Baylor
Missouri
Soggy Bears Fall to Missouri 12-1
5/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 27, 2004
ARLINGTON, Texas - Missouri scored two runs in the top of the first and never looked back en route to a 12-1 mercy-rule victory over Baylor in second-day action of the Big 12 Conference Tournament at Ameriquest Field. The game was delayed twice due to rain, including a three-hour, 10-minute halt moments after a Cody Ehlers grand slam in the top of the second gave Missouri (36-20-1) a 7-0 lead.
The loss sends Baylor (28-30) to an elimination game against second-seeded and 17th-ranked Oklahoma Friday at 4 p.m. CDT. The Sooners (37-21) eliminated Texas Tech with a 3-1 victory earlier Thursday.
Lee Laskowski and James Boone had RBI singles for the Tigers in the top of the first. Missouri ran Baylor starter Sean Walker from the game with one out in the second and the bases loaded. Ehlers then drilled a 1-2 Cory VanAllen offering over the wall in right-center. Missouri added three runs in the third, stretching its lead to 10-0.
The Bears finally got on the board in the bottom of the fifth on a Chase Gerdes RBI single that scored Kevin Sevigny. However, the Tigers added a run in the sixth and another in the seventh, invoking the 10-run after seven innings rule. Ironically, Baylor and Missouri played the first mercy rule game in Big 12 Tournament history last season when the Bears defeated the Tigers 11-0 in the first round.
Walker (4-6) took the loss, allowing six runs on five hits and two walks over 1.1 innings, the shortest outing of his career. All four Baylor pitchers - Walker, VanAllen, Jeff Mandel and Russell Reichenbach - surrendered at least one run.
Danny Hill (5-4) defeated the Bears for the second time this season. He scattered five hits and allowed one run with a walk and nine strikeouts for the complete-game victory.
Laskowski finished 4-for-5 with three runs and three RBI. Missouri's 1-4 hitters were a combined 10-for-16 with nine runs and nine RBI.
Kyle Reynolds led the Bears at the plate, going 2-for-2 before exiting the game in the fourth.
Baylor sends right-hander Mark McCormick (2-4) to the mound Friday against Oklahoma. McCormick did not get a decision in his regular-season start at Oklahoma. He left the March 26 game due to shoulder stiffness, leading 3-2 in the bottom of the sixth. The Sooners later rallied for a 5-4 victory.
NOTES: Baylor leads the all-time series with Missouri 21-12. This loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Bears against the Tigers in Big 12 Tournament play. ... Paul Witt extended his career-long hitting streak to 12 games. Witt has hit safely in 21 of the last 22 games. ... Josh Ford (seven games) and Michael Griffin (five games) saw hitting streaks end. ... Paul Witt extended his errorless streak to 117 chances spanning 25 games remains intact. Witt started three double plays on the night, one at second and two at short. He has now participated in six double plays on the tournament, a Big 12 Tournament record. ... Kevin Sevigny has reached safely in 14 consecutive starts. ... Baylor failed to homer for the first time in six games.
