Baylor
Oklahoma
Later Sooners: Bears Rally to Run-Rule Oklahoma
5/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 28, 2004
ARLINGTON, Texas - Baylor used a six-run fifth and a five-run sixth to overcome an early 4-0 deficit and eliminate No. 17 Oklahoma 14-4 in a mercy-rule decision late Friday afternoon at the Big 12 Conference Tournament at Ameriquest Field.
Mike Pankratz brought the game to an end with a one-out, two-run homer to left, his second round-tripper of the tournament. It gave Baylor a 14-4 lead and invoked the mercy rule.
With the win, the Bears (29-30) advance to Saturday competition at the Big 12 Tournament for the fourth time in the last six years. Baylor faces Missouri (36-20-1) at 10 a.m. CDT Saturday morning; the game will be televised live on FOX Sports Net with Greg Lucas, Larry Dierker and Jack Lazorko on the call.
Baylor must post two wins Saturday against the Tigers, which defeated the Bears 12-1 in seven innings late Thursday night, to reach Sunday's championship game. Should the Bears win Saturday morning's contest, the teams would play again Saturday at 5 p.m.
Oklahoma (37-22) scored four runs on two hits and five walks in the top of the second inning. The four-spot drove Baylor starter Mark McCormick from the game after only 1.1 innings. Nebraska's two hits in the inning were an infield hit to second and a bloop single to extreme shallow right.
Ryan Bennett stopped the bleeding in the second and then handed things off to Andy Pape, who entered the game in the third. The Bears began pecking away at the Sooners' lead with a run on three hits in the bottom of the third.
However, it was a six-run fifth that completely changed the complexity of the game. With runners at second and third and one run already in, Chase Gerdes tied the game with a two-run triple to right-center. Paul Witt followed with the eventual game-winning hit, an RBI single through the left side. Michael Griffin added a sacrifice fly, and Kyle Reynolds capped the inning with a run-scoring single.
The Bears added five runs in the sixth, four coming on Drew Sutton's second grand slam of the season. Gerdes also had an RBI double in the inning.
Meanwhile, Pape settled things down on the mound and was credited with the win. Pape (3-2) tossed 3.1 scoreless innings, scattering four hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Ryan LaMotta allowed one hit and a walk over the final 1.2 innings. He entered the game with a three-run lead and two runners on in the top of the sixth to earn his third save of the season and second of the tournament.
Oklahoma starter Jarod McAuliff (6-2) was saddled with the loss after allowing six runs on nine hits and a walk with three strikeouts in 4.0-plus innings.
Gerdes finished 2-for-3 with two runs and a career-best four RBI. Pankratz was 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBI. Sevigny and Witt added a pair of hits each and both scored twice. All nine starters hit safely.
It will be dueling southpaws when Baylor and Missouri meet Saturday morning. Baylor sends Jared Theodorakos (3-4) to the mound opposite Missouri's Nathan Culp (4-3).
NOTES: Baylor leads the all-time series with Oklahoma 25-22 and snapped a three-game losing streak to the Sooners. The Bears are now 3-0 all-time against Oklahoma in neutral-site meetings, 1-0 all-time against the Sooners in Big 12 Tournament play. ... Baylor improves to 6-9 this season against ranked opponents, 3-2 against ranked teams not in the top 10. ... With Drew Sutton's grand slam, the Bears have hit five slams this season. That ties the 1999 team for the most grand slams in a season. It was the second slam of the year by Sutton; Josh Ford, Michael Griffin and Kyle Reynolds hit the other three. ... Paul Witt extended his career-long hitting streak to 13 games, the second-longest streak by a Bear this season. Witt has hit safely in 22 of the last 23 games. ... Chase Gerdes extended his hitting streak to three games. ... Paul Witt extended his errorless streak to 125 chances spanning 26 games. ... Baylor has turned eight double plays in the tournament, matching the Big 12 Tournament record established by Oklahoma in five games during the 1997 event. Witt participated in his seventh and eighth double plays on the tournament, an extension of a tournament record he already owned. ... Kevin Sevigny has reached safely in 15 consecutive starts. ... Baylor has hit 14 home runs in its last seven games and 18 in its last 10 games. ... The Bears have hit four of the nine home runs hit at this year's Big 12 Tournament. ... Mike Pankratz has tied the Big 12 Tournament record with two home runs on the week. ... Drew Sutton's grand slam was just the third in the eight-year history of the Big 12 Tournament and the first since 2002. ... Ryan LaMotta has tied the Big 12 Tournament record with his second save of the week. LaMotta also establishes Baylor Big 12 Tournament records for saves in a tournament and career tournament saves. ... Baylor tied the Big 12 Tournament record with three stolen bases in the fifth inning. Paul Witt became the first player in tournament history to steal two bases in one inning when he swiped second and third. ... Ryan LaMotta made his 29th relief appearance of the season, moving into a tie with Zane Carlson (2003) for second all-time at Baylor. LaMotta also moved into a tie with Mark Outlaw (1999) and Paul Thorp (2002) for total appearances in one season. ... Michael Griffin moved into sole possession of fifth place on Baylor's career hits list with hit No. 241. That hit was his 50th career double, tying Mike Huggins (2000-2002) for eighth in school history. Griffin also moved into sole possession of seventh all-time at Baylor with career RBI No. 166.
