Friday, May 16, 2008

BAYLOR BASEBALL BLANKS STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 11-0

WACO, TEXAS (May 16, 2008) Seniors Tim Matthews and Paul Miles made their final games at Baylor Ballpark memorable. Matthews tossed a three-hit shutout, and Miles was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI as Baylor defeated Stephen F. Austin 11-0 in seven innings Wednesday night. The Bears (30-22) finished the regular season 21-10 at home and improved to 26-0 all-time against Stephen F. Austin (24-27).

Matthews (5-1), who recorded the first complete game and the first shutout of his career, faced two over the minimum and allowed only four base runners all night. He tallied six strikeouts against only walk and retired 14 consecutive batters between Jeffrey Kello’s leadoff single in the third and Adam Bosley’s two-out walk in the seventh. After Bosley walked, Justin Roland ended the game with a single that hit Bosley between first and second; by rule, Bosley was called out, and the 10-run mercy rule was enforced.

Aaron Miller’s two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the first gave the Bears the early lead. Baylor added an unearned run in the second, but it was a six-run third that put the game out of reach. The Bears’ first seven batters reached safely. Raynor Campbell, Ben Booker and Miles all had RBI hits in the inning, and Beamer Weems added an run-scoring groundout; the other two runs scored on a balk and a wild pitch.

Adam Hornung’s sacrifice fly in the fifth pushed the Bears’ lead to 10-0, and Gregg Glime capped the scoring with an RBI groundout in the sixth.

Stephen F. Austin’s only legitimate threat was in the first inning when Kai Kirby led off with a single and then stole second and third. However, Kirby was thrown out on an attempted steal of home. Kello was stranded at third after his leadoff single in the third.

Weems finished the night 3-for-4 with two RBI and two doubles, while Booker, Campbell and Miles all had two-hit games. Each of Baylor’s nine starters scored at least once; Campbell and Miles scored twice each.

Baylor concludes its regular-season schedule this weekend, traveling to Lubbock, Texas, for a three-game Big 12 Conference series at Texas Tech. The Bears and the Red Raiders meet Friday at 6:05 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. Baylor enters the weekend in sixth place in the Big 12 standings and in need of one victory to clinch a berth in next week’s Big 12 Championship at Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City.

NOTES: Baylor leads the all-time series 26-0, including a 22-0 advantage in games played in Waco. … Hansen extended his hitting streak to nine games, matching his career long established earlier this season. … Matthews’ sixth strikeout of the night was the 100th of his career.

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