Baylor
UT-Arlington
Late Rally Not Enough for No. 8 Bears
2/15/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 15, 2005
WACO, Texas - An eight-run deficit proved too much for Baylor's eighth-ranked baseball team to overcome Tuesday night as the Bears dropped a 9-6 decision to Texas-Arlington at Baylor Ballpark.
The game was played before a crowd of 3,721, the largest home-opener crowd in Baylor history and the largest midweek crowd in the Baylor Ballpark history.
UTA (3-4) scored two in the third, two in the fifth and then erupted for five runs in the sixth. Meanwhile, Baylor's lone run in the first six frames came in the fourth when Kyle Reynolds scored from third thanks to a throwing error by UTA third baseman Daniel Macha.
Baylor (3-1) put together a late-inning rally, keyed by Paul Witt's seventh-inning, two-out grand slam. However, the Mavericks stymied Baylor threats in the eighth and the ninth to escape with the victory. The Bears stranded two runners in the eighth and could manage only a Chase Gerdes sacrifice fly in the ninth after the first two batters reached base safely.
Mavericks' starter Grant Varnell (1-0) earned the victory, going 4.0 innings in a predetermined four-inning start. He allowed only one unearned run on three hits and a walk with one strikeout.
Baylor starter Sean Walker (0-1) lasted only 3.0 innings and was touched for two runs on two hits and three walks with one strikeout. The Bears used seven pitchers on the night as Andy Pape, Ryan LaMotta, Randall Linebaugh, Kerr Foster, Jeff Mandel and Abe Woody followed
Witt led the way for the Bears at the plate, going 2-for-4 with four RBI. Gerdes added two hits and an RBI.
Baylor returns to action this weekend, hosting No. 24 Oral Roberts for a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears and the Golden Eagles meet Friday at
