May 14, 2005
Box Score
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - Trey Taylor and Abe Woody combined to hold Texas A&M to two hits, neither of which left the infield, as No. 10 Baylor defeated the Aggies 3-1 Saturday night at Kyle Field. Baylor (33-18, 17-6) clinches the series victory, its sixth in eight tries this season in Big 12 Conference play. The Bears also remain atop the Big 12 standings, one game ahead of Nebraska, which defeated Texas Tech 6-1 Saturday at Lubbock.
Chase Gerdes led the Bears offensively, going 2-for-4 with two RBI, none bigger than a single to right in the top of the sixth that broke a 1-1 tie and gave the Bears a lead they never relinquished. Gerdes also had an RBI double in the fourth that erased a 1-0 Texas A&M (29-22-1, 8-15) lead.
Meanwhile, Taylor overcame a shaky first inning for one of his best outings of the season. Chad Pennington reached on a single to short to lead off the first, stole second, stole third and scored on an Andrew Baldwin groundout. Taylor did not allow another hit until Todd Sebek followed a Pennington leadoff walk in the sixth with a bunt single down the first-base line.
That is when Woody entered the game and ended the Aggies' threat, striking out Baldwin and Ryan Hill before getting Justin Pouk to ground out to end the inning. Texas A&M went 0-for-12 against Woody, who retired 12 of the 13 batters he faced. Pouk reached on a two-out error in the bottom of the ninth and was the Aggies' only base runner against Woody.
Taylor (5-4) allowed one run on two hits and two walks with two strikeouts in 5.0-plus innings, facing one batter in the sixth. Woody earned his ninth save with two strikeouts in his 4.0 innings of work.
Baylor's strong pitching nearly went unrewarded as the Bears stranded 12 runners on the night, eight in scoring position, and had one runner thrown out at the plate. The Bears had a chance to distance themselves from the Aggies on several occasions, but could not do so. Baylor did manager an insurance run in the top of the ninth as Michael Griffin led off with a triple to right-center and scored on a passed ball.
Texas A&M starter Jason Meyer (5-4) was saddled with the loss; he allowed two runs on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts. Clayton Turner, the Aggies second reliever of the night, kept A&M in the game. Turner entered with runners at second and third and no outs in the sixth. He got the Aggies out of the inning and did not allow a base runner until Griffin's leadoff triple in the ninth.
Baylor and Texas A&M conclude their three-game series Sunday at 2 p.m. CDT at Olsen Field. The Bears send southpaw Cory VanAllen (6-4, 3.99) to the mound, opposite Texas A&M right-hander Chance Gorgan (4-2, 3.96).
NOTES: Texas A&M leads the all-time series 138-109-1, including a 68-33-1 advantage in games played at College Station. Baylor has won three of its last four at Olsen Field. The Bears are 17-11 against the Aggies since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997 and 20-17 against Texas A&M under head coach Steve Smith. ... Baylor is 9-4 this season on Saturday, 6-2 in Big 12 play. ... The Bears improve to 9-4 in games started by Taylor. Baylor is 31-17 in Taylor's 47 career starts. ... Saturday was Taylor's 19th career start in a Big 12 game, tying four others for third all-time at Baylor. ... Griffin played in his 240th career game, passing Jon Topolski (1996-99) for second all-time at Baylor. He is two games shy of Matt Williams' (1998-01) Baylor career record. ... Griffin's ninth-inning triple was his first three-bagger since the 2003 season and his 13th as a Bear, moving into a three-way tie for eighth all-time at Baylor. ... Woody made his 79th career relief appearance, tying Kyle Edens (1999-02) for third in Baylor history.
