March 6, 2003
Box Score
HONOLULU, Hawai'i - Baylor's 25th-ranked softball team split in first-day action here Thursday at the Malahini Tournament hosted by the University of Hawai'i. The Lady Bears defeated California-Riverside 4-2 and was edged 1-0 by Buffalo in their second contest. Baylor is now 19-9 on the season.
For the second time in six days, Baylor's Cristin Vitek saw a tremendous outing go to waste. Last Saturday, the sophomore south paw lost a 4-1 decision to Wichita State in which she struck out a career-best 13 batters and allowed only one earned run. Against Buffalo (4-2), Vitek fanned 12 and allowed only four hits.
However, Buffalo starter Stacey Evans was one step better. Evans carried a no-hitter into the sixth, broken up by Kim Wilmoth's infield single. Stephanie Pomes doubled off the left-field fence in the seventh for Baylor's only other hit on the night.
Jessica Kensy was responsible for the game's lone run; her two-out single up the middle in the bottom of the second scored Ann Marie Magur, who led off the inning with a walk.
The Lady Bears had several opportunities to score but could not convert. Baylor left six runners on base, all in scoring position. In the fifth, the Lady Bears had runners at second and third with two outs. However, Evans kept the shutout alive, getting Carrie Leerberg to foul out.
Kelly Levesque led off the seventh with a walk, Baylor's only leadoff hitter to reach base safely on the night, and then moved to third on Pomes' double. Again, though, Evans worked out of trouble, striking out Danelle Arnold and April Luce and getting Leerberg to ground out.
Vitek (9-4) allowed only one run and walked two. Evans (4-0) surrendered two walks and struck out six.
Kelly Osburn went 3-for-4 and Sarah Caudle hit her fourth home run against UCR (4-13) in their first game of the day. For the eighth time in their last 10 games, the Lady Bears scored in the first inning. With two outs, Osburn doubled off the fence in right. Caudle followed with a double to right-center, scoring Osburn.
Caudle added another RBI to her team-leading tally in the third, drilling a towering one-out solo home run that cleared the 200-foot sign in right-center by 40 feet. Baylor added two more runs in the fourth on a Wilmoth groundout and a balk by UCR pitcher Kim Dillon.
Meanwhile, Joni Miller was dominating the Highlander batters for the first four innings. The senior right-hander struck out the first two batters in each of the first three innings and did not allow a base runner until Jeannine Robinson singled to left just in front of a diving Osburn with one out in the fourth.
However, Cal-Riverside dented the scoreboard with a run in the fifth. Jessica Black led off with a double to center, moved to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a Nicole Bethurum groundout. The Highlanders added a run on two hits and two Baylor errors in the sixth.
Suzy Dallas led off the seventh with a single through the left side, and Baylor head coach Glenn Moore called on Vitek to close the game. Vitek got three quick outs on 11 pitches with two strikeouts.
Miller (5-2) allowed two runs, one earned, on five hits and no walks with seven strikeouts. Vitek earned her first save of the season.
Caudle went 2-for-4 with two RBI, while Osburn posted her third three-hit game of the season and extended her hitting streak to 14 games. Leerberg added two infield singles in three at bats, and Harmony Schwethelm walked twice.
Action continues here Friday as the Lady Bears face Loyola Marymount at 6 p.m. CST and Hawai'i at midnight.
