March 7, 2003
Box Score
WACO, Texas - David Murphy's two-out single scored Paul Witt in the bottom of the eighth as No. 6 Baylor came from behind to beat No. 8 Long Beach State 6-5 Friday night at Baylor Ballpark.
Baylor (14-3) won its 11th straight game in thrilling fashion as redshirt freshman Abe Woody (3-0) struck out the side in the ninth to pick up his third win of the season.
Long Beach State (11-6) saw two leads vanish as the Bears came from behind on starter Abe Alvarez and then reliever Bo Ashabraner (0-1), who took over for Alvarez midway through the seventh frame.
The Dirtbags jumped on the board first when catcher Brad Davis hit a solo homer to left center field, giving Long Beach a 1-0 lead.
Baylor answered with three runs in their half of the third. Ross Bennett hit a two-RBI single up the middle that scored Paul Witt and Murphy. Josh Ford scored the third run of the inning on a groundout by left fielder Michael Griffin.
Long Beach answered with three runs to retake the lead 4-3 in the fourth. Baylor starter Steven White got into trouble when he gave up lead-off singles to start the frame and also hit two batters in the inning. In total White beaned five hitters, a new Baylor record, and gave up five earned runs in seven innings on eight hits. White struck out six batters while walking two.
The Bears tied the score at 4 in the bottom of the fourth on a solo bomb by Chris Durbin, his fifth homer of the season. Long Beach recaptured the lead in the fifth when a Baylor throwing error on a double steal gave the Dirtbags a 5-4 lead.
Baylor was resilient, however, and again tied it in the eighth. Murphy led off the Bears' eighth with a triple. Ross Bennett followed two batters later with a long sacrifice fly to center that knotted the score at 5.
The Bears' two-out rally in the eighth proved to be the difference. Paul Witt was hit by an Ashabraner pitch, Durbin walked and Murphy's single to right scored the game-winner.
Baylor's series with Long Beach continues at Baylor Ballpark on Saturday when the teams play at 6 p.m.
NOTES: The Bears' 11-game winning streak is their longest since a 14-game stretch in 1999... White's six strikeouts Friday moved him past Brett Bergman, Glenn Nevill and Justin Taylor into fifth place on the Baylor career strikeout list with 230.
