Bears Get 'Passed' Jayhawks 8-7

Friday, April 23

Waco, Texas

7:00 PM

Baylor

Kansas

Bears Get 'Passed' Jayhawks 8-7

4/23/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

April 23, 2004

Box Score

WACO, Texas - Pinch runner Seth Fortenberry scampered home on a passed ball with two outs in the eighth to cap a three-run inning as Baylor rallied to defeat Kansas 8-7 in the first game of a three-game Big 12 Conference series Friday night at Baylor Ballpark.

Baylor (17-22, 7-8) scored all three runs in the eighth with two outs. Paul Witt had the game-tying hit, a two-run single through the right side on an 0-2 slider from Don Czyz. Kansas (24-21, 2-11) then brought in Land, whose first pitch missed high and ricocheted off the mitt of catcher Sean Richardson.

It was the third rally of the night for the Bears, who found themselves trailing 5-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth inning. Kansas built its lead thanks to a Mike Dudley solo home run in the third, a Matt Baty RBI single and a Sean Richardson two-run homer in the fifth, and a Travis Metcalf solo shot in the top of the sixth.

The Bears' lone run in that stretch was a Kevin Sevigny leadoff home run in the third, his first of the season. That home run tied the game 1-1 and proved to be Baylor's first of three rallies.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Bears pulled even at 5-5 with a pair of two-run home runs. Tyler Bullock provided the first, a one-out shot that cleared the soccer scoreboard beyond the wall in left for his second round-tripper of the season. After a Mike Pankratz walk, Josh Ford belted his sixth home run of the season over the 20-foot batter's eye in center. Both home runs were first-pitch swings.

Kansas did not go away, though, scoring two runs in the top of the eighth. With one out in the inning, Ryan Baty landed a bloop single down the line in right. Matt Tribble followed with a run-scoring, line-drive triple to right-center that barely cleared the glove of a leaping Witt at second. Metcalf then scored Tribble on a sacrifice fly to center.

Abe Woody (3-0) picked up the victory, his ninth without a loss as a Baylor Bear. The third and final pitcher for the Bears, Woody tossed 2.0 innings and allowed two runs on two hits with a walk and two strikeouts, including a game-ending called strike three against Ritchie Price.

Starter Sean Walker was touched for four runs on five hits and three walks with five strikeouts in 4.2 innings. Ryan LaMotta surrendered one run on two hits and a walk with one strikeout in 2.1 innings.

Czyz (2-1) was charged with the loss, allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits and a walk in 0.2 innings of relief. Starter Ryan Knippschild pitched into the seventh and allowed six runs on nine hits and a walk with six strikeouts.

The Bears got three hits out of the five spot in the order; Bullock went 2-for-3 before Zach Dillon replaced him with a pinch-hit single in the eighth. Witt and Drew Sutton had two hits each.

Baylor and Kansas continue this series Saturday with a 6 p.m. CDT first pitch at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears send southpaw Trey Taylor (3-3) to the mound opposite Jayhawk right-hander Chris Smart (4-5).

NOTES: Baylor leads the all-time series 24-3 with a 14-0 advantage in games played in Waco. The Bears are 19-3 against the Jayhawks since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997. ... Kevin Sevigny's home run was his first since May 6, 2003, a stretch of 40 games and 101 at bats. ... Baylor has 31 home runs this season, 20 of which have come against Big 12 pitching. ... Tyler Bullock extended his hitting streak to four games, the longest active streak for the Bears and a match of his career long. ... Baylor improves to 4-13 this season in one-run games. The Bears also improve to 14-2 when scoring five or more runs and out-hitting the opponent.