WACO, TEXAS (March 2, 2008) Ben Booker’s two-out, two-run triple keyed a four-run seventh as No. 13 Baylor rallied past Illinois-Chicago for a 5-4 victory in Saturday’s second-day action at the third-annual QTI Baylor Classic. The win gives Baylor (6-0) its best start since the 1993 Bears opened with seven straight wins. In the day’s first game, Stephen F. Austin (4-3) defeated Illinois (2-3) 8-7 in a game that ended with the potential game-tying runner thrown out at the plate.
The Bears have won four one-run games in the season’s first six games. Last season, Baylor was 4-5 in one-run games and did not earn its fourth win until the season’s 59th game – a 7-6 victory over Oklahoma at the Big 12 Conference Championship. Baylor also has won 10 consecutive home games dating back to last season; it is the Bears’ longest home winning streak since a 14-game run during the 2006 and 2007 seasons.
Baylor trailed 3-1 and had just one hit – a fourth-inning Landis Ware single – entering the seventh. Adam Hornung reached on an error to start the inning, and Dustin Dickerson followed with a walk. Gregg Glime’s sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third, and Paul Miles followed with an RBI single to right. After Ware struck out, Booker laced a 3-2 pitch off the base of the centerfield wall to give Baylor a 4-3 lead. Shaver Hansen followed with an RBI single to right-center, plating Booker with what proved to be the game-deciding run.
Illinois-Chicago (1-4) made things interesting in the ninth, scoring an unearned run on two hits and a Baylor error. The Flames had runners at second and third with two outs, but Nick Cassavechia got Ty Rubio to ground out to end the game.
Craig Fritsch (1-0) earned the victory in relief, allowing one walk with one strikeout in 1.0 scoreless inning. Cassavechia was touched for an unearned run on a walk and two strikeouts over the final 2.0 innings for his third save of the season. Starter Shawn Tolleson allowed three runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts over 6.0 innings but did not factor in the decision.
Steve McGuiggan led off the game with a home run just to the left of the batter’s eye on the game’s second pitch. Illinois-Chicago pushed its lead to 3-0 in the fifth on Tony Altavilla’s two-out, two-run single up the middle. Baylor got on the board in the sixth without getting a hit. Shaver Hansen and Beamer Weems drew consecutive two-out walks and each advanced a base on a wild pitch. Hansen then scored when reliever Chris Kovacevich was called for a balk.
Kovacevich (0-2) took the tough-luck loss, allowing four unearned runs on three hits and a walk with one strikeout over 1.1 innings. Starter Miramontes held the Baylor bats at bay for 5.2 innings; he allowed one run on one hit and three walks with two strikeouts.
Play concludes Sunday in the QTI Baylor Classic. Illinois-Chicago faces Illinois at 11 a.m. CST, while Baylor meets Stephen F. Austin at 3 p.m. The Bears send right-hander Willie Kempf (1-0, 1.80 ERA) to the mound. SFA counters with right-hander Erich Lehmann (0-0, 2.70 ERA).
NOTES: This was the first-ever meeting between Baylor and Illinois-Chicago. It also was Baylor’s first-ever game against a team from the Horizon League. … Baylor has won five consecutive home games in which the opponent scored in the first inning. … The Bears’ four hits were the fewest in a nine-inning Baylor win since March 15, 2005, when the Bears had three hits in a 4-3 victory over TCU. … Ware (six games) and Booker (four games) both extended hitting streaks, while Aaron Miller (five games), Hornung (four games) and Glime (three games) all ended streaks. … Booker’s triple was the ninth of his career, all coming at Baylor Ballpark.
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