May 18, 2003
Box Score
LINCOLN, Neb. - No. 8 Nebraska took advantage of two Baylor errors to score three unearned runs late and take the rubber game from the 14th-ranked Bears Sunday, 7-6.
The loss drops the Bears (37-19, 15-12 Big 12) into a final fifth-place finish in the Big 12. Nebraska (42-14, 20-7 Big 12) claimed the 2003 Big 12 Conference title, beating out Texas and Texas A&M by one game. Missouri, at 15-11 in the league, finished fourth, just percentage points ahead of Baylor.
The Bears outhit Nebraska 14-6 on the day, but the Huskers worked its way through on walks (seven, including two intentional), errors (two by Paul Witt) and hit batsmen (three, two of whom scored) to beat the Bears.
Nebraska responded to every Baylor score with a tally of their own, then scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth on a two-out, bases-loaded walk.
With one out in the inning, Witt's throw on a grounder by Jake Mullinax pulled Mark Saccomanno off the bag at first. Jeff Leise worked a walk, but Ryan LaMotta (6-2) struck out Joe Simokaitis for the second out. A double steal opened up first base for Matt Hopper, who was intentionally walked, but Alex Gordon in turn worked a bases-loaded walk to drive in the go-ahead run.
The Bears had struck first, taking a 1-0 lead in the first. Chris Durbin led off the first inning with a double and scored on Josh Ford's double two batters later, but the Huskers put up a two spot on three hits in the bottom of the first.
Durbin started the third inning for Baylor with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by David Murphy to tie the game at 2-2. Ford singled, moved to third on a single by Mark Saccomanno and scored on a wild pitch for a 3-2 Bears lead.
Gordon worked a walk in the bottom of the third and scored on a two-out double by Daniel Bruce to tie the game at 3-3. Reid Brees' sacrifice fly in the fifth have the Bears a brief 4-3 lead, but Hopper tied up the game at 4-4 with his Big 12-leading 18th home run of the year in the bottom of the fifth.
Witt led off the sixth with his second home run of the year to put the Bears up 5-4. After Durbin struck out, Murphy singled off the pitcher's glove for his first hit of the weekend, and Ford brought him home with a double down the left-field line for a 6-4 lead.
Nebraska, however, scored two unearned runs without a hit in the bottom of the sixth. Reliever Abe Woody hit the first two batters he faced in the inning, prompting the Bears to bring in LaMotta. A sacrifice bunt moved the runners over with one out, but Simokaitis' grounder to third went through Witt's legs at third, allowing both runners to score and tie the game.
Murphy and Ford each walked with one out in the eighth, but Griffin grounded a 3-1 pitch from reliever Mike Sillman (1-0) into an inning-ending double play. Mark McCormick worked the first 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on four hits and three walks. The freshman stuck out just one.
Ford went 4-for-4 with two doubles, two runs scored and two RBI. Saccomanno and Kyle Reynolds each extended their hitting streaks to 10 games.
As the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 Tournament, Baylor will face No. 4 seed Missouri Wednesday at 5 p.m. The tournament runs Wednesday through Sunday at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.
NOTES: David Murphy's single in the sixth snapped a 10 at-bat hitless streak that tied his longest of the season... Three freshman pitchers combined to pitch the entire game for Baylor, giving up just six hits in eight innings... Baylor head coach Steve Smith and assistant coach Mitch Thompson were each ejected in the ninth inning for arguing what appeared to be a hit batsman that was ruled simply a ball on Ross Bennett.
