duo averages only one extra-base hit allowed per 6.78 innings (17 doubles, 1 triple, 3 HR).

- Junior 1B Max Muncy has started at first base in 128 consecutive games and 164 of 165 team games since arriving on campus.

- Junior CF Logan Vick leads the Big 12 with 18 doubles on the season – 3 more than any other player – and he ranks 4th in walks (30). Vick has drawn 121 career walks, which is tied for 5th in program history, and he needs only 1 more walks to crack the Big 12’s all-time top 10.

- Sophomore 2B Lawton Langford has started 32 of the last 35 games at second base.

- Junior RHP Max Garner recorded his 9th save of the season on Wednesday, moving him into 8th on Baylor’s single season list and 5th on Baylor’s career list (17).

- Garner has 7 saves in Big 12 play, while no other pitcher in the league has more than 2.

- Junior C/LF Nathan Orf has been hit by a pitch 21 times this season – he’s 2 shy of Matt Williams (2000) for the Baylor single-season record.

- Orf is riding a 12-game hitting streak, which is tied for the longest by a Baylor player this season.

- Senior C Josh Ludy has started 42 of 46 games behind the plate this season. He leads the Big 12 with 51 RBI overall (5 more than any other player) and 26 RBI in conference play (6 more than any other player).

- Ludy became the sixth player in Big 12 history to win Big 12 Player of the Week in consecutive weeks.

- Freshman RHP Ryan Smith improved to 3-0 by working 3.2 shutout innings of relief to close out Saturday’s win vs. No. 25 New Mexico State. Smith entered with the potential tying run on base in the fifth inning and stranded a pair of inherited baserunners.

- Freshman OF Adam Toth stole 2nd base, 3rd base and home plate in one trip around the bases in Saturday’s game. It was the first time on record a Baylor player has recorded 3 steals in one trip around the bases.

- Senior RHP Tyler Bremer improved to 4-0 by striking out a career-high 9 batters in a career-long 7.1 innings in Wednesday’s win against UT Arlington. Bremer struck out 6 consecutive batters between the 4th and 6th innings and recorded 7 consecutive outs by strikeout.

BIG 12 RANKINGS (ALL GAMES)

TRENT BLANK
1st — Wins (9)
7th — ERA (2.43)
8th — Opponents’ Batting Average (.224)
9th — Innings (70.1)

TYLER BREMER
17th — Wins (4)

DAN EVATT
5th — Home Runs (7)

MAX GARNER
1st — Saves (9)

BRAD KUNTZ
17th — Wins (4)

LAWTON LANGFORD
4th — On-Base Percentage (.465)
7th — Batting Average (.352)
8th — Walks (27)
10th — Runs (34)

JOSH LUDY
1st — RBI (51)
2nd — Slugging Percentage (.579)
3rd — Batting Average (.371)
3rd — Total Bases (92)
5th — Home Runs (7)
5th — Doubles (12)
5th — On-Base Percentage (.450)
6th — Hits (59)

MAX MUNCY
3rd — RBI (43)
3rd — Walks (32)
4th — Total Bases (85)
5th — Runs (42)
8th — Doubles (11)
8th — Home Runs (5)
10th — Hits (55)

DILLON NEWMAN
8th — Saves (2)

NATHAN ORF
1st — HBP (21)
3rd — Runs (44)
8th — On-Base Percentage (.443)

CAL TOWEY
6th — Triples (3)
6th — On-Base Percentage (.447)
6th — RBI (37)
8th — Walks (27)
12th — Home Runs (4)
12th — Doubles (10)

JOSH TURLEY
3rd — ERA (1.74)
3rd — Wins (7)
8th — Innings (72.1)

LOGAN VICK
1st — Doubles (18)
4th — Walks (30)
7th — On-Base Percentage (.443)
8th — Batting Average (.346)
9th — Total Bases (80)
9th — Hits (56)
10th — Runs (34)

BIG 12 RANKINGS (CONFERENCE GAMES)

TRENT BLANK
2nd — Wins (4)
6th — Opponents’ Batting Average (.221)
10th — Innings (37.0)
10th — ERA (2.68)

DAN EVATT
4th — Home Runs (3)
7th — Slugging Percentage (.500)

MAX GARNER
1st — Saves (7)
2nd — Opponents’ Batting Average (.198)
3rd — ERA (1.85)
5th — Appearances (10)
10th — Strikeouts (28)

BRAD KUNTZ
10th — Wins (2)

LAWTON LANGFORD
1st — Walks (15) & On-Base Percentage (.512)
3rd — Batting Average (.403) & Hits (27)
10th — RBI (11)
11th — Runs (13)

JOSH LUDY
1st — Home Runs (6), RBI (26) & Slugging Percentage (.722)
2nd — Hits (28) & Doubles (6)
3rd — Total Bases (40) & On-Base Percentage (.463)
4th — Batting Average (.389)
11th — Walks (9)

JAKE MILLER
3rd — Triples (2)
11th — Runs (12)

MAX MUNCY
1st — Runs (19)
2nd — Doubles (6)
4th — Home Runs (3)
5th — RBI (14), Slugging Percentage (.513) & Total Bases (39)
11th — Walks (9)
14th — Hits (22)

DILLON NEWMAN
10th — Wins (2)

NATHAN ORF
1st — Runs (19)
9th — Hits (23) & Home Runs (2)
11th — Stolen Bases (4)
13th — Total Bases (32)
14th — Batting Average (.329)

CAL TOWEY
2nd — Home Runs (4)
3rd — Total Bases (40) & Slugging Percentage (.625)
4th — On-Base Percentage (.462)
7th — RBI (13)
8th — Runs (14) & Batting Average (.359)
9th — Hits (23)

JOSH TURLEY
1st — Wins (5)
7th — Innings Pitched (42.1)
10th — Strikeouts (28)
5th — ERA (2.13)

LOGAN VICK
1st — Doubles (8)
5th — Walks (11) & Runs (16)
8th — Hits (24)
10th — On-Base Percentage (.432)
11th — Batting Average (.343)
13th — Total Bases (32)

Here are links to PDFs of each week's recap for this season:

Week 1 Recap

Week 2 Recap

Week 3 Recap

Week 4 Recap

Week 5 Recap

Week 6 Recap

Week 7 Recap

Week 8 Recap

Week 9 Recap

Week 10 Recap

Week 11 Recap

For updates during every game, follow the Baylor Baseball Twitter feed (@BaylorBaseball).

Baylor's 40th Major Leaguer?
11:30 A.M. FRIDAY, APRIL 27, 2012
DAVID KAYE

There have been 39 Baylor baseball players who have gone on to play in the Major Leagues. Kevin Russo became the 39th when he was called up to play for the New York Yankees in 2010. Kelly Shoppach (Red Sox) and David Murphy (Rangers) are the only former Bears currently on Major League rosters, but Drew Sutton (Braves) and Russo (Yankees) both have Major League experience and are currently at Triple-A.

A former Baylor player has made his Major League debut in five of the last seven seasons, but with no former Bears called to the majors in 2011, the question looms of who will become the 40th Major League Bear? It could obviously be any number of former Bears currently playing in the minor leagues, but we'll focus on those who are at Double-A and Triple-A.

Beamer Weems - Triple-A Tucson Padres (San Diego Padres) - Weems spent last season at Double-A and had his year cut short when he was hit by a pitch in the face, but he started the 2012 season in Triple-A, just one step from the major leagues. He went on the DL after playing in seven games, but he returned to the lineup on April 26.

Cory VanAllen - Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs (Washington Nationals) - This is VanAllen's seventh year in the minor leagues, but it's his first at Triple-A. He earned the promotion by posting strong numbers in Double-A with a 2.50 ERA over 47 relief appearances in 2011.

Jeff Mandel - Double-A Harrisburg Senators (Washington Nationals) - Mandel joins VanAllen in the Nationals' farm system. He worked his way up to Triple-A, making 68 appearances at that level in 2010 and 2011, but he began the 2012 season at the Double-A level. In four starts, Mandel is 2-1 with a 1.09 ERA.

Kendal Volz - Double-A Northwest Arkansas Naturals (Kansas City Royals) - Volz was drafted by the Red Sox and ended up the in Royals' system after he was one of the prospects in a trade deadline deal last year. He made only six appearances at Advanced-A after the trade before the Royals promoted him to Double-A last year. He's pitched the 2012 season in Double-A and has strong numbers so far. Volz has pitched six times in relief, and in five of the six outings he's gone at least 2.0 innings and allowed no more than one hit.

Aaron Miller - Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts (Los Angeles Dodgers) - The only former first-round pick on this list, Miller made it to Double-A in 2010, but he had trouble staying healthy in 2011 and never pitched above Advanced-A. He began the 2012 season in Double-A and has made four starts, including one when he struck out 10 and allowed only one hit in 5.0 innings.

Shawn Tolleson - Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts (Los Angeles Dodgers) - Tolleson has made huge strides since being a 30th-round draft pick in 2010. He dominated the Pioneer league as a rookie, then played at three different levels, including Double-A in his second professional campaign. He started the 2012 season in Double-A, where he's teammates with Miller, and he has continued to put up gaudy numbers: 0.00 ERA, 8.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 15 K. A twitter search of "Shawn Tolleson" will show Dodgers' fans clammoring for Tolleson to be called up to the big leagues.

With two players at Triple-A and four at Double-A, as well as a few recent draftees at lower levels who could move quickly through the minors, it's only a matter of time until Baylor has its 40th Major Leaguers. The only question is who will it be? Let us know what you think by tweeting @BaylorBaseball.

For updates during every game, follow the Baylor Baseball Twitter feed (@BaylorBaseball).

Week 10 Recap
10:00 A.M. MONDAY, APRIL 23, 2012
DAVID KAYE

We're going to return to posting the weekly recap here every week. Heart of the Order members receive these e-mails every Sunday night, but if you haven't seen them, weeks 1-9 are linked at the bottom of the blog.

And now the Week 10 Recap (PDF here):

Current 2012 Record: 35-7
Current Big 12 Conference Record: 18-0
Current Streak: Won 24
Last Week: 5-0

Last Week's Results:
Tuesday (4/17) – won vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 15-2 (7) – highlights: http://bit.ly/HTyutP
Wednesday (4/18) – won vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 11-1 (7) – highlights: http://bit.ly/I2bZGE
Friday (4/20) – won at No. 2 Texas A&M, 5-3 – highlights: http://bit.ly/IHmED6
Saturday (4/21) – won vs. No. 2 Texas A&M, 1-0 – highlights: http://bit.ly/IgfUyc
Sunday (4/22) – won vs. No. 2 Texas A&M, 7-5 – highlights: http://bit.ly/K0eVPi

Upcoming Schedule (all times Central):
Tuesday (4/24) – at UTSA, 6 p.m.
Wednesday (4/25) – vs. UT Arlington, 6:35 p.m.
Friday (4/27) – vs. New Mexico State, 6:35 p.m.
Saturday (4/28) – vs. New Mexico State, 12:05 p.m.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE
Josh Ludy, Baylor University, Senior, C, 5-10, 210, Portland, Ind. (Jay County HS) Hit .533 (8-for-15) with a home one, one double, four runs and three RBI in four games played as part of Baylor’s 5-0 week … Helped Baylor to series sweep of No. 2 Texas A&M by recording two hits in each of the three games … Hit 2-run homer on 14th pitch of at-bat – after 10 straight foul balls – in 1st inning of series finale to give Baylor 3-0 lead … Also had double with one out in sixth inning to snap streak of 14 straight Baylor batters retired … Came around to score game-tying run … Had two of Baylor’s six hits in Saturday’s 1-0 win … Went 2-for-4 with a walk in series opener in College Station … Had two singles, a walk and scored two runs in Tuesday’s win vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi … Helped Baylor extend Big 12 record winning streak to 24 games, including 18 straight conference wins, which is also a league record … Currently on career-long 10-game hitting streak.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE
Trent Blank, Baylor University, Senior, RHP, 6-2, 190, Columbia, Ill. (Columbia HS) Pitched career-long 8.0 shutout innings to move to 9-0 on season with 1-0 win vs. No. 2 Texas A&M … Win clinched Baylor’s ninth straight Big 12 series victory and was Blank’s 11th consecutive win … Allowed only four hits – three singles and one double – did not issue a walk and struck out six batters … Allowed only six balls out of infield … Faced three batters over minimum and allowed three runners to reach second base … Faced minimum through first five innings, including string of 14 straight batters retired … Escaped only jam of night in sixth inning after single and double put two runners in scoring position with one out … Tied career-high pitch count with 107 pitches, 74 of which were strikes … Pitched with only one run of support (scored in fifth inning) in front of Baylor Ballpark-record crowd of 5,911 … Win extended Baylor’s Big 12-record winning streak to 23 games and tied conference record with 17 straight wins in league play … Bears improved to 10-0 in games started by Blank this season.

NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK NOMINEE
Nathan Orf, Baylor University, Junior, C/OF, 5-9, 180, Wentzville, Mo. (Illinois-Chicago) Hit .600 (9-for-17) with seven runs scored, one RBI, three walks and two times hit-by-pitch to lead Baylor to 5-0 week … Reached base at .700 clip out of leadoff spot in batting order … Reached in all five plate appearances in series opener in College Station, going 3-for-3 with walk, HBP, RBI and run scored … Singled and scored game-winning run as part of eighth-inning comeback and had two-out RBI single to cut deficit to 2-1 in second inning … Went 2-for-4 with two runs scored in series finale vs. No. 2 Texas A&M … Led off game with infield single and scored to put Baylor up 1-0 … Reached on infield single in seventh and scored insurance run … Had two of Baylor’s six hits in Saturday’s 1-0 victory … Went 1-for-2 with two runs scored and a HBP in Wednesday win vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi … Singled, walked twice and scored two runs in Tuesday win vs. TAMU-CC … Helped Baylor extend Big 12 record winning streak to 24 games, including 18 straight conference wins, which is also a league record … Currently on career-long 8-game hitting streak.

TEAM NOTES

- Baylor’s 24-game winning streak is the longest winning streak in program history and only the second of 20 Baylor winning streak of 20 or more games (20 in 1985). Baylor’s win vs. TAMU-Corpus Christi on Wednesday established a new school record with its 21st consecutive win.

- Baylor has won 11 of its last 15 games by 1 or 2 runs, and the Bears have 13 victories by 1 or 2 runs during the 24-game winning streak.

- Baylor’s 18-game Big 12 winning streak is the longest by any team in the league’s 16-year history. Sunday’s win passed Texas (17 in 2010) for the longest winning streak in conference play in league history.

- Head coach Steve Smith became Baylor’s all-time wins leader in any sport with his 650th career victory on Tuesday night vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Smith (654-422-1) passed his predecessor Mickey Sullivan (649-428-4).

- Baylor’s 24-game winning streak is the longest streak by any Division I team this season. Saturday’s win vs. Texas A&M passed Kentucky’s 22-0 start to the season for the nation’s longest winning streak in 2012.

- Baylor’s 18-0 start in Big 12 play is 11 wins better than the longest previous undefeated start by any team in the Big 12 Conference’s 16-year history. The best previous start was 7-0 by Texas in 1999.

- Baylor is the first team ever to sweep six consecutive Big 12 series – the Bears had never swept three straight Big 12 series prior to this season.

- The Bears’ 18-game conference winning streak is twice as long as Baylor’s previous best Big 12 winning streak (9 games in 1999).

- Baylor’s 17-game home winning streak is a school record and the nation’s longest active streak. Saturday’s win passed the previous mark of 15 consecutive home wins set in 2010.

- Baylor’s 9-game road winning streak is the nation’s longest active streak and tied for the longest road winning streak in school history (1986).

- Baylor joins Army (16-0) as the nation’s only teams still undefeated in conference play. Delaware State (14-1) is the nation’s only other team with less than two conference losses.

- Baylor has outscored opponents 192-93, hit .339 as a team and posted a 2.92 ERA during its 24-game winning streak. Ten different Baylor pitchers have earned wins in the streak – including seven with multiple wins – and five different pitchers have accounted for the 12 Bears’ saves.

- Baylor is 16-2 in its last 18 Big 12 series finales when playing for a sweep. The Bears have swept 6 Big 12 series in a season for the first time in program history.

- Baylor pitchers allowed only 6 earned runs in 5 games during the week for a 1.32 ERA over 41.0 innings.

- Baylor is 20-0 this season in games started by Trent Blank (10-0) or Josh Turley (10-0). All 10 of Turley’s starts have been in the first game of a weekend series or tournament.

- Baylor’s bullpen is 11-0 with a 2.55 ERA and 12 saves in 84.2 innings during the 24-game winning streak. Five different Bears have recorded saves during the streak: Max Garner (8 saves, 0.96 ERA), Kolt Browder (1 save, 0.00), Ryan Smith (1 save, 2.70), Tyler Bremer (1 save, 3.38) and Brad Kuntz (1 save, 3.75).

- Baylor’s offense leads the Big 12 in batting average (.315), on-base percentage (.411), slugging percentage (.445), runs (282), hits (439), home runs (26), RBI (256), walks (192).

- In Big 12 games, Baylor leads the league in batting average (.327), on-base percentage (.407), slugging percentage (.497), runs (127), hits (206), doubles (37), home runs (20), RBI (116), walks (69), ERA (2.66), strikeouts (136) and saves (10).

- Baylor has hit 20 home runs in Big 12 play – the other 8 teams in the league have combined for 41 home runs.

- Seven Baylor starters have on-base percentages at .419 or better for the season: Lawton Langford (.484), Josh Ludy (.463), Cal Towey (.459), Michael Howard (.429), Logan Vick (.427), Nathan Orf (.427) and Max Muncy (.419).

- Baylor is 24-3 this season at Baylor Ballpark, and the Bears have won 17 consecutive home games.

- Baylor has 6 players who have started at least 40 of the team’s 42 games this season: Logan Vick (41 in CF), Jake Miller (41 at SS), Cal Towey (42 at 3B), Max Muncy (42 at 1B), Nathan Orf (15 in LF, 26 as DH) and Josh Ludy (39 at catcher, 1 as DH).

PLAYER NOTES

- Senior RHP Trent Blank leads the nation with 9 wins (9-0) – 2 more than any other Big 12 pitcher.

- Blank ranks 5th in the Big 12 with a 2.18 ERA, 4th with a .202 opponents’ batting average and 8th with 66.0 innings pitched.

- Junior LHP Josh Turley has led Baylor to wins in all 10 starts this season (each the first game of a weekend series/tournament) – vs. Oral Roberts, at UCLA, vs. UC Irvine, vs. Memphis, vs. Texas Tech, vs. Kansas, vs. Oklahoma State, at Missouri, at Kansas State and at Texas A&M).

- Turley ranks 3rd in the Big 12 with a 1.94 ERA, 3rd in wins at 6-0 and 9th in innings pitched with 65.0. Turley is a Big 12-best 5-0 with a 2.13 ERA in a league-leading 42.1 innings over 6 starts in Big 12 play. He ranks 6th with 28 strikeouts in league play.

- Blank and Turley - Baylor’s Friday and Saturday starters - have combined to go 15-0 with a 2.06 ERA and 111 hits allowed in 131.0 innings pitched. The duo averages only one extra-base hit allowed per 7.71 innings (14 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HR).

- Junior 1B Max Muncy has started at first base in 124 consecutive games and 160 of 161 team games since arriving on campus. Muncy’s Big 12 ranks: 10th hits (50), 4th runs (39), 7th home runs (5), 5th doubles (11), 3rd RBI (38), 4th total bases (80) and 2nd walks (28).

- Junior CF Logan Vick leads the Big 12 with 18 doubles on the season – 4 more than any other player – and he ranks 4th in walks (27). Vick has drawn 118 career walks, which is tied for 5th in program history, and he needs only 5 more walks to crack the Big 12’s all-time top 10. Vick’s 51 career walks in Big 12 play are 2nd-most in program history.

- Sophomore 2B Lawton Langford has started 29 of the last 31 games at second base. Langford Big 12 ranks: 5th batting average (.369), 10th runs (31), 8th walks (26) and 2nd on-base percentage (.484).

- In Big 12 Conference games, Langford ranks 1st in walks (15) and on-base percentage (.512), 3rd in batting average (.403) and hits (27), 8th in runs (13) and 9th in total bases (30).

- Langford reached base safely in a career-high 24 consecutive games before going 0-for-2 with two sacrifice bunts in Sunday’s game. He had reached base safely in all 17 Big 12 games prior to Sunday, and he has reached safely in 35 of 37 games played this season.

- Junior RHP Max Garner became the first pitcher in program history to save all three games of a Big 12 series.

- Garner recorded his 14th, 15th and 16th career saves – he has 7 saves in the last three weekends.

- Garner ranks 7th in the Big 12 with a 1.85 ERA in league play and has 7 saves in Big 12 play – 5 more than any other pitcher.

- Junior C/LF Nathan Orf has been hit by a pitch 21 times this season – he’s 2 shy of Matt Williams (2000) for the Baylor single-season record.

- Orf reached base at a .700 clip as the Bears’ leadoff hitter in all 5 games this season. He went 9-for-15 with 3 walks and 2 HBP.

- Senior C Josh Ludy has started 39 of 42 games behind the plate this season. He leads the Big 12 with 48 RBI overall (8 more than any other player) and 26 RBI in conference play (9 more than any other player).

- Ludy Big 12 ranks: 2nd batting average (.380), 2nd hits (57), 2nd home runs (7), 5th doubles (11), 1st RBI (48), 2nd total bases (89), 6th on-base percentage (.463) and 2nd slugging percentage (.593).

- Ludy hit a home run on the 14th pitch of his at-bat in the first inning on Sunday. He fouled off 10 consecutive pitches before the two-run homer.

- Junior 3B Cal Towey reached base safely in a career-high 28 straight games before his streak was snapped in Saturday’s 1-0 win.

- Senior OF Dan Evatt delivered a game-winning 2-run single in the 6th inning of Sunday’s series finale vs. Texas A&M.

- Freshman RHP Austin Stone earned his 2nd career win with 5.0 innings and 2 runs allowed in Tuesday’s win vs. TAMU-Corpus Christi.

- Freshman RHP Ryan Smith picked up his 2nd career win with 2.2 innings of shutout relief in Sunday’s series finale vs. Texas A&M.

- Sophomore LHP Brad Kuntz earned his 4th win of the season after allowing one run on one hit in 5.0 innings on Wednesday vs. TAMU-Corpus Christi. He allowed a leadoff single, then held the next 18 batters hitless.

- Freshman OF Adam Toth stole 3 bases on Tuesday vs. TAMU-CC to become the first Baylor player to steal 3 bases in a game since Brooks Pinckard on March 19, 2011.

- Junior LHP Crayton Bare retired the only batter he faced during the week. He came on to face Tyler Naquin to start the ninth inning with a 7-5 lead in Sunday’s series finale vs. Texas A&M. Naquin, who had been 4-for-4 in the game, was retired on a flyball.

- Junior 2B/SS Steve DalPorto started both midweek games and had 2 hits in each. He entered the week with one hit in 9 games played – 5 of which were starts.

Here are links to PDFs of each week's recap for this season:

Week 1 Recap

Week 2 Recap

Week 3 Recap

Week 4 Recap

Week 5 Recap

Week 6 Recap

Week 7 Recap

Week 8 Recap

Week 9 Recap

Week 10 Recap

For updates during every game, follow the Baylor Baseball Twitter feed (@BaylorBaseball).

Trent Blank's Turnaround
10:25 P.M. SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2012
DAVID KAYE

It's been pretty well documented that Trent Blank went to a lower arm slot late in the year last season. It was suggested by pitching coach Trevor Mote, and since using the new arm slot for the first time at TCU on May 10, 2011, Blank's results have been phenomenal.

Here's what his arm slot looked like before the change:

Since making the change, Blank's arm slot looks like this:

Here's a breakdown of his results since the change:

Before (2/9/09 - 4/30/11):
6-4, 6.15 ERA, 98.0 IP, 124 H, 73 R, 67 ER, 37 BB, 1.643 WHIP

After (5/10/11 - present):
8-0, 2.59 ERA, 55.2 IP, 43 H, 16 R, 16 ER, 18 BB, 1.096 WHIP

Blank has won eight straight decisions dating back to his last two in 2011. He leads the Big 12 with a 6-0 record, ranks third with a 1.76 ERA, fifth with 41.0 innings pitched and fourth with a .186 opponents' batting average.

He's allowed only 26 hits in 41.0 innings pitched - 22 singles and four doubles. In his most recent start on Saturday against Kansas, Blank allowed only four singles in 6.0 innings, and three of those were infield hits. He also threw a career-high 107 pitches, struck out eight (one shy of a career high) and walked just one.

In four of his eight outings this season, Blank has worked at least 3.0 innings and allowed no more than one hit out of the infield. Baylor has gone 8-0 and outscored opponents 57-15 in the eight games Blank has pitched in this season.

For updates during every game, follow the Baylor Baseball Twitter feed (@BaylorBaseball).

Vick & Blank Honored By Big 12
11:00 A.M. TUESDAY, FEB. 28, 2012
DAVID KAYE

Logan Vick and Trent Blank were honored as Big 12 Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively, the conference office announced Monday.

Vick hit .400 (8-for-20) with four doubles, a home run, five RBI, four runs scored and one stolen base during the week. He drew four walks and struck out just once, posting a .480 on-base percentage and a .750 slugging percentage. Vick also had a sacrifice fly, single and walk in Tuesday's win over No. 15 TCU. He walked twice in Wednesday's win over Texas State.

Vick's best game came when he had four doubles - all in consecutive at-bats - walked once, scored three runs and collected two RBI in Friday's series-opening win at No. 22 UCLA. Vick became the first Big 12 Conference player to hit four doubles in a game since 2003, and he came up one double shy of tying Jeremy Dodson's school and NCAA Division I record of five doubles in a game. Vick nearly had that fifth double in his first at-bat when his sharp grounder down the first base line was ruled foul on a very close call, and he ended up drawing a walk in that plate appearance. Vick singled, stole a base and drove in a run in the second game at UCLA and hit a solo homer and singled in Sunday's series finale.

Blank earned two of the Bears three wins during the week and now has half of the team's six wins on the season. He allowed only one hit - a single - in 7.0 innings in two appearances against ranked teams. Blank earned a win vs. No. 15 TCU with 4.0 hitless innings on Tuesday, and he picked up a win at No. 22 UCLA with 3.0 shutout innings on Friday. He was the first of three Baylor pitchers in the TCU game to combine to hold the Horned Frogs hitless over the first 7.2 innings, covering 28 batters. In his outing against TCU, Blank threw 62 pitches and struck out two batters. That efficiency allowed him to come back and throw 30 pitches over 3.0 innings with one strikeout only three days later in the series opener at UCLA. Blank was so efficient that he was getting loose in the Baylor bullpen and could've been called on to pitch two days later in Sunday's series finale.

The weekly honors marked the third time in program history the Bears have had both Big 12 Player and Pitcher of the Week at the same time. Chris Slater and Logan Verrett were honored on March 14 last year, and Josh Ford and Mark McCormick won both awards on March 22, 2004.

With a 6-2 start in eight games against 2011 NCAA Tournament teams, the Bears have climbed as high as No. 21 in the ESPN/USATODAY Coaches Top 25 Poll, and they're ranked No. 25 for the second straight week by Baseball America. With five more games on the schedule this week, by Sunday the Bears will have played 12 games in a 15-day stretch. This week's schedule starts with Sam Houston State at Baylor Ballpark at 5:05 p.m. Tuesday and wraps up with the QTI Baylor Classic. The Bears take on UC Irvine at 6:05 p.m. Friday and Saturday and face Lamar at 2:05 p.m. Saturday and 3:05 p.m. Sunday.

For further updates, follow the Baylor Baseball Twitter feed (@BaylorBaseball).

Perfect Game's Big 12 Preview
10:05 A.M. WEDNESDAY, FEB. 8, 2012
DAVID KAYE

Perfect Game released its 2012 Big 12 Conference preview on Tuesday and Kendall Rogers had plenty of comments on the Bears. You can read the complete preview here, but a subscription is required.

Like every other publication to release a 2012 preseason ranking, PG picks Baylor to finish fourth in the conference behind Texas, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. It says Texas and Texas A&M are likely to battle for the conference title this year, but Oklahoma and Baylor are also in the mix:

"Baylor is a small step behind the Sooners, but, too, is expected to be good this spring. The Bears should be improved offensively with the return of catcher Josh Ludy, first baseman Max Muncy and ultra-talented outfielder Logan Vick, while junior left-hander Josh Turley leads the starting rotation."

Rogers names Ludy and Muncy to his preseason All-Big 12 team, the same two that were named in College Baseball Daily's conference preview. CBD's preview also lists Muncy No. 2 among the league's Top 5 Hitters.

Rogers has additional notes on each team, followed by rankings of MLB Draft Prospects. Here's what he had to say about the Bears:

"Baylor is having an excellent school year from an athletics standpoint, and the baseball team should continue the new trend. The Bears have an intriguing sophomore pitcher to watch in closer Dillon Newman, who topped out at 92 during fall workouts. Also keep an eye on freshman two-way player Michael Howard. Howard is a left-handed pitcher with a fastball that sits around 90 mph. He also is a very good athlete and outfielder with some solid power at the plate. Speaking of athletic, keep an eye on outfielder Adam Toth, who was clocked at a 6.50 in the 60-yard-dash in the fall."

As far as draft prospects, Baylor had five players ranked among the league's top 50:

No. 16 Max Muncy, 1B (projected round: 3-5)
"Big-time run-producing potential with good raw LH power/plate discipline; can play anywhere in the field, plays first base now, may end up at second base."

No. 21 Logan Vick, OF (projected round: 4-8)
"Versatile athlete, can play multiple positions; has the tools to wind up at 2B or CF, perhaps even catcher; very good speed at 6.6, good arm strength."

No. 31 Michael Howard, LHP/OF (projected round: 5-15 [2014])
"Two-way player with good frame for LHP; projectable arm/stuff with a clean arm motion, FB has been up to 93 in the past, CU has room for improvement; Twins 21st-rounder a year ago."

No. 35 Trae Davis, RHP (projected round: 8-15 [2013])
"High-profile signee from Texas HS, struggled as FR for Bears (3-1, 6.75, 21 IP, 18 BB/18 SO); has stocky 5-11/215 build, but very athletic with FB up to 94-95, developing power SL."

No. 49 Max Garner, RHP (projected round: 10-25)
"6-2/200 RHP has battled a severe case of ulcerative colitis through much of his college career; missed 2010 (sic) season on medical redshirt, became Bears primary closer in 2011 (2-4, 3.12, 8 SV); steps in as No. 2 starter this spring with 90-92 FB and SL that is best breaking ball on Baylor staff."

Baylor opens the 2012 season by hosting Oral Roberts for a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark starting Feb. 17. For a full list of this season's promotions, click here.

For further updates, follow the Baylor Baseball Twitter feed (@BaylorBaseball).

Baseball's New Look for 2012
3:25 P.M. SATURDAY, JAN. 28, 2012
DAVID KAYE

Baylor baseball will have some new looks for 2012 and a few subtle changes to some of the older looks. You might've already seen photos if you follow the Baylor Baseball Twitter feed, but if not, here they are:

Above are the Bears' three caps for 2012. Gone are the black caps with the green bill and new to the collection are gray caps with green bills. The new gray caps will mostly be worn for road games when the Bears wear gray pants.

Next up are the brand new white jerseys with green pinstripes. These are brand new and have never been worn before, but there were sleeveless white jerseys with green pinstripes in the past. The new jerseys will be worn at home, but fans may not get a chance to see them until the third week of the season because the entire shipment hasn't arrived yet and numbers still need to be added.

These are the Bears' other new jerseys. Green with a print BAYLOR across the front hasn't been worn since David Murphy's days in the early 2000s, and even then the print was slightly different. The Bears have had green jerseys for the past few years, but those are batting practice tops that are pullover and feature a lone interlocking BU on the front. Those jerseys are still in the collection.

Next up are the new gold jerseys. These are replacing the gold jerseys from the last few seasons and there are only a few subtle changes. If you look at the jersey behind this one in the photo, you'll see that the previous gold jerseys had green and white trim under the arms. These new ones have only green trim in those areas.

Last are the new home white jerseys. Like the gold ones above, the only change is to the trim under the arms. The new ones feature only green trim, while previous versions had both green and gold.

The only jersey being removed from the collection is the ivory/creme jersey and pants combination. Those are being replaced completely by the white with green pinstripes.

For further updates, follow the Baylor Baseball Twitter feed (@BaylorBaseball).

Season Ticket Special
10:10 A.M. FRIDAY, JAN. 20, 2012
DAVID KAYE

Baylor baseball and softball season tickets are on sale for $57 (adults) and $25 (youth age 2-17) through Sunday. They can be purchased by clicking here.

If you haven't already taken advantage of this deal, you should. These tickets are normally priced at $99 for adults and $65 for youth. If you crunch the numbers, it's a no-brainer.

• Single-game general admission tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth. For youth, that means this deal is buy 5 get 28 free. For adults, it's buy 8 get 25 free.
  
  
• The vast majority of these games are weekend games. 22 of the 33 games at Baylor Ballpark this season will be played on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. And there's also the Texas game on Thursday, May 17.
  
  
• You'll have tickets to the last two Big 12 editions of the "Battle of the Brazos" at Baylor Ballpark. These games have a strong chance of being sellouts, so buying season tickets means you won't have to worry about getting tickets the day of the game.
  
  
• Texas weather in March on the banks of the Brazos. There are 15 weekend home games during the month of March, including the QTI Baylor Classic (two vs. Lamar, two vs. UC Irvine), and three straight Big 12 series to open conference play (Texas Tech, Kansas, Oklahoma State).
  
  
• Baylor is one of 14 teams nationally to play in at least 12 NCAA Tournaments since 1998.
  
  
• Since Baylor Ballpark opened in 1999, the Bears are 300-128 at home. Fans of the home team have celebrated a win more than 70% of the time.

If all of that isn't enough, come check out the new voice of Baylor Ballpark, Chris Griesmer. Chris is a Baylor alum who does professional voice overs. We'll have more on that in the future, but for now you can check out his demos here.

For further updates, follow the Baylor Baseball Twitter feed (@BaylorBaseball).

Ticket Info for Baylor vs. Texas State at Dell Diamond
3:45 P.M. FRIDAY, JAN. 6, 2012
DAVID KAYE

For the first time in program history, Baylor's baseball team will play a regular-season game at The Dell Diamond in Round Rock. The Bears are scheduled to take on Texas State at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 22.

Tickets are priced at $10 for adults and $5 for children age 12 and under and may be purchased through The Dell Diamond box office (512-255-2255 ext. 6) or online at RoundRockExpress.com.

Baylor will be the home team in the game, which is slated to be its fifth of the season. The Bears' first four games are all at Baylor Ballpark - three against Oral Roberts (Feb. 17-19) and one against TCU (Feb. 21). Baylor is also scheduled to play Texas State in Waco (April 3) and in San Marcos (May 9).

For further updates, follow the Baylor Baseball Twitter feed (@BaylorBaseball).

Baseball Signees to be Released via Social Media
9:45 A.M. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 9, 2011
DAVID KAYE

The fall signing period starts today and runs through next Wednesday. While the complete release detailing all of the members of Baylor baseball's 2013 signing class won't be sent out until the end of the signing period when all National Letters of Intent have been certified, social media will be used to notify the media of each individual signee as their letters are received.

By following the official Baylor Baseball Twitter feed (@BaylorBaseball) and the Baylor Baseball Facebook page, members of the media and fans will receive information on each student-athlete expected to join the Baylor baseball program in the fall of 2012. Additionally, be sure to follow head coach Steve Smith on Twitter (@BUCoach34) for comments on each signee.

Sic em.