May 26, 2004

Box Score?|? Quotes?|? Notes

ARLINGTON, Texas - Trey Taylor pitched into the eighth after a shaky first inning, and Josh Ford homered for the third straight game as Baylor defeated No. 22 Texas Tech 8-3 in first-round action of the 2004 Big 12 Conference Tournament at Ameriquest Field. The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for Baylor (28-29), which was swept by Tech (38-18) last weekend at Lubbock.

Trailing 2-1 in the top of the third, Baylor scored three runs on four hits and never trailed again. Mike Pankratz and Kevin Sevigny started things off with consecutive doubles with Sevigny's scoring Pankratz. After a Chase Gerdes single to right, Paul Witt doubled in Pankratz and Gerdes. Baylor's three doubles in one inning established a Big 12 Tournament record.

Baylor stretched its lead with a couple runs in the fifth before the Red Raiders plated one run in the bottom of the fifth. Pankratz gave the Bears some insurance with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth.

Meanwhile, Taylor (6-3) settled down after the first few innings and made use of three double play balls to work out of mid-inning jams. The junior southpaw allowed three runs on eight hits with three walks and seven strikeouts, five of which were looking, over 7.0-plus innings. Taylor allowed five hits in the first three innings and only three hits over the next four frames.

Ryan LaMotta pitched the final six outs perfectly, inducing a double play against the first batter he faced, for his second save.

"The game, for us anyway, was really about pitching and defense," Baylor head coach Steve Smith said. "As much as the one big inning helped give us a little breathing room, if we don't pitch and play defense there's not going to be enough runs to win it."

Texas Tech starter Steven Thomas (3-7) was saddled with the loss after allowing six runs, five earned, on eight hits with two strikeouts in 4.1 innings.

The Raiders struck first with a run in the bottom of the first; however, the damage could have been worse. Leadoff hitter Josh Brady laced a triple to right-center on the inning's first pitch. Cody Fuller was then hit by a pitch, giving Tech runners on the corners with no outs. Taylor caught Fuller trying to steal on a throw to first, but Brady scored on the play. After a Cameron Blair single and a Josh Haney walk, Taylor got out of the inning with a caught stealing and a strikeout.

In the top of the second, Josh Ford continued the hot tear that earned him national player of the week honors last week. Ford crushed a two-out solo home run into the second deck down the left-field line, a 427-foot shot according to the Ameriquest Field Architecture Manual. It was Ford's ninth consecutive plate appearance to reach safely, his third home run in a five-at-bat span and his sixth home run in seven games.

Tech was quick to answer, though, as Matthew Coco led off the bottom of the inning with a line-drive home run to center. The Raiders had an opportunity to answer the Bears' three-spot in the third as Brady led off with a single to left. However, Kyle Reynolds and Paul Witt turned the first of three Baylor double plays on the game. After Coco's home run, Tech's five through nine hitters went a combined 0-for-15.

Gerdes, Pankratz and Sevigny had two hits each, while the latter two scored twice. Witt drove in three runs.

Baylor returns to action Thursday at 5 p.m. CDT against seventh-seeded Missouri, which upset second-seeded and 17th-ranked Oklahoma 9-5 Wednesday. The Bears send Sean Walker (4-5) to the mound. Baylor took two-of-three from the Tigers at Columbia this season.

NOTES: Texas Tech leads the all-time series 64-59. Baylor holds a 3-2 lead in neutral-site meetings. ... Baylor improves to 5-9 this season against Top 25 opponents, 2-2 against ranked teams not in the top 10. ... Paul Witt extended his career-long hitting streak to 10 games. Witt has hit safely in 20 of the last 21 games. ... Josh Ford (seven games) and Michael Griffin (five games) also extended hitting streaks. ... Paul Witt extended his errorless streak, now at 116 chances spanning 25 games. ... Kevin Sevigny has reached safely in 13 consecutive starts. ... Baylor has homered in five consecutive games, a season-long streak, with eight home runs in the last three games, 12 in the last five and 16 in the last eight. ... Michael Griffin moved into a tie with Matt Williams (1998-2001) for fifth all-time at Baylor with career hit No. 240. ... Josh Ford moved into a tie with Michael Griffin for ninth all-time at Baylor with 28 career home runs. ... That also was Ford's 14th home run this season, matching Fritz Connally (1980) and Chris Durbin (2001) for 10th on Baylor's single-season home run chart. ... Ryan LaMotta moved into a four-way tie for third in school history with his 28th relief appearance of the season. He also matched Paul Thorp (2001) for total appearances in a season (28).