April 29, 2005
Box Score
WACO, Texas - A five-run seventh inning broke a 1-1 tie and propelled No. 11 Baylor to a 6-1 victory over Texas Tech in the Big 12 Conference series opener Friday night at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears (29-16, 14-5) have won five consecutive Big 12 home games and 13 of their last 14 conference games at Baylor Ballpark.
With the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the seventh, Kyle Reynolds drew a full-count walk to force home Paul Witt from third. That drove Texas Tech (27-15, 7-10) starter Billy Carnline from the game. Josh Ford then doubled down the line in right on the first pitch he saw from reliever Adam Fry, plating two runs and pushing Baylor's lead to 4-1. After a Zach Dillon fly out, Reid Brees singled up the middle, scoring Reynolds and Ford to cap the scoring.
Baylor's seventh-inning explosion made a winner of reliever Ryan LaMotta (5-0), who allowed one run on four hits and no walks with six strikeouts in 3.0 innings. Starter Trey Taylor tossed 6.0 scoreless innings on four hits and three walks with eight strikeouts.
The Bears scored the game's first run in the bottom of the sixth on a Kevin Russo two-out RBI single through the left side. A Dillon two-out single and a Brees walk preceded Russo's hit, one of 10 on the night for the Bears.
However, the lead was short-lived as the Red Raiders knotted the score in the top of the seventh. Cooper Fouts singled up the middle with two outs and then scored on a Cody Fuller bloop double down the left-field line.
Carnline (5-2) was touched for five runs on five hits and four walks with four strikeouts in 6.0-plus innings, facing four batters in the seventh.
Ford, Dillon and Russo had two hits each to pace the Bears at the plate, while Ford and Brees each had two RBI.
Baylor and Texas Tech continue their three-game series Saturday at 2 p.m. CDT. The Bears send right-hander Mark McCormick (6-2) to the mound, opposite Red Raider right-hander Brian Wyatt (4-3). The game will be televised live on Fox Sports Net.
NOTES: Baylor junior right fielder Mike Pankratz sustained a broken bone in his right (throwing) hand during Thursday's practice. He is expected to miss the next 10 days to two weeks. ... Texas Tech leads the all-time series 64-60, including a 16-12 advantage since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997. Baylor holds a 38-22 advantage in games played in Waco. ... Baylor improves to 7-5 on Friday, 5-2 in Big 12 play. ... The Bears are 25-7 when the starting pitcher goes at least 5.0 innings, 13-4 in Big 12 play. ... Taylor and LaMotta combined for 14 strikeouts, the third-highest single-game tally this season by the Baylor pitching staff. It marks the eighth time Baylor pitchers have recorded 10 or more strikeouts in a game; the Bears are 8-0 in such contests. ... Friday's game marked the 10th time since the beginning of the 2004 season that Taylor has allowed fewer than three earned runs and not gotten a win. In those 10 games, he is 0-3 with seven no-decisions. ... Baylor improves to 24-1 when leading after six innings and 25-1 when leading after seven innings or later. ... Brees (six games) and Kevin Sevigny (six games) both extended hitting streaks; Sevigny's is a career long. ... Witt (five games), Reynolds (four games) and Dillon (three games) also extended hitting streaks. ... Taylor's strikeout total (eight) is his second-highest in a Big 12 start, one shy of his Big 12 high of nine established last season at Texas. ... Friday was Taylor's 46th career start, passing Kip Wells (1996-98) for fourth all-time at Baylor. Taylor also moved into 10th place on Baylor's career strikeout list with 218, passing Chad Hawkins (1999-2000). ... LaMotta made his 81st career appearance Friday, passing Brett Bergman (1995-98) for sole possession of fifth place on Baylor's all-time list. It also was his 79th career relief appearance, tying Kyle Edens (1999-2002) for second all-time at Baylor.
