The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Baylor
No. 1 Baseball drops 9-1 contest to No. 16 Baylor
03.19.2005 | Baseball
WACO, Texas -- Bears' starter Mark McCormick struck out a career-high 10 over 7.2 innings as No. 1 Texas (21-3, 0-2 Big 12) dropped a 9-1 decision to No. 16 Baylor (14-7, 2-0 Big 12) in front of a season-high crowd of 4,148 at the Baylor Ballpark on Saturday, March 19.
The Longhorns broke on top 1-0 in the top of the third when with two outs and third baseman David Maroul (Benbrook, Texas) on first after being hit with a pitch, Nick Peoples' (Round Rock, Texas) deep fly ball to right was dropped and turned into a three-base error and a run for UT. Baylor immediately answered in the bottom of the third as a leadoff single from Kevin Russo combined with two infield errors to knot the game at 1-1. Kyle Reynolds' fifth home run of the year to open the bottom of the fourth then staked the Bears to a 2-1 advantage. Still working in the inning, Baylor proceeded to load the bases with no outs behind a walk, an infield hit and a fielder's choice before a RBI-single from Russo followed by a pair of sacrifice flys pushed the Bears' lead to 5-1.
After a scoreless fifth and sixth for both sides, Texas put runners on second and third with two down after back-to-back base hits from Calvin Beamon (Aurora, Colo.) and Clay Van Hook (Brenham, Texas), but McCormick retired Peoples on a nice throw off a chopper down the third-base line to end the threat. A throwing error in the bottom of the seventh with two down on a double steal then yielded another run for the Bears to make it a 6-1 contest. One inning later, Baylor strung together three straight hits, including to two-run home run off the bat of Mike Pankratz to push on top 9-1. The Horns would put two runners on in the ninth, but reliever Jeff Mandel worked out of the jam unscathed to seal the eight-run victory. Picking up his second win of the year was McCormick, while UT starter Kyle McCulloch (Houston, Texas), who had five strikeouts over 3.1 innings, shouldered the loss.
Pacing the Texas effort on the night was Seth Johnston (Boerne, Texas), who tallied his team-leading 14th multi-hit outing of the year with a 2-for-4 effort that extended his hitting streak to eight games, reliever Buck Cody (Oklahoma City, Okla.), who surrendered only one unearned run over 3.2 frames. The Bears' offense, meanwhile, was led by Russo, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI, and Reynolds, who recorded two hits while scoring twice and driving in one run.
The final game of this series is set for 1 p.m. Central at the Baylor Ballpark on Sunday, March 20 and will be televised by CSTV.
