April 2, 2006
Box Score
LUBBOCK, Texas - A six-run fourth inning broke open a close game and a three-run fifth put it away as Texas Tech defeated Baylor 14-1 in seven innings in Sunday's Big 12 Conference series finale at Dan Law Field. Texas Tech (22-10, 4-4) takes the series two games to one, winning Saturday 14-4 after Baylor (19-10, 4-5) took Friday's opener 2-1.
The game marked the first time Baylor has been run-ruled since dropping a 12-1 decision to Missouri the second round of the 2004 Big 12 Tournament. It was the largest margin of defeat for a Baylor team since the Bears' 20-5 loss at Louisiana State in the final game of the 2003 NCAA Baton Rouge Super Regional.
Texas Tech has won four consecutive series against Baylor at Lubbock. The Bears last series win at Dan Law Field was in 1998 when they took two of three.
Trailing 2-0 in the fourth, Baylor had a golden chance to tie the game with Zach Dillon at first and Beamer Weems at second and one out. Seth Fortenberry laced a double to right-center, scoring Weems. Fortenberry would have had a two-run, game-tying triple, but Dillon tripped rounding third and was thrown out at home.
Tech quickly responded as Kyle Martin led off the bottom of the inning with a line-drive homer that wrapped around the foul pole in left. It was Martin's third home run of the weekend. The Red Raiders went on to plate six runs on six hits in the inning, including a Roger Kieschnick two-run homer. One inning later, Tech plated three runs on four hits and a walk. The Red Raiders added three runs in the sixth to cap the scoring.
Baylor starter Tim Matthews (2-3) took the loss, allowing 10 runs on 13 hits and four walks with one strikeout in 4.1 innings.
Texas Tech starter AJ Ramos (1-0) handcuffed the Bears for the first five frames en route to the victory. He left after consecutive singles by Dillon and Fortenberry to open the sixth. Ramos allowed ... runs on four hits on three runs with four strikeouts in 5.0-plus innings.
Fortenberry was the lone hitting star, going 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI.
Baylor returns to action Tuesday, completing a four-game road-stretch at TCU. First pitch between the Bears and the Horned Frogs is scheduled for 7 p.m. CDT at Lupton Stadium on the TCU campus. Baylor defeated TCU in the first meeting this season 10-4 at Baylor Ballpark two weeks ago.
NOTES: Texas Tech leads the all-time series 67-62, including a 42-20 advantage in games played at Lubbock. The Bears are 15-26 against the Red Raiders under head coach Steve Smith and 13-19 since the inception of the Big 12 Conference in 1997. ... Fortenberry extended his career-long hitting streak to 10 games. That is the longest streak by a Baylor player since Josh Ford's 14-gamer last season. ... Baylor allowed 28 runs in the final two games of the series, the most runs allowed in a two-game span by the Bears since they allowed 31 runs in the final two games of the 2004 series at Texas Tech.
