Sunday, April 06, 2008

BAYLOR BASEBALL DOUBLES UP KANSAS 12-6

WACO, TEXAS (April 6, 2008) Six batters produced multiple-hit games, and Dustin Dickerson homered as Baylor defeated Kansas 12-6 in Saturday night’s Big 12 Conference game at Baylor Ballpark. Following Friday night’s 4-3 victory, the Bears (18-11, 5-6) have clinched their second Big 12 series in four tries this season. Kansas (19-15, 1-7) has lost five straight conference games.

Dickerson started the scoring for the Bears with a two-run homer down the left-field line in the bottom of the first. Baylor added a pair of runs in the second on Ben Booker’s RBI triple and Greg Glime’s RBI double. Landis Ware had an RBI double, and Shaver Hansen had a two-run single as Baylor pushed its lead to 7-0 in fourth.

Kansas got on the board in the fifth on Tony Thompson’s one-out solo homer. The Bears responded for three runs in the bottom of the inning as five consecutive batters reached base after the Jayhawks retired the first two Baylor batters of the inning.

The Jayhawks did not go quietly, though, scoring four in the sixth and another in the seventh to pull back within four runs at 10-6. That was as close as Kansas would get as the Bears added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth.

Baylor starter Shawn Tolleson (3-1) picked up the win; he allowed five runs on five hits and three walks with a career-high seven strikeouts over 5.2 innings. Craig Fritsch and Mace Thurman closed out the game for the Bears, each recording three strikeouts.

Kansas starter Andres Esquibel (2-2) took the loss; in 4.0 innings, he allowed seven runs on seven hits and a walk with two strikeouts.

Booker finished with three hits on the night and scored a career-high tying three runs, while Glime was 2-for-3 with a career-high three RBI. Raynor Campbell, Hansen, Adam Hornung and Ware added two hits each, while Campbell, Dickerson and Ware each scored twice.

For the second straight night, two Jayhawks produced five of the teams’ eight hits; Thompson was 3-for-4, while Ryne Price was 2-for-5 with a three-run homer.

Baylor and Kansas conclude the series Sunday at 1 p.m. CDT. The Bears send right-hander Willie Kempf (4-1, 3.41 ERA) to the mound. The Jayhawks counter with southpaw Sam Freeman (4-0, 6.75 ERA).

NOTES: Baylor leads the all-time series 35-5, including a 19-1 advantage in Waco. The Bears are 30-5 against Kansas since the inception of the Big 12. … Dickerson (six games), Booker (four games) and Hornung (four games) all extended hitting streaks. … Campbell has hit safely in six straight Big 12 games, while Dickerson has hit safely in four straight conference games. … Baylor improved to 15-4 this season when the starting pitcher lasts at least 5.0 innings. … Baylor pitchers have tallied at least 10 strikeouts in three consecutive games for the first time since a three-game run March 20-24, 2007 (Texas Southern, Texas Tech, Texas Tech). … Baylor scored in the first inning for the first time in Big 12 play this season. The Bears also scored in each of the first two innings for the first time since the 11th game of the season (second game at Mississippi State).

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