The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Baylor
No. 6 Baseball pulls out 7-6 victory over No. 19 Baylor in 13 innings
04.13.2006 | Baseball
WACO, Texas -- Hunter Harris singled in what proved to be the game-winning run in the top of the 13th and Austin Wood tossed a career-best 4.1 innings of shutout relief during which he fanned a career-high seven and stranded seven runners on base as No. 6 Texas earned a 7-6 win in 13 innings over No. 19 Baylor in front of 5,313 fans at the Baylor Ballpark on Thursday, April 13.
Behind the Longhorns' (25-12, 10-2 Big 12) victory over the Bears (22-13, 7-6 Big 12), UT has now won 10 of its last 12 games overall and four straight in conference play. Notably, five Texas pitchers combined for 18 strikeouts on the night, which was one strikeout shy of the school single-game record of 19 set twice - vs. Southwestern Louisiana on March 18, 1988 and vs. Texas Tech on March 19, 1971.
Texas jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first as Chance Wheeless (Round Rock, Texas), who singled with one out, scored on a two-out double from Carson Kainer (Tomball, Texas). A two-out passed ball on a steal attempt in the bottom of the second with runners at first and second then tied the score at 1-1 for the Bears. One inning later in the third, Baylor grabbed its first lead of the contest at 2-1 when a fielder's choice groundout from Kevin Russo with runners on the corners and one out brought in the go-ahead score. In the fourth, BU received a single from Tim Jackson followed by a double off the bat of Kevin Sevigny before a sacrifice fly by Paul Miles made it a 3-1 game. With Baylor still threatening in the inning, UT reliever Keith Shinaberry (Austin, Texas) retired his next two batters on a pop-out and a strikeout to keep it a two-run contest.
While Kyle Russell (Tomball, Texas) would get one run back with his eighth home run of the year in top of the fifth, the Longhorns threatened for more by placing two runners on with one out, but Baylor starter Ryan LaMotta posted a strikeout and a long flyout to keep Baylor in front. A leadoff double from Zach Dillon followed by a one-out, RBI-base hit off the bat of Matt Sodolak in the bottom of the inning then reclaimed the two-run lead for BU at 4-2. Continuing to rally in the fifth, Baylor then received a double from Booker to place runners on second and third with one away, but Kyle Walker (The Woodlands, Texas) came on in relief for Texas and set down the first two batters he faced to escape further trouble.
Battling right back in the top of the sixth, the Horns put two runners in scoring position with a one out walk and a double from Jordan Danks (Round Rock, Texas) in front of a two-run single by Russell to deadlock the game at 4-4. The Bears then looked to regain the lead in the bottom of the sixth as a walk and a fielder's choice bunt that resulted in an error placed runners on the corners with one out, but Walker again avoided trouble by inducing his next batter to hit into an inning-ending double play. Following a scoreless seventh for both sides, Drew Stubbs (Atlanta, Texas) connected on a solo round-tripper to open the eighth to stake Texas to a 5-4 advantage. After Texas reliever Randy Boone (Yoakum, Texas) struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth, the Horns tacked on a run in the top of the ninth as Russell drew a leadoff walk, moved to second on a sacrifice, stole third and scored on a two-out infield hit from Nick Peoples (Round Rock, Texas) to establish a 6-4 UT lead. Down to their final three outs, the Bears began the bottom of the ninth with three consecutive singles to load the bases with no outs. After a strikeout, Jackson singled through the right side to plate two runs and knot the game at 6-6. Now with the winning run 90 feet away for Baylor, Boone got a pop-out and Wood (Kingwood, Texas), who came on with two outs, registered a strikeout to send the game into extra innings.
While a Texas threat was averted in the top of the 10 with two on and two outs, BU put together a first and third opportunity with one out in the bottom of the frame. Even so, Wood got a fielder's choice on a bunt to cut down the runner from third at the plate and fanned his next batter to move the game to the 11th inning. In the bottom of the 12th, the Bears loaded the bases with one down via a walk, an infield hit that combined with an error and an intentional walk, but Wood again worked his way out of the jam by striking out the next two hitters. The Horns then put runners on the corners with one out courtesy of a single by Bradley Suttle (Boerne, Texas), a sac bunt, a passed ball and an infield hit from Preston Clark (Rockwall, Texas) in the top of the 13th before Harris (Tulsa, Okla.) delivered a pinch-hit, RBI-single to stake UT to a 7-6 advantage. From there, Wood returned to the mound and worked a 1-2-3 frame to close out the victory. While Wood, who allowed only two hits, walked three and struck out seven over 4.1 shutout innings, earned his fourth win of the year, Baylor reliever Nick Cassavechia shouldered the tough loss.
Leading the way offensively for Texas' 15-hit attack were Russell, who went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a pair of stolen bases and three RBI, and the foursome of Stubbs, Kainer, Suttle and Clark, who each collected a pair of hits on the evening while combining for two runs scored and two RBI. The Bears, meanwhile, had their offense, which also posted 15 hits, paced by Zach Dillon, who went 3-for-6 with two runs scored, Sodolak, who posted three hits and one RBI, and Jackson, who came up with a pair of hits, scored on run and drove in two. Of additional note for UT, Kainer extended his current hit streak to seven games with his seventh multi-hit outing in a row and the Horns now have 20 home runs in their last nine games with two round-trippers on the night.
This series now shifts to Disch-Falk Field in Austin, Texas, for its final two contests. While Friday's game is slated for 7 p.m. Central and is presented by UFCU, the Saturday finale is set for 2 p.m. Central and is presented by State Farm Insurance. Notably, both games will be televised on CSTV. To purchase tickets, call 1-800-982-BEVO.
