Baylor
Texas A&M
Bizarre Play Costs Baseball Sweep of No. 9 Aggies
3/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 21, 2004
WACO, Texas - Craig Stinson's two-out RBI infield single in the top of the ninth inning propelled ninth-ranked Texas A&M past Baylor 8-7 in the series finale Sunday at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears (8-14, 2-1) won the series two games to one, but the Aggies (21-4, 1-2) avoided being swept for the second time in eight series as Big 12 Conference foes.
While Stinson provided the eventual game-winning hit, a controversial call in the seventh was the crux of the game. With Baylor leading 7-6, Aggie right fielder Cory Patton led off the seventh with a triple to left-center. Eric Scheidt followed with a bouncer down the third-base line that appeared to ricochet off Patton, who had scampered back to the bag. The ball ended up in shallow left with Patton scoring and Scheidt at second with a double.
Baylor head coach Steve Smith asked for interference as third baseman Michael Griffin collided with Patton while attempting to make a play on the ball. However, after a brief discussion, the umpires stood by the no-call.
Sunday's game was Baylor's 12th one-run affair of the season; the Bears are 3-9 in such contests.
Texas A&M opened a 5-0 lead with three runs in the second and two runs in the third. That drove Baylor starter Trey Taylor from the game; he allowed five runs, two earned, on six hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 2.2 innings, his shortest outing of the season.
However, Baylor answered with three runs in the bottom of the third. Reid Brees and first baseman Jared Clements led off with back-to-back singles, and Kevin Sevigny followed with an RBI double. After a Drew Sutton walk to load bases, Griffin and shortstop Kyle Reynolds produced consecutive sacrifice flies to cut the Bears' deficit to 5-3.
Baylor exploded for four runs to take a 7-5 lead in the fifth. Sevigny and Sutton got the rally started with a pair of one-out singles. Griffin then singled up the middle to score Sevigny, and pinch hitter Paul Witt executed a suicide squeeze bunt to score Reynolds and tie the game. After walks to Josh Ford and Zach Dillon, Mike Pankratz laced a two-run single to left to give Baylor its first lead of the game.
The Aggies began to chip away at Baylor's lead with an Erik Schindewolf RBI single in the sixth, followed by the bizarre play in the seventh.
With two outs and the bases empty in the top of the ninth, Baylor reliever Ryan LaMotta hit pinch hitter Todd Stroud. Andrew Baldwin followed with a Texas League single to left-center, setting the stage for Stinson's eventual game-winning hit.
Blake Rampy (1-0) earned the victory for Texas A&M, tossing 3.2 innings of two-hit shutout ball with three walks and two strikeouts. Jason Meyer hurled the final two outs for his third save.
LaMotta (0-2) was saddled with the loss, allowing one run on two hits and a walk with a pair of strikeouts in 2.0 innings. Sevigny was the offensive star for the Bears, going 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Griffin and Pankratz also drove in two each.
Baylor returns to action Tuesday, hosting Northwestern State for a 6 p.m. CST contest. The Bears send Jared Theodorakos (1-0) to the mound.
