Go Bears!
GO Bears!
Go Bears!
No. 1 Rice Escapes With 4-3 Win Over No. 6 Baylor
Owls strand Bears' tying run on third in the ninth.
Trey Webb had two hits and an RBI in the Bears' 4-3 loss to No. 1 Rice Tuesday night.

Trey Webb had two hits and an RBI in the Bears' 4-3 loss to No. 1 Rice Tuesday night.

March 25, 2003

Box Score

HOUSTON, Texas - No. 1 Rice scored four runs off Baylor Tuesday -- two on walks, and two of the unearned variety. That was all the Owls needed, as they beat No. 6 Baylor 4-3 at Reckling Park.

Baylor (21-7) scored three runs late and had the tying run on third with one out in the ninth, but reliever David Aardsma got Chris Durbin to ground into a 5-4-3 double play to end the game as the Owls (25-1) extended their winning streak to 22 games.

Baylor freshman Mark McCormick (2-1) lasted four-plus innings, walking seven (the most by a Bear this season) but striking out five and allowing just one hit. He stranded seven runners in the first three innings and pitched a 1-2-3 fourth, but left the game after walking the first two batters he faced in the fifth.

Fellow freshman Ryan LaMotta took over for McCormick and struck out the first batter, but a wild pitch moved both Owls on base into scoring position. A sacrifice fly by third baseman Craig Stansberry brought home the first run, and after another walk, shortstop Paul Janish came through with an 0-2, two-out single up the middle that brought home Rice's second run.

Rice scored two unearned runs in the sixth against LaMotta. After an error by Trey Webb started the inning, the rookie reliever got two quick outs before first baseman Vincent Sinisi grounded a single into right. That prompted Baylor head coach Steve Smith to bring in Abe Woody from the pen, but Woody gave up a double to rightfielder Austin Davis on a 3-2 pitch that brought home two more Rice runs and upped their lead to 4-0.

Baylor scored single runs in the seventh and eighth, cutting into the Owls' lead to two. In the seventh, Michael Griffin tripled to right-center with one out, and with two away, Webb singled home the sophomore.

 

 

One inning later, Paul Witt led off with a walk, and Stansberry made his first error of the year on a grounder by Durbin that put two men on with nobody out. David Murphy's topper in front of the plate advanced both runners, and Josh Ford's single to left pushed Durbin to third and brought home Witt for Baylor's second run.

That was it for Rice starter Wade Townsend (3-0), who was replaced on the mound by Jeff Niemann. The reliever got Bennett to fly out to short left, too short for Durbin to score, and struck out Michael Griffin to strand the tying run at first base.

Seth Fortenberry started off the ninth with a single and moved to third on Webb's double. That knocked Niemann out of the game, but pinch-hitter Kyle Reynolds met Aardsma with a single to left that scored Fortenberry. Third base coach Steve Johnigan again had to hold the runner at third, though, as the Bears put the tying run just 90 feet away with nobody out.

With Baylor eyeing the prospect of tying or even taking the lead, Aardsma earned his seventh save by shutting the door on the Bears. The junior struck out Paul Witt, then got Durbin to ground into the game-ending double play as the Owls escaped with the win.

Townsend struck out seven and walked just two, giving up five hits and two runs.

Tuesday's game marked the third time in five years that the Bears have played the No. 1 team in the country; all three games have been played against Rice in Houston, and all three were won by Rice.

Baylor now returns home, hosting Texas A&M Friday at 7 p.m. at Baylor Ballpark. The series then shifts to College Station, with the Bears and Aggies squaring off Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.