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Well Seasoned: Experienced Bears Look for Breakout Season in 2005
Jan. 26, 2005 WACO, Texas - Armed with one of the most talent-laden rosters in the program's history, the 2005 Baylor Bears have the potential to return to NCAA Regional participation after a one-year hiatus. If the chips fall correctly, the Bears likely could acheive much more. Baylor boasts 21 returning letterwinners who have earned 41 letters and logged 1,449 games played collectively. The 2005 Bears enter the season as the most experienced team in school history on all three accounts. Baylor finished 29-31 in 2004 with 16 losses in 23 one-run games, both of which were school records and tops nationally. The lessons of 2004 should benefit a more experienced 2005 squad. The Bears began the 2004 season 5-18 with eight one-run losses. From that point, Baylor posted a 24-13 record but could never erase the slow start. In 2005, the Bears must once again navigate through a trechorous non-conference schedule before dipping their toes into the proverbial stormy seas of the Big 12 Conference. Baylor opens the season at the Astros Minute Maid Park College Classic where the Bears face Houston, Tennessee and Rice. The non-conference portion of the schedule also features weekend series at home against Oral Roberts, at Arizona State, at home against Long Beach State and at Vanderbilt, all of which were 2004 NCAA Regional participants. In all, Baylor plays 36 games against 13 opponents that made the NCAA postseason in 2004. The Bears play 25 games against nine teams ranked in the Baseball America Top 25. From the weekend of Feb. 18-20 to the weekend of March 25-27, the Bears have five consecutive weekend series against teams ranked in the preseason Top 25, facing No. 24 Oral Roberts, No. 22 Long Beach State, No. 9 Arizona State, No. 4 Texas and No. 23 Oklahoma State in that time with three of the five series on the road. "This is indeed a challenging schedule," Smith said. "When you play in a conference as tough as the Big 12, it is important to be tested before the conference season begins; that will definitely be the case with this schedule." INFIELD At the forefront is senior All-America candidate Michael Griffin (.291, 10, 40). A three-year starter, Griffin saw time in the outfield as a freshman, split time between left field and third base as a sophomore, and spent the entire 2004 campaign at the hot corner. In 2005, Griffin is the likely starter at second, but he could see time at short or third, as well. While his overall numbers dipped slightly in 2004, Griffin remained one of the league's most potent bats in Big 12 Conference play. He hit .307 with nine home runs and 25 RBI in conference play, matching Josh Ford for the league lead in home runs during Big 12 play. Griffin enters 2005 with 28 career home runs, ninth in school history. He also ranks in Baylor's career lists for hits (tied 6th, 239), doubles (9th, 49), triples (11th, 12), RBI (tied 7th, 165), extra-base hits (7th, 89) and total bases (tied 7th, 396). Arguably the biggest surprise for the Bears in 2004 was the play of Paul Witt (.327, 1, 28). A career .246 hitter entering the season and sometimes a defensive liability, Witt finished second on the team in batting average and turned in one of the Big 12's top defensive seasons. Witt finished the season with just four errors in 165 total chances at second base (.976). More impressively, though, he handled 131 consecutive chances at second without an error, spanning the season's final 28 games. This season, Witt should solidify the middle infield, seeing time primarily at shortstop. Kyle Reynolds (.323, 4, 39) returns for his third season in the Bears' infield. After seeing time at second as a freshman in 2004 and at shortstop last spring, Reynolds will see the majority of his starts at first base in 2005, although a return to the middle infield is not unlikely. Reynolds, who played the final month of the 2004 season with a hamstring injury, hit .317 (32-for-101) with four home runs and a team-best 28 RBI in Big 12 play. He especially was strong with runners on base (.390) and with two outs (.342), and he was nearly perfect in RBI opportunities with runners on third and less than two outs (12-for-15). Joining in the infield fray this season is junior college transfer Kevin Russo, who comes to Baylor after two seasons at San Jacinto [Texas] College where he was teammates with Mike Pankratz. Russo led the Gators to back-to-back national runner-up finishes and earned 2004 JUCO World Series all-tournament honors. He likely will man the hot corner for the Bears in 2005, although Russo also could play either middle infield spot. One other Bear with infield experience return in 2005: Jake Rippee, who appeared in 15 games last spring.
In 2004, Kevin Sevigny (.324, 1, 14) and Chase Gerdes (.360, 0, 17) plattooned in center, playing against lefties and righties, respectively, and were flanked by Reid Brees (.355, 3, 28) in left and Mike Pankratz (.311, 6, 33) in right. The same quartet will vie for starting assignments in 2005 but with even more competition. Seth Fortenberry could see more playing time after a strong fall. Jeff Mandel also could push for playing time when not on the mound. The platooning of Sevigny and Gerdes, who missed the first month of the season due to injury, worked well for the Bears in 2004. In fact, the similarity of their numbers was eerie. Sevigny hit .318 against Big 12 pitching with a .392 on base percentage. Gerdes hit .302 in league play with a .415 on base percentage. The pair led the team in two-out average; Gerdes hit .475 (19-for-40), while Sevigny hit .420 (21-for-50). And both hit .333 with two outs. Brees earned second-team All-Big 12 honors from the league's coaches after becoming just the third Bear ever to hit .400 in Big 12 play. His .404 mark in conference action was tops in the league. Pankratz, who was the Bears' lone representative on the All-Big 12 Tournament team, was a .317 hitter in conference play with five doubles, three triples and two home runs. He also hit .390 (39-for-100) with runners on base over the course of the season. New to the list of outfield options this season is Gabe Marchant, a sophomore transfer from Paris [Texas] Junior College. Marchant hit .333 with seven home runs and 30 RBI in his one season at Paris. He prepped at Newman Smith in Carrollton, Texas, where he earned all-state honors as a senior with a .451 average, five home runs and 25 stolen bases. And just in case more options are needed, Griffin also could see time in the outfield. CATCHER Ford, a 2004 ABCA All-Midwest Region selection, was baneful to Big 12 pitchers. He matched Griffin with nine home runs in league play to lead the conferece and hit .354 with 22 RBI and a .719 slugging percentage. Ford became the first Baylor player ever to hit for the cycle in a Big 12 game, doing so in the regular-season finale at Texas Tech. A 2003 Johnny Bench Award semifinalist, Ford figures to contend for the nation's top catcher award again in 2005. A model of consistency at the plate, Ford hit .310 both with runners on base and with the bases empty last season, and he hit .309 with runners in scoring position. Behind Ford are two juniors who platooned at catcher in 2004. Zach Dillon (.252, 2, 14) started against right-handers and committed just one error in 275 touches behind the plate in 2004. Tyler Bullock (.284, 4, 17) started against lefties and made just three errors in 167 chances. Both were more productive against Big 12 pitching, hitting .291 and .294, respectively. PITCHER Southpaw Trey Taylor (6-3, 3.16) returns for his senior season after being drafted a second time last June. An all-conference selection in 2004, Taylor was the Bears' most consistent starter last year, especially down the stretch. Baylor was 9-6 in his 15 starts with wins in seven of the last eight. He won each of his final four decisions and allowed three or fewer earned runs in 11 of 15 starts. Taylor was 3-0 with a 3.13 ERA in eight Big 12 starts. 2005 preseason All-Ameircan Mark McCormick (2-4, 4.70) struggled through an injury-riddled sophomore campaign in 2004. The right-handed McCormick, tabbed by Baseball America as the sixth-best prospect in the Cape Cod League each of the past two summers, appeared to be hitting his stride in late March before shoulder stiffness kept him on the shelf for six weeks. His late-season return was plagued by control problems; however, McCormick looked stronger than ever in the Cape Cod League, earning an All-Star selection with a 2-1 record, a 0.93 ERA and 47 strikeouts against 17 walks in 38.2 innings. Once healthy, Walker figures to vie for a spot in the weekend rotation. In his absence, though, right-hander Ryan LaMotta (2-5, 3.88) and lefty Cory VanAllen (3-2, 3.45) figure to vie for the third spot in the rotation, while righty Andy Pape (3-2, 3.48) also could figure into the mix. LaMotta has a career record of 9-8 and has been the Bears' most consistent long-relief arm for the past two seasons. As a freshman in 2003, he earned Freshman All-America honors with a 7-3 mark and a 3.48 ERA. LaMotta also has seen time as closer in his career with six saves. He tied the Big 12 Tournament record in 2004 with two saves, closing out both Baylor victories. VanAllen had an auspicious inauguration to life as a collegiate pitcher, combining with former Bear Zane Carlson on a seven-inning no-hitter in his first career start. That performance earned VanAllen Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors and National Player of the Week honors from Collegiate Baseball. Van Allen was most comfortable at Baylor Ballpark where he posted a 3-0 mark with a 2.49 ERA over 10 appearances and did not allow a hit in two starts. Pape made five starts in 2004, including a Sunday start in the series at Kansas State. He totes a career mark of 6-2 with a 4.23 ERA. Pape's finished the 2004 season with 6.0 conseuctive scoreless innings out of the pen, including 3.2 innings of three-hit relief to earn the victory against Oklahoma at the Big 12 Tournament. With a sextet of potential starters, long relief should not be a problem for the Bears in 2005. Middle relief duties likely will fall on the shoulders of senior right-hander Cody Hall and sophomore right-hander Jeff Mandel, who also could see time at first base. Gerdes, when not patrolling center field, is a bullpen candidate, as is freshman right-hander Randall Linebaugh. That leads to junior righty Abe Woody (5-1, 2.78, 5 saves), who moved into the closer's role mid-season in 2004 and was nearly untouchable until the final two weeks of the campaign. A 2003 Freshman All-American, Woody is a two-time all-conference selection. He boasts a career record of 11-1 with a 3.43 ERA and eight saves. PRESEASON NOTEBOOK • This is the sixth consecutive season and the seventh time in the last eight years that Baylor has received a preseason ranking from Baseball America. • The Bears return eight of nine starters and 10 of 13 pitchers in 2005, losing only four letterwinners from the 2004 squad. • The 2005 Bears boast 41 letters earned and 1,449 games played making this the most experienced team in the program's 100-year history. • Baylor makes its third appearance at the Minute Maid Park College Classic this season. The six-team, three-day event, formerly known as the Astros College Classic, is one of the nation's premier early season college tournaments. The Bears posted a 2-1 mark at the 2001 event and a 2-1 record again in 2003. • Baylor plays 25 games against nine teams ranked the Baseball America Preseason Top 25. Along with three ranked Big 12 opponents, the Bears face No. 9 Arizona State, No. 17 Vanderbilt, No. 18 Rice, No. 21 TCU, No. 22 Long Beach State and No. 24 Oral Roberts. • From the weekend of Feb. 18-20 to the weekend of March 25-27, the Bears have five consecutive weekend series against teams ranked in the preseason Top 25. • The Bears play 36 games against 13 teams that appeared in the 2004 NCAA Regionals. • Baylor Ballpark has ranked 21st or better nationally in average attendance every year since the facility's opening in 1999, including a program-best ninth in 2001. Baylor ranked 19th nationally in average attendance last season. • Entering the 2005 season, 2B Michael Griffin is the NCAA active career leader in games played (189), at bats (782) and hits (243). He also is third and one shy of the lead in doubles (50), second and two shy of the lead in RBI (166), and third and four shy of the lead in total bases (405). • Baylor and LSU are the only NCAA Division I teams to enter the 2005 season with two players who have amassed at least 25 career home runs each. For Baylor, that tandem is C Josh Ford and 2B Michael Griffin, both of whom have 28 career round-trippers. • The Bears open the season with two pitchers continuing rehab from off-season surgery. RHP Sean Walker had ACL surgery last June and should miss only the first two-to-three weeks of the season. RHP Andy Pape is recovering from a broken ankle in September and should return to action by late March. • Baylor's 2005 roster features five players who have previously been drafted: LHP/1B Drew Jeffcoat (2003-Los Angeles-36th Round), RHP Mark McCormick (2002-Baltimore-11th Round), IF Kyle Reynolds (2002-Arizona-50th Round), LHP Trey Taylor (2001-Colorado-2nd Round; 2003-Chicago Cubs-20th Round) and LHP Cory VanAllen (2003-Los Angeles-3rd Round). • Since the start of the Big 12 in 1997, the Bears have the league's best conference record at 137-83 (.623). Baylor leads all conference schools in both first-team All-Big 12 selections (21) and first-team Academic All-Big 12 selections (47), and the Bears are the only Big 12 Conference program to have ranked in the top 10 nationally at some point during each of the past seven seasons (1998-2004). PRESEASON HONORS Josh Ford Michael Griffin Mark McCormick Mike Pankratz Trey Taylor Abe Woody
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