May 15, 2004
Box Score
WACO, Texas - Paul Witt, who made a run-saving defensive play earlier in the game, raced home from third on a passed ball with two outs in the bottom of the ninth as Baylor defeated Nebraska 3-2 Saturday night at Baylor Ballpark. Following a 2-1 victory in Friday's series opener, the Bears (25-25, 12-9) clinch the series against the Huskers (33-18, 10-13).
With Witt at second, Chase Gerdes at first and one out in the inning, Kyle Reynolds flied out to deep center, allowing Witt to tag and advance to third. Mike Sillman's first pitch to Reid Brees was up and in, popped off the mitt of catcher John Grose and sailed to the backstop.
Witt's game-winning run capped one of the more dramatic games of the year for Bears, who remain one-half game behind fourth-place Texas Tech in the Big 12 standings by virtue of the Red Raiders' 6-2 Saturday night victory at Oklahoma State. The Bears also remain one-half game ahead of Texas A&M, which defeated Kansas State 8-0 Saturday night. Baylor has now won five series on the season, including each of the last three.
Pitchers for both teams worked out of jams all night; Baylor left nine runners stranded, not counting Gerdes in the bottom of the ninth, while Nebraska left seven runners on base. No escape was bigger than the Bears' in the top of the fifth.
Trailing 2-1 entering the frame, Nebraska tied the game with an unearned run; however, things could have been worse for the Bears. Colin Shockey led off the inning with a double down the line in left and Daniel Bruce followed with a bunt single. Both runners then advanced one base on an errant pickoff attempt, and Chad Steele pushed Bruce to third on a sacrifice bunt.
In the next at bat, Witt made a diving stop on a Jesse Boyer sharp grounder up the middle, popped to his knees and threw home to get an aggressive Bruce, who was trying to score on the play.
Witt completed his heroic night in the ninth, leading off with a soft liner just over the head of Nebraska second baseman Jake Mullinax. Gerdes followed with a four-pitch walk.
Abe Woody (5-0), the third Baylor reliever on the night, earned the victory after holding Nebraska to one hit over the final 1.2 innings. Woody entered the game with the potential go-ahead run at second and one out in the top of the eighth. He induced ground-ball outs from the next two batters to end the threat. Woody is now 11-0 on his career.
Nebraska scratched the scoreboard first with a run in the top of the first on a Chris Ledbetter two-out RBI single. The Bears answered in the second as Drew Sutton lifted a 3-1 pitch over the wall in right; the ball clipped off the glove of a leaping Bruce. Baylor took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth as Michael Griffin led off with a home run to left.
Neither starter factored in the decision. Baylor's Trey Taylor went 6.0 innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on four hits and two walks with four strikeouts. Nebraska's Phil Shirek lasted 5.0 innings and allowed two runs on six hits and three walks with three strikeouts.
Mike Sillman (0-2) was saddled with the loss for the Huskers. He entered the game with two on and two outs in the eighth and got Mike Pankratz to ground back to the mound to end the threat. However, he was on the mound in the ninth and allowed Witt's leadoff single.
Baylor goes for the series sweep Sunday as the two teams complete the series at 1 p.m. CDT. The Bears send right-hander Mark McCormick (2-3) to the mound against Nebraska right-hander Dustin Timm (2-2).
NOTES: Baylor leads the all-time series 22-14-1, including a 14-4-1 advantage in Waco. The Bears are 7-1 against the Huskers at Baylor Ballpark. ... Baylor improves to 7-7 on Saturdays, 6-1 in Big 12 play. ... The Bears improve to 7-14 in one-run games this season and win back-to-back one-run affairs for the first time since a Feb. 15 doubleheader against Loyola Marymount. ... Baylor is 8-5 in Trey Taylor's 13 starts with wins in each of his last six starts. ... Michael Griffin and Paul Witt both extended hitting streaks to four games. ... The Bears, who lead the Big 12 in team batting average in league games, have collected 10 or more hits in 15 of 21 conference games. ... Reid Brees, Kyle Reynolds and Drew Sutton all extended conference-only hitting streaks to seven games. ... Reid Brees and Michael Griffin have both hit safely in 18 of 21 Big 12 games.
