Baylor
Clemson (NCAA Super Regional)
Baylor, McCormick Pound Clemson 7-1
6/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 12, 2005
McCormick (8-3) posted his third double-digit strikeout outing this season, each of which came against nationally ranked opponents. It was the eighth time in his career that McCormick struck out eight or more batters; Baylor is 8-0 in those games, including 5-0 this season. He lasted 8.1 innings, leaving the game after a full-count walk to Jesse Ferguson in the ninth, and allowed one run on five hits and six walks.
Meanwhile, Baylor, playing as the visitor, took advantage of scoring opportunities early and throughout the game. Kevin Russo singled to right with two outs in the top of the second and the scored on a Seth Fortenberry double down the line in right. Jeff Mandel followed with a single up the middle, plating Fortenberry for a 2-0 Baylor lead.
Clemson answered with a run on two hits in the bottom of the third; Taylor Harbin put the Tigers on the board, scoring Adrian Casanova with a two-out single to the hole at shortstop.
That was all the offense Clemson could muster against McCormick, who climbed to seventh on Baylor's single-season strikeout list with 107 by the end of the game. McCormick made his 43rd career start Sunday; the Bears are 29-14 in his starts.
Mandel got the run back for the Bears in the fourth, lifting a two-out solo homer over the wall in left-center. It was the second home run of Mandel's career, both of which have come in this postseason.
Baylor added a pair of runs in the fifth; Reid Brees laced an RBI triple off the batter's eye and then scored on a two-out error by Clemson shortstop Stan Widmann. In the sixth, Chase Gerdes plated one run on a first-and-third bunt single, and Josh Ford followed with an RBI single down the line in left.
Ryan LaMotta recorded the game's final two outs for the Bears, closing the game with a called strikeout of Herman Demmink.
Clemson starter Josh Cribb (8-5) suffered the loss, allowing seven runs, six earned, on 12 hits and two walks with five strikeouts in 6.0 innings.
Ford, Mandel, Paul Witt and Michael Griffin collected two hits apiece for the Bears, who reached double digits in hits for the sixth time in their last eight games.
Baylor and Clemson conclude the 2005 NCAA Super Regional at Noon CDT Monday. It will be dueling southpaws as the Bears send Cory VanAllen (7-4, 4.00 ERA) against the Tigers' Robert Rohrbaugh (8-2, 4.08 ERA). The game will be televised live on ESPN.
