Baylor
Nebraska
Verrett, Ware Guide Baseball to 6-2 Win at Nebraska
4/29/2011 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 29, 2011
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Baylor (23-20, 8-11 Big 12) won a series opener in Big 12 play for the first time since beating Kansas State on March 25, while the Cornhuskers (26-17, 5-10 Big 12) lost on their home field for just the seventh time this season.
Verrett (5-4) picked up the win after allowing four hits and two walks with eight strikeouts. He held the last 16 batters hitless before turning the ball over to Max Garner to start the ninth inning.
"He was outstanding," head coach Steve Smith said. "I thought we made some tremendous defensive plays behind him. This was a very tough day to play for both clubs ... I thought our guys played really well in center field."
Garner allowed an unearned run in the ninth, but he got his second strikeout of the inning to strand a pair of baserunners and close out the win.
Baylor struck first when Steve DalPorto and Logan Vick led off the third with consecutive singles, and Joey Hainsfurther drove in a run with a squeeze bunt. That lead would be short-lived, as Nebraska answered with a run of its own in the bottom half.
After a single and a hit batter, Kale Kiser moved both runners into scoring position and Bryan Peters delivered an infield single to tie the game at 1-1, but Verrett escaped the jam by getting Cody Asche to ground into a double play.
The Bears quickly regained the lead in the fourth on a RBI single from Jake Miller and a successful squeeze bunt from DalPorto that put Baylor in front to stay at 3-1. One inning later, Landis Ware brought in three runs with a bases-loaded double down the left-field line.
"Having six runs like that just makes it fun to go out there and compete and not worry about the other team putting the ball in play or bunting them over or anything like that," Verrett said.
With the 6-1 lead, Verrett allowed only a walk over his last four frames of work, retiring 12 of the last 13 batters faced with five strikeouts.
Ware finished 2-for-5 with one run and three RBI, while Max Muncy went 3-for-5 and scored a run and Miller added two singles and one RBI in four at-bats. Chad Christensen and Kurt Farmer had two hits apiece for the Cornhuskers.
Logan Ehlers (1-2) took the loss for Nebraska, allowing five runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 4.0 innings.
The Bears go for their first series win in Lincoln when the teams meet for the middle game of the series at 2:05 p.m. Saturday.
