Feb. 14, 2008

Live Audio

The schedule

Friday, Feb. 15

Syracuse vs. Centenary, 10:00 a.m.

Centenary vs. Purdue, 12:30 a.m.

Baylor  vs. Syracuse, 3:00 p.m.

Purdue vs. Baylor, 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 16

Centenary vs. Syracuse, 10:00 a.m.

Purdue vs. Syracuse, 12:30 p.m.

Centenary vs. Baylor, 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 17

Syracuse vs. Purdue, 9:00 a.m.

Syracuse vs. Baylor, 11:00 a.m.

Purdue vs. Centenary, 1:00 p.m.

Baylor vs. Centenary, 3:00 p.m.

Home Team Listed First

The Series

Baylor vs. Centenary:     Baylor leads 12-0

Baylor vs. Purdue:         Baylor leads 2-0

Baylor vs. Syracuse:      Never met

Live Coverage

Radio:   None

Live Audio:        www.BaylorBears.com

Live Stats:         www.BaylorBears.com

Television:         None

Rankings (NFCA, ESPN)

Baylor (0-0)       T7, T10

Centenary (0-6) NR, NR

Purdue (2-2)      NR, NR

Syracuse (0-0)   NR, NR

Coming off the most successful season in program history, the No. 7 Baylor softball team (0-0) is ready for the first pitch of the 2008 season as the Lady Bears host the sixth-annual Getterman Classic at Getterman Stadium beginning on Friday, Feb. 15. The Lady Bears open play at the tournament at 3 p.m. against Syracuse before meeting Purdue at 5:30 p.m.

The Lady Bears enter the 2008 season with 10 letterwinners returning from last year's squad that saw Baylor go 51-16, finish in first-place in the Big 12 Conference and advancing to the NCAA Women's College World Series.

Baylor has dominated play at the Getterman Classic, going 30-3 all-time at the tournament after capturing the 2005 and 2007 titles with a perfect 6-0 record.

Centenary, Purdue and Syracuse form a versatile Getterman Classic field as the Lady Bears hold a 14-0 all-time record against the teams in the seventh-annual tournament. The classic opens when Syracuse faces Centenary on Friday, Feb. 15, at 10 a.m.

All Baylor games at the Getterman Classic can be heard live on the internet at www.baylorbears.com.

THE SIXTH-ANNUAL GETTERMAN CLASSIC

Baylor opens its 2008 season the weekend of Feb. 15, hosting Centenary, Purdue and Syracuse in the seventh-annual Getterman Classic. Action gets underway Friday, Feb. 15, at 10:00 a.m. as Syracuse takes on Centenary.

This season marks the seventh rendition of the Getterman Classic. Baylor won each of the first two Getterman Classics, going 6-0 both years, before Pacific captured the 2004 title with a 5-0 record. Baylor reclaimed the title in 2005, posting a perfect 6-0 record as Tulsa claimed the 2006 title with a 3-1 record. The Lady Bears once again reclaimed the crown by going a perfect 6-0 in 2007. In 33 games, Baylor is 30-3 all-time at the Getterman Classic as the Lady Bears have out-scored opponents 231-52 over the tournament's six-year history.

SCOUTING CENTENARY

Centenary enters the the weekend coming off six-straight losses in as many games at the Texarkana Tournament. The Ladies were outscored 48-10 in losses to Oklahoma State, Alabama-Birmingham and Arkansas.

Centenary was led by sophomore Allison Shepperd over the weekend, as the catcher/third baseman hit .438 with one home run, two RBI and three stolen bases.

In the circle, the Ladies threw three pitchers, with a majority of the work going to sophomores Stacy Whitmer and Ryan Thacker. Whitmer is 0-2 with a 5.15 ERA and 11 strikeoutsin 17.2 innings, while Thacker went 0-3 with an 8.17 ERA and seven strikeouts in 12 innings.

This marks the 13th overall meeting between Baylor and Centenary and the seventh meeting in the getterman Classic. The two teams met in this tournament back in 2003 and 2005.

SCOUTING PURDUE

Purdue enters the Getterman Classic on the heels of a 2-2 showing at the Hampton Inn Bama Bash. The Boilermakers garnered victories over Jacksonville State (5-4) and South Alabama (7-6) before falling to Alabama twice, 8-0 and 11-0.

At the plate, the Boilermakers were led by junior shortstop Candace Curtis who hit .444 with two RBI and two stolen basses, and sophomore outfielder Ashley Barr who hit .417 with a triple and two RBI.

In the circle, a pair of Purdue pitchers will see a majority of the time. Freshman Suzie Rzegocki enters with a 1-1 record and a 7.16 ERA over 14.2 innings, while junior Dana Alocer went 1-1 over 7.1 innings with a 12.41 ERA.

This marks the third meeting overall between the Lady Bears and the Boilermakers. Baylor took last year's contest 10-2 at the Ragin' Cajun Invitational.

SCOUTING SYRACUSE

Syracuse enters the 2008 season after posting a 21-31 overall record in 2007. The Orange return seven starters and eight letterwinners, including senior outfielder and pitcher Chanel Roehner, who was selected to the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Region First Team and the All-Big East First Team. Also back is power-hitting outfielder Rachel Tilford, who blasted 10 home runs and 41 RBI with a .533 sluggling percentage in 2007.

In the circle the Orange will put the ball in the hands of sophomore Brittany Gardner, Roehner and freshman Angie Sagnelli. Gardner pitched 186.0 innings last year in 34 starts and struck out 3.9 batters per start.

Roehner started 18 games a season ago and earned eight wins, including four during conference play. Sagnelli enjoyed great success during her high school career, leading Shenendehowa High School to undefeated seasons her junior and senior year.

This will mark the first ever meeting between Syracuse and Baylor, as Syracuse begins its ninth season in softball.

LADY BEARS PICKED THIRD IN BIG 12 CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL

In a pre-season vote conducted by league coaches, the Baylor softball team has been picked to finish third in the Big 12 Conference the league office announced Thursday. The Lady Bears were picked to finish second last season.

Texas A&M (79 points) received seven of the possible 10 first-place votes to edge out second-place Oklahoma, which earned 70 points, including one first-place tally. Baylor came in third (64 points) with two first place nods followed by Missouri, Texas and Nebraska. Filling the remaining spots in the preseason ranking were Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Kansas and Iowa State.

BAYLOR LANDS PAIR ON NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR WATCH LIST

Junior Brette Reagan and sophomore Kirsten Shortridge have been selected to the initial "Watch List" for the seventh annual USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award, the Amateur Softball Association announced Wednesday.

Reagan, a two-time All-Big 12 selection, is the only two-time All-American in Lady Bear softball history. The Magnolia, Texas, native started all 67 games on Baylor's Big 12 Championship team in 2007 and was second with a .341 average.  She also added 10 home runs and 46 RBI, while also setting a new Baylor single-season record with 45 walks. Heading into the 2008 season, the junior is tied for fifth on the Baylor all-time home run list with 22 and is eighth on the RBI list with 90.

Shortridge was the 2007 Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-Big 12 Conference selection last season. She went 17-6 with a 2.14 ERA in 34 appearances in 2007. The Keller, Texas, native threw 167 innings, striking out 125 with opponents batting just .211 against her. Shortridge also had a solid season at the plate, as she ranked first among freshman and 12th in the Big 12 Conference with a .340 batting average after registering 16 multiple-hit games on the season, third among Baylor players.

The award, which is considered one of the most prestigious honors in women's collegiate softball, is designed to recognize outstanding athletic achievement by female collegiate softball players across the country.

The 2008 Pre-Season Watch List is comprised of 50 players representing 34 schools and 14 different NCAA Division I Conferences. The ASA will announce the 25 finalists on April 9. A player does not have to appear on the initial watch list to be considered as a Top 25 finalist, but once the Top 25 is named the remaining finalist must be selected from that list.

Just days before the start of post-season play, a list of 10 finalists will be named and released on May 7. The final three finalists will be announced May 21 while the winner of the 2008 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Award will be announced prior to the start of the 2008 NCAA Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City.

STRONG SCHEDULING

The 2008 schedule begins at home for the seventh straight season as Baylor hosts Syracuse, Purdue and Centenary in the seventh annual Getterman Classic.

"I like opening up at home and playing in Getterman Stadium in front of our home crowd," Moore said. "It benefits our girls to have another day of practice and not have to spend that day as a travel day."

Following that is a trip to Palm Springs, Calif., where the Lady Bears will play five of their six games against teams that advanced to the 2007 NCAA Tournament, including No. 20 Oregon, UMass, No. 1 Arizona, No. 14 UCLA and No. 21 Cal State Fullerton.

A trip to Clearwater, Fla., for the USF Under Armour Invitational will be highlighted by a chance to play the USA National Team. Add those tournaments to an already tough Big 12 schedule, and you have the makings of one of the nation's toughest schedules.

"You try to match your schedule to your team," Moore said. "The Palm Springs tournament will give us all the testing we need to see where our team is at early. I think the USF Under Armour Invitational will be the best field they have ever had. We are going to grow up a whole lot early in the year.  I am going to tell you one thing, we are not going to take a step back."

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Heading into the 2008 season, Baylor's home field of Getterman Stadium has been kind to the Lady Bears as BU owns a career 173-55 (.759) mark at the home park since the stadium opened in 1999. Last year, Baylor went a program-best 30-3 (including 2-1 in postseason play) in the friendly confines of Getterman Stadium as no Lady Bears team has lost more than 10 games at home in a single season.

In the stadium's seven years of existence, attendance has steadily risen as Baylor set  attendance records in2007. Last season, Baylor had five sellout crowds and 11 of the top-20 crowds in stadium history. The Lady Bears also broke total season attendance and season average records with 24,222 people coming through the gates, an average of 847 per contest.

BAYLOR RANKED PRESEASON TOP 10

For the fourth consecutive season, the Baylor softball team found itself in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Preseason Poll. The Lady Bears started out the 2008 season ranked No. 8 in country; their highest preseason mark in program history. In addition, the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) announced its 2008 ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Preseason Poll ranking Baylor No. 9.

Baylor is one of five Big 12 Conference school ranked in the preseason polls as Texas A&M (No. 2, No. 3), Oklahoma (No. 5, No. 5), Texas (No. 22, No. 24) and Missouri (No. 25, No. 21) join the Lady Bears in the polls.

Arizona, the two-time defending national champion, opens the season as the top-ranked team in both polls.