BENNETT BECOMES A HIT AS BAYLOR'S DH

Big-time college baseball has been quite an adjustment for Ross Bennett -- although his statistics say he's adjusted quite well.

A starter for one of the nation's top teams, the former Cape Girardeau Central High School star has been a fixture in the Baylor University lineup as a redshirt freshman.

Bennett, primarily filling the designated hitter role for the Bears, is batting .288 with six doubles, two triples, three home runs and 29 runs batted in, the latter figure ranking third on a team that leads the Big 12 Conference, has a 36-13 record and is ranked fifth in the nation.

"It's awesome every day, just getting to play some of the best teams in the country and on one of the best teams in the country," said Bennett. "It's exciting. We draw a lot of fans every game (the Bears' average attendance is almost 3,000), we play in a great stadium and all the facilities are just first class. It's big time all the way."

Of the adjustments he's had to make to the big-time college level, Bennett said, "It's a pretty big one. I guess you can compare it to JV and varsity ball in high school. There's just a lot you have to learn at this level. I think the biggest thing is trying to become more of a complete player, because guys out there can do it all."

So far, so good for Bennett.

"I'm pretty happy with what I've done (individually) so far," he said. "My goal this year was to hit .300 and that's pretty attainable, although I have to get hot. But to be a freshman and getting to play this much early in my career is really satisfying."

A 1998 Cape Central graduate, Bennett batted .497 as a senior for the Tigers and he was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 42nd round of the 1998 amateur draft.

Recruited heavily by a number of major schools, Bennett opted for perennial power Baylor partly because of its strong academics and partly because his sister Ellie was attending the school (she is now a senior).

"The school is great. It's the main reason I came here, that and also because my sister was here," he said. "And the baseball program being so good made it even better."

A bio-chemistry major, Bennett hopes to eventually go into dentistry and follow in the footsteps of his father Mike, who is a Cape Girardeau dentist.

Of his challenging major, Bennett said, "Between baseball and school, there's not much free time. But I'm enjoying it. And the semester will be over soon, so then I can just concentrate on baseball."

Shortly after Bennett's graduation from high school, he had surgery on both shoulders, which is partly the reason he redshirted last season, although he figures the year he spent practicing with the team and getting adjusted to college life has helped out.

"Redshirting was a good deal," he said. "It gave me a chance to get stronger and to improve, to try to make the transition from high school to college."

Although Baylor has a rich baseball tradition, winning several regional titles and competing in a few College World Series, the Bears have somewhat surprisingly not won an outright conference championship since 1923.

That could change this year because the Bears, who lead rival Texas by a half-game in the Big 12standings, finish out their conference schedule against ninth-place Kansas and last-place Kansas State.

"They've been talking about that around here, about how long it's been since Baylor has won a conference championship (outright)," Bennett said. "It would be pretty exciting."

And even more excitement looms after that because Baylor is pretty certain to host an NCAA regional and also probably a super-regional if the Bears make it that far.

"Last year we got to host a regional and super-regional and we were three outs away from playing in the College World Series," said Bennett. "We should get to host again this year and I'm really looking forward to it."