May 13, 2007
Box Score
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Baylor stranded nine runners, including four in scoring position over the final three innings, in a 6-4 loss to Nebraska in Sunday afternoon's Big 12 Conference series finale at Haymarket Park. Nebraska (27-21, 12-12) claimed the series with the win, rebounding to take the final two games of the series after Baylor (28-23, 9-15) won Friday's opener 9-2.
Baylor enters the final week of the regular season tied with Oklahoma for seventh place and one-and-a-half games behind Kansas State in the Big 12 standings. The Bears hold the tiebreaker with the Sooners by virtue of a 2-1 series victory in Waco earlier this season. Baylor hosts Kansas State in a three-game series at Baylor Ballpark next weekend. The Bears must sweep the series to catch the Wildcats in the standings.
With the score tied 3-3 in the bottom of the fifth, Nebraska's Andy Gerch delivered a tie-breaking RBI single to right that put runners on the corners with no outs. Jake Opitz plated another run with a fielder's choice sacrifice bunt. The Huskers added an unearned run in the seventh to push their lead to 6-3.
Baylor did not go without a fight, though. Matt Czimskey's one-out double put runners at second and third in the top of the eighth, but the Thad Weber coaxed a Tim Jackson groundout and struck out Shaver Hansen to end the threat. Chase Gerdes pulled the Bears to within two and brought the tying run to the plate on a two-out RBI double in the ninth; however, Weber got Beamer Weems to groundout, ending the threat and the game.
Nebraska starter Luke Wertz (3-0) earned the victory, allowing three runs on five hits and three walks with six strikeouts over 6.1 innings. Weber picked up his second save of the season with two strikeouts over 1.2 innings.
Baylor starter Kendal Volz (5-2) suffered the loss. He was touched for five runs on eight hits and a walk with five strikeouts over 4.0-plus innings, facing four batters in the fifth. Nick Cassavechia allowed one unearned run on five hits and three walks with a career-high seven strikeouts in a career-long 5.0-inning appearance.
After Nebraska got a run in the bottom of the first, Dustin Dickerson delivered a solo home run to left in the top of the second. It was Dickerson's second round-tripper of the series. The Huskers answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning and held a 3-2 lead until Czimskey's solo homer in the fourth. Baylor tied the score in the fifth on a Gerdes bases-loaded sacrifice fly to the warning track in right-center.
Ben Booker had three hits on the day, while Czimskey had two. Czimskey ran his career-long hitting streak to 12 games, matching Gerdes and Matt Sodolak for the longest streaks by Bears this season. Gerdes tallied two RBI.
Baylor returns to action Tuesday, May 15, traveling to Houston, Texas, for the season's final midweek contest at Rice. First pitch between the Bears and the Owls is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. CDT at Reckling Park on the Rice campus. The game will be televised live nationally on CSTV.
NOTES: Baylor leads the all-time series 28-20-1. Nebraska holds a 10-7 advantage in games played at Lincoln. The Bears are 20-16 against the Huskers since the inception of the Big 12 Conference, including an 18-10 advantage in regular-season meetings. ... Raynor Campbell (nine games) extended his career-long hitting streak, while Booker (eight games) matched his career-long streak. Dickerson (four games) and Gerdes (three games) also extended hitting streaks, while Weems saw his five-game streak end. ... Weems also failed to reached safely and/or produced a run for the first time in 32 consecutive games. ... Campbell has reached safely in 22 consecutive games and in 27 of the last 28. ... Dickerson has reached safely in 17 straight.
