Go Bears!
GO Bears!
Go Bears!
Bears Fall to No. 18 Texas A&M 12-7
Six-run seventh propels Aggies to victory in series opener.
LHP Cliff Springston tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless relief in Friday's series opener against Texas A&M.

LHP Cliff Springston tossed 2.1 innings of scoreless relief in Friday's series opener against Texas A&M.

April 27, 2007

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WACO, Texas -- Parker Dalton's three-run home run capped a six-run seventh inning that propelled No. 18 Texas A&M to a 12-7 victory over Baylor in Friday night's Big 12 Conference series opener at Baylor Ballpark. Baylor (24-20, 7-12) saw its three-game winning streak snapped, while Texas A&M (34-10, 10-8) posted its first victory at Baylor Ballpark since the final game of the 2004 series.

 

Trailing 6-0 entering the bottom of the sixth, Baylor scrapped for a pair of runs on Matt Czimskey's RBI single and Matt Sodolak's RBI double. However, Czimskey was thrown out trying to score on Sodolak's double, ending the inning and the Baylor rally.

 

Texas A&M responded, scoring all six runs in the seventh with two outs. Luke Anders, Daman Aaron and Brian Ruggiano had RBI singles before Dalton's three-run homer capped the frame. It was the fourth round-tripper of the night for the Aggies, who also got a solo homer from Anders in the fourth and two-run homers from Blake Stouffer in the third and fifth innings.

 

Baylor did its best to stage a late-inning rally, scoring four runs in the eighth and a solo spot in the ninth. However, it was not enough to overcome the Aggies' 12-run, 16-hit attack.

 

Texas A&M starter Kyle Nicholson (10-1) became the Big 12's second 10-game winner of the season, matching Texas' Adrian Alaniz. Nicholson allowed two runs on seven hits and a walk with a career-high 10 strikeouts over 7.0 innings.

 

Baylor starter Jeff Mandel (5-7) took the loss, allowing seven runs on 10 hits and no walks with five strikeouts over 6.2 innings. Drew Jeffcoat felt the brunt of the Aggies' sixth-inning explosion, facing five batters and allowing five runs on five hits. Cliff Springston closed out the game with 2.1 scoreless innings.

 

Eight of Baylor's nine starters had at least one hit and all nine reached safely at least once. Beamer Weems was 2-for-5 with two runs and an RBI, while Paul Miles had a two-run double. Shaver Hansen had a two hits, and Sodolak had two RBI.

 

Dalton finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored for Texas A&M.

 

The series now shifts to Olsen Field in College Station for the final two games of the series. Baylor and Texas A&M meet Saturday at 3 p.m. CDT and Sunday at 1 p.m. Junior right-hander Randall Linebaugh (2-4, 5.40 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Bears, while junior southpaw David Newmann (6-1, 3.45) is slated to start for the Aggies.

 

NOTES:  Texas A&M leads the all-time series 140-112-1. Baylor still leads the series 72-67 in games played in Waco. The Bears are 20-13 against the Aggies since the start of the Big 12, including a 19-12 advantage in regular-season Big 12 meetings. Baylor is 23-16 against Texas A&M during head coach Steve Smith's tenure. ... Chase Gerdes extended his career-long hitting streak to 12 games, matching Matt Sodolak for the longest streak by a Baylor player this season. Gerdes also has hit safely in nine consecutive Big 12 games. ... Paul Miles and Matt Czimskey also extended their career-long hitting streaks to five games. ... Ben Booker's seventh-inning triple was his sixth of the season; he entered the game in a four-way tie for first place in the Big 12. ... Gerdes played in the 90th Big 12 game of his career, tying Josh Ford (2002-05) for seventh place on Baylor's all-time list.