June 2, 2002
Box Score
AUSTIN, Texas - On a day when Baylor was very, very good, Texas was simply great.
The third-ranked Longhorns (51-14) beat Baylor (36-24) on Sunday in the championship game of the NCAA Austin Regional at Disch-Falk, 2-0, to advance to an NCAA Super Regional against either Houston or Arizona State. The Bears, meanwhile, return to Waco to begin the summer.
Baylor starter Sean Walker (2-3), a true freshman, threw the game of his young career. Walker allowed only four hits and two runs in 6 1/3 innings but took the loss when Texas starter Alan Bomer (9-3) proved to be even better. Bomer went 7 1/3 innings and gave up six hits but no runs, striking out five and not walking a single batter.
Baylor missed out on an early scoring opportunity in the fourth when Trey Webb led off the frame with a single but was thrown out at second base after oversliding the bag. Paul Richmond followed with a triple to left center that would have scored Webb easily. Two groundouts later, Richmond was stranded at third and the Bears were held scoreless.
Texas manufactured a single run in the fourth without the benefit of a hit. Tiring in the heat, Walker walked three batters. With an 0-2 count on Ryan Hubele and two outs, Walker was called for a balk that brought home Jeff Ontiveros from third. Walker proceded to strike out Hubele to escape further damage.
The Longhorns pushed their lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth, as Dustin Majewski doubled in Tim Moss with two outs. Baylor tried to answer in the top of the sixth, putting runners on second and third with nobody out after Eric Errante was hit by a pitch and Webb doubled. Bomer struck out Richmond, got Chris Durbin to line out to third and forced Ross Bennett to fly out as the Bears stranded both runners.
Walker pitched into the seventh before being pulled after giving up a one-out single to Tim Moss. Reliever Justin Spooner picked off Moss before even throwing a pitch, then was the beneficiary of a tremendous diving catch near the line by rightfielder David Murphy.
Bomer came out in the top of the eighth after having thrown 7 1/3 innings, allowing six hits and striking out five. Texas closer Huston Street took over on the mound for the Longhorns and pitched around a walk and a single for his 10th save of the year.
Walker took the tough loss despite throwing a career-best 6 1/3 innings and striking out a career-best five batters.
With the 2002 season now behind them, the Bears will get a sense this week of which upperclassmen might return for 2003 as Major League Baseball holds its annual amateur draft Tuesday and Wednesday.
NOTE: Catcher Paul Richmond, first baseman Mike Huggins and shortstop Trey Webb were all named to the Austin Regional All-Tournament team, as voted upon by the media.
