March 7, 2003

Box Score

HONOLULU, Hawai'i - Six hits and two illegal pitch calls led to five sixth-inning runs for Hawai'i here Friday night as the host Rainbow Wahine upset No. 25 Baylor 5-2 in second-day action of the Malahini Tournament. Earlier in the day, the Lady Bears dropped a 9-8 heartbreaker to Loyola Marymount in eight innings.

Baylor (19-11) led early in both games. Against Hawai'I (11-7), Kelly Osburn and Sarah Caudle hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the fourth. Caudle's home run was her third of the weekend and was estimated to have traveled at least 275 feet just fair down the right-field line. Osburn's would have traveled at least that far, but its progression was stopped when it hit halfway up the light pole in left-center.

Meanwhile, starter Cristin Vitek was rolling along for the Lady Bears until the sixth. Noelle Izumi led off with a single and April Crowell followed with a double to put runners at second and third.

Baylor head coach Glenn Moore called on Joni Miller from the bullpen, and that is when things got weird. Miller was called for two questionable illegal pitches in her first six tosses, allowing both runners to score. A single, a double, a hit batter and two bloop singles followed to account for the other three runs.

Miller (4-3) was saddled with the loss; she faced two batters and both scored. Vitek, who re-entered the game two batters after giving way to Miller, was touched for three runs on eight hits and one walk with six strikeouts.

In Baylor's first game of the day, Casie Phillips' sacrifice fly scored Jessica Grassi with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to give Loyola Marymount (10-12) the 9-8 victory.

The loss marked the first time since May 10, 2001 that Baylor scored at least four runs and did not win, snapping a 39-game winning streak in such games. The Lady Bears lost a 10-4 decision to Kansas in the losers' bracket of the 2001 Big 12 Tournament.

Baylor led 5-0 after a second-inning Stephanie Pomes solo home run and a third-inning Caudle grand slam. However, Loyola Marymount battled back, scoring one run in the third, four runs in the fourth and two runs in the fifth to take a 7-5 lead.

The Lady Bears recaptured the lead in the top of the sixth. With the bases loaded and one out, Kim Wilmoth singled down the left-field line to score a pair of runs. But that lead was short-lived. Lisa Abbott singled to lead off the bottom of the sixth, stole second and later scored on a two-out Trisha Gomes single to left.

The international tie-breaker rule was in effect in the eighth inning, placing a runner on second base to start the frame. Baylor had runners at first and third with one out in the top of the eighth, but a caught stealing and a Kelly Levesque strikeout ended the inning.

Grassi started the bottom of the eighth at second and moved to third on an Abbott sacrifice bunt.

Baylor nearly took the lead in the top of the seventh. Caudle led off with a walk and moved to second on a one-out Harmony Schwethelm single up the middle. Danelle Arnold followed with a single up the middle, but Caudle was thrown out trying to score.

Miller started for Baylor and looked sharp for the first three innings. However, she was touched for five runs on seven hits and a walk with six strikeouts in 3.2 innings. Katie Decker pitched the next one-third of an inning; she faced two batters in the fifth and allowed two runs on two hits and a walk. Vitek took the tough-luck loss. She allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits with no walks and five strikeouts in 3.2 innings.

Krystal Kehr (6-3) earned the victory in relief for LMU; she entered the game after Caudle's walk in the seventh and held Baylor scoreless on two hits with a walk and one strikeout in 2.0 innings. Starter Samantha Lavino was touched for eight runs, six earned, on seven hits and three walks with three strikeouts.

Pomes and Schwethelm had two hits each, and Caudle established a career high with four RBI.

Action continues here Saturday as the Lady Bears face Boston College at 4 p.m. CST. Sunday's game against Kent State has been pushed back two hours to 8 p.m. CST due to rescheduling of the Hawai'i-Boston College game that was rained out Thursday night.