May 24, 2006

Box Score

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Andrew Brown's two-out RBI single up the middle in the bottom of the eighth scored pinch runner Bryce Nimmo and gave No. 15 Nebraska a 3-2 victory over Baylor in first-day action at the 10th Annual Big 12 Conference Tournament at Bricktown Ballpark. Baylor (34-23) has lost four straight for just the second time in the last two years. Nebraska (40-14) snapped a three-game losing streak against the Bears.

After retiring the first two batters of the eighth, Nick Cassavechia walked Jake Mort and then issued a wild pitch on an 0-2 offering to Nick Jaros. Two pitches later, Jaros rolled a single through the middle, scoring Mort from second.

Beamer Weems led off the top of the ninth with a double off the top of the wall in left. However, he was stranded at second as Brett Jensen got the next two batters to pop out, intentionally walked Zach Dillon and got a groundout to end the game.

"It was a very well-played game," Baylor head coach Steve Smith said. "Randall (Linebaugh) pitched extremely well, and we played exceptional defense. We left some runners on base early in the game and that cost us, but all and all we played really well, as did Nebraska."

Baylor now needs assistance to reach Sunday's championship game. Due to the tiebreaker format, the Bears must win their next two games and Nebraska to lose its next two games for Baylor to advance to the championship contest.

The Bears stranded 11 runners, including eight in scoring position. The desertion began in the first inning as Kevin Russo and Seth Fortenberry drew consecutive walks to open the game. Neither scored as Nebraska starter Charlie Shirek retired the next three batters.

Dillon, who entered the game as the leading hitter in the Big 12, was an uncharacteristic 0-for-4, including an 0-for-3 mark with runners on base and an 0-for-2 outing with runners in scoring position. Baylor was 1-for-13 as a team with runners in scoring position. The lone hit was a Tim Jackson single through the left side, on which Chase Gerdes was able only to advance from second to third.

"When you don't score runs in bunches, you can look back at the little things," Smith said. "Beamer's ball is a case where a guy is just trying to do too much. If he's safe, we're all happy. But it was a bang-bang play, and he didn't make it. You have to give (Nebraska) credit; they got Dillon out in some key spots. We're having a tough time scoring runs right now without Dillon at the plate or Seth (Fortenberry) hitting it out of the park."

Fortenberry did just that to break a 1-1 tie in the seventh, leading off with his eighth home run of the season. Nebraska took the game's first lead with two outs in the third when Ryan Wehrle homered to left. Baylor knotted the score in the sixth with a sacrifice fly.

Nebraska quickly answered Fortenberry's blast on Jeff Christy's solo home run to left with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Christy was 1-for-23 in his career against Baylor prior to the home run, including an 0-for-12 mark this season.

The loss spoiled a strong outing by Linebaugh, who made the first start of his career against a Big 12 team. Linebaugh, who logged just 4.2 innings in five appearances over the past two seasons against conference foes, held Nebraska to a pair of runs on three hits and three walks with five strikeouts over 6.2 innings. It was the longest outing of his career.

Neither starter factored in the decision. Tony Watson (9-1), who entered the game with a runner at second and two outs in the eight, faced only one batter and earned the victory. Matt Sodolak lined a 1-1 Watson offering up middle; however, it caromed off Watson's leg, allowing the Nebraska hurler to snag the ball and throw out Sodolak at first.

Nick Cassavechia (3-4) was saddled with the loss, allowing one run on two hits and a walk with one strikeout over 1.2 innings.

"It was a good win for our ball club," Nebraska head coach Mike Anderson said. "Just getting down here and getting a win against Baylor is great for our team. I think we have gone 27 innings without having the lead against Baylor, so to get a lead, lose it, and then get it back is a good confidence builder for us."

Gerdes and Weems produced the only multiple-hit games of the day for either team; Gerdes was 2-for-4 with a pair of singles and a run scored, while Weems was 2-for-4. Fortenberry was 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch twice.

Baylor returns to action Thursday, facing top-seeded and sixth-ranked Texas at 5 p.m. CDT. The Bears send right-hander Ryan LaMotta (6-5, 3.49) to the mound, opposite Longhorn southpaw Riley Boening (4-1, 4.92). Texas swept the regular-season series and has won five straight against the Bears.

NOTES: Baylor leads the all-time series 27-18-1, including a 20-14 mark under Smith. However, the Bears are 3-6 against the Huskers in neutral-site meetings, including a 2-6 mark in the Big 12 Tournament. ... Wednesday's Baylor-Nebraska game marked the first time in the 10-year history of the Big 12 Tournament that the championship game opponents from one season faced each other in first-day action the following year. ... Russo (eight games) and Gerdes (three games) both extended hitting streaks. Russo's is a career-long streak for one season; he had a 12-game streak spanning the last seven games of last season and the first five games of this season. ... Dillon ended a five-game streak.