 5BAYLOR (33-7, 16-0) Rank: #6 |
Box Score | Highlights |
 3TEXAS A&M (28-10, 9-4) Rank: #2 |
Behind 7 innings of 1 ER (3 R total) ball from Josh Turley, the Baylor Bears (33-7, 16-0) took the first game of the Battle of the Brazos tonight at Olsen Field in College Station, Texas from the #2-ranked Texas A&M Aggies (28-10, 9-4). Logan Vick was the offensive hero for the Bears on the strength of his 2-out 2 RBI single in the eighth inning off A&M's Jason Freeman. To that point, a combination of bad luck and poor execution plagued Baylor's offense, and the Bears had "only" managed to score 3 runs despite having 12 baserunners in the first seven innings. The Josh Turley - Max "Blackbeard" Garner combination stymied the Aggie hitters enough to keep the game within reach for eighth inning rally, and it only took that one hit to make all the difference.
This was only the first game of a three-game set this weekend, but it was the only game of the three to be played outside the friendly confines of Baylor Ballpark. Tomorrow's game (first pitch at 6:35 PM) will pit Baylor's undefeated RHP Trent Blank (8-0, 2.48 ERA, 32K in 58 IP) against RHP Ross Stripling of Texas A&M (6-1, 2.82 ERA, 68K in 70.1 IP). A Baylor victory there will mark Baylor's 17th conference win in a row and tie yet another conference record (Texas 2010) after tonight's win broke the conference mark for wins of all kinds in a row (previously held by that same Texas team).
Also, in unrelated news that I'll talk about in the morning, Baylor announced tonight the donation of the lead gift for an on-campus track and field facility. I knew that they wanted to bring those programs over eventually, but I didn't realize that plan was coming together already. I'll be interested to see what kind of plans they announce now for the facility; I've heard nothing about it before now.