April 30, 2002
Box Score
WACO, Texas - Paul Richmond's pinch-hit, two-run homer in the seventh broke a 6-6 tie and 15th-ranked Baylor held on to beat Texas-Arlington Tuesday night in a battle of long balls, 8-7.
Richmond's home run came after a two-run blast by UTA left-fielder Daniel Ortmeier had tied the game at 6-6 in the top of the seventh off Paul Thorp (4-1). In the bottom of the frame, Mike Huggins got the rally going with a single to right. After a strikeout, Richmond pinch hit for starting catcher Josh Ford and skied a shot over the left field wall to put Baylor (32-16) back on top.
The Bears scored three runs early against the Mavericks (22-25), putting single marks on the board in each of the first three innings. In the first, an error by UTA third baseman Ryan Roberts allowed Trey Webb to score from third for the first run of the game. An inning later, Chris Durbin's bases-loaded walk gave Baylor a 2-0 lead, and in the third, Huggins doubled and David Murphy singled him home for the three-run margin.
A double and two groundouts broke the shutout in the fourth, as Sean Walker saw his lead cut to two. Walker pitched well through five innings, holding that 3-1 lead, but ran into trouble in the sixth. A pair of singles and a sacrifice bunt put two men in scoring position with one out, and Ortmeier's single to center scored them both to tie the game. Ortmeier took second on the throw home, and he scored one batter later on Roberts' RBI single, putting UTA on top at 4-3.
In the bottom of the sixth, Baylor quickly reclaimed the lead. After two flyouts, Trey Webb popped his third home run of the year, a solo shot that tied the game. Tim Hartshorn walked on four pitches, and Durbin followed with a two-run homer off UTA hurler Mike Snapp (5-7) gave the Bears a two-run cushion.
UTA again tied the game in the seventh, but Richmond's blast in the bottom of the frame put Baylor on top for good. The Mavericks managed one run off closer Kyle Edens in the ninth, but the senior was able to hold off any further scoring to pick up his Big 12-leading 11th save of the year.
The save for Edens moved him into second place in school history for saves in a season, breaking a tie with former all-American Jason Jennings, who saved 10 games in 1997. Edens needs four more saves to tie Zane Carlson's Baylor record of 15 in one year.
Webb and Murphy each had three hits on the night to lead the Bears offensively.
Walker started the game and went 5 1/3 innings, striking out just one and allowing no walks. The freshman allowed four runs (all earned) on six hits before turning things over to Trey Taylor, who struck out two and walked one in his inning and a third, giving up one run on one hit.
The win upped Baylor's home record to 23-3 this season; the Bears have won 10 in a row at home. Baylor has won 19 of their last 22 games against non-conference teams and are an astounding 25-1 when leading after eight innings.
Baylor continues non-conference play this weekend, hosting Dallas Baptist for a single game Friday at 7 p.m. and a doubleheader starting Saturday at 2 p.m.
