FROM CBB NEWS SOURCE
RHP Logan Verrett tied Craig Fritsch's school record with 10 strikeouts in relief and moved to 5-0 on the season.
WACO, Texas — Landis Ware’s bases-loaded single through a drawn-in, five-man infield in the bottom of the 10th gave ninth-ranked Baylor an 8-7 victory over third-ranked Texas A&M in Monday night’s series finale at Baylor Ballpark. Baylor (11-4, 1-2 Big 12) snapped a six-game losing streak to Texas A&M (13-5, 2-1 Big 12) with its fifth last-at-bat victory of the season.
Trailing 7-4 entering the top of the ninth inning, Texas A&M tied the game with three runs on four hits. The Bears loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the ninth, but the Aggies got out of the jam with a pair of fly outs.
Baylor did not miss another opportunity, though. Brooks Kimmey reached to lead off the inning on an error and moved to second when Raynor Campbell was hit by a pitch. After a balk was called on Aggie pitcher Hank Robertson, Brooks Pinckard was intentionally walked to load the bases. Ware followed with a single through the left side, scoring Kimmey with the winning run.
Logan Verrett (5-0) earned the victory in relief. He allowed four runs on nine hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts, tying a Baylor single-game record for strikeouts in relief. Starter Shawn Tolleson left after 3.2 innings; he allowed three runs, two earned, on three hits, four walks and one hit batsman with one strikeout.
Robertson (0-1) was saddled with the loss; he allowed only the unearned run in the 10th after getting the Aggies out of the bases-loaded jam in the ninth. Starter Barret Loux worked 5.2 innings and yielded four runs on seven hits and four walks with seven strikeouts. Ross Hales was touched for three runs on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts over 2.2 innings.
The game had several twists and turns. Texas A&M led 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth when Brooks Pinckard stepped to the plate with two outs and the bases loaded. After taking a first-pitch strike, Pinckard blasted the first home run of his career to right-center to give the Bears a 5-3 lead. Baylor pushed its lead to 7-4 in the seventh when Shaver Hansen scored Dustin Dickerson with an RBI double and later scored on a balk.
Joey Hainsfurther was 3-for-4 with a walk and a run scored, while Hansen was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk. Joe Patterson led the Aggies at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored.
Baylor returns to action Wednesday, traveling to San Marcos , Texas , for a midweek game at Texas State . First pitch between the Bears and Bobcats is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CDT at Bobcat Stadium.
NOTES: Texas A&M leads the all-time series 147-114-1; however, Baylor holds a 73-70 advantage in games played in Waco . … Baylor holds a 21-18 edge in Big 12 regular-season meetings. … Baylor is 25-26 against Texas A&M during head coach Steve Smith’s tenure. … Aaron Miller extended his career-long hitting streak to 11 games with a third-inning single. He also has reached safely in each game this season. … Hansen also extended his hitting streak to four games. … Pinckard’s grand slam was Baylor’s first in a Big 12 game since Josh Ford’s in the Nebraska series finale in 2004. Baylor has two grand slams this season, the first year in which the Bears have hit multiple grand slams since hitting three in 2005.
