Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Crushed By Baylor
April 08, 2006 | Cowboy Baseball
The loss snapped OSU's three-game winning streak in Big 12 Conference play as the Cowboys fell to 3-4 in the league and 18-9 overall. Coach Frank Anderson's ballclub managed just three hits against Baylor pitcher Ryan LaMotta, their lowest total since March 10th at Pepperdine, and were shutout for just the second time this season (Feb. 11 vs.
Baylor (20-11, 5-5) took the lead in the bottom of the third with a pair unearned runs against OSU starter Matt Gardner.
Aided by swirling 35-40 mph winds and errors by OSU's Ty Wright and Tyler Mach, the Bears plated their first run on Zach Dillon's RBI sacrifice fly. They added another run when Seth Fortenberry skied a pop up on the infield that ended up dropping safely in front of pitcher's mound for a run-scoring double.
The Bears added a run in the fourth. Ben Booker and Kevin Russo collected back-to-back singles to lead off the frame and a balk advanced the runners. Booker then came home to score on a sacrifice fly by Jeff Mandel to make the score 3-0.
Baylor broke the game open in the sixth with a seven-run rally. The Bears loaded the bases after two singles and a walk, and Kevin Sevigny singled to left field to give the home team a four-run lead. With the bases still loaded, OSU reliever Brandon Gaviglio hit the first batter he faced, Chase Gerdes, to make the score 5-0.
BU continued to add to its lead as Beamer Weems collected an RBI single, Dillon picked up another RBI on a hit-by-pitch and Matt Sodolak delivered a three-RBI triple.
Gerdes was one of three Baylor players with three RBIs in the contest, and five different Bears had at least two hits.
LaMotta improved to 5-2 with the first complete game and shutout of his career. The right hander struck out four and walked just two.
All three of the Cowboys' hits were singles. Mach extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single in the first inning.
The middle game of the series is Saturday at 6 p.m., with Sunday's finale scheduled for a 2 p.m. start.
