Baylor
Vanderbilt
Baseball Drops Arms Duel with Vandy 1-0
3/13/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 13, 2004
WACO, Texas - For the second time in seven days, Baylor's baseball team was done in by a top-of-the-first run here Saturday as the Bears fell to Vanderbilt 1-0. It marks the eighth one-run loss in 10 such games this season for the Bears (5-12).
After two quick outs in the top of the first, Vanderbilt (12-2) second baseman Warner Jones slapped an infield hit to the left side. Third baseman Michael Griffin made a diving stop on the ball, but was unable to right himself and make a throw to first. Nicolas Cesar then worked a full-count walk, and Mike Baxter followed with a single up the middle to score Jones.
That was the only run to cross the plate as Baylor starter Trey Taylor and Vanderbilt starter Jensen Lewis locked up in a pitchers' duel. Taylor (2-3) lasted 7.0 innings, scattering five hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Lewis (4-0) tossed 7.0 shutout innings, allowing three hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
It was the same scenario that saw Baylor fall 1-0 last Sunday to UC Irvine; the Anteaters scored a two-out run in the top of the first and then blanked the Bears the rest of the way.
Baylor had a golden opportunity to even the score in the bottom of the seventh when Josh Ford led off with a double down the line in left and then moved to third on a Zach Dillon sacrifice bunt. However, Lewis got Mike Pankratz to pop up to shallow left-center and then struck out Mike Heldoorn, ending the threat.
Lewis gave way to Matt Buschmann in the eighth. With two outs in the frame, Drew Sutton walked and moved to second on a Griffin infield single. Vanderbilt then turned to closer Ryan Rote, who struck out Kyle Reynolds and then got three straight outs in the ninth for his third save of the season.
Baylor and Vanderbilt meet for the rubber game of the series Sunday at 1 p.m. The Bears send right-hander Sean Walker (0-2, 2.75 ERA) to the mound against Commodore southpaw Ryan Mullins (2-0, 1.66 ERA).
NOTES: Baylor leads the series 2-1. ... Michael Griffin and Kyle Reynolds extended hitting streaks to four games each Saturday. It is the longest streak of the season for both players. ... Trey Taylor matched his career-long outing Saturday. Taylor also went 7.0 innings last Saturday against UC Irvine. ... Baylor falls to 2-8 this season in one-run games; the Bears have dropped eight consecutive one-run contests. ... Several trends continued Saturday. Baylor is now 0-8 this season when the opponent scores first, 0-5 when the opponent scores in the first inning, 0-9 when trailing after seven, 0-10 when trailing after eight, and 0-9 when getting out-hit.
