May 14, 2004
Box Score
OKLAHOMA CITY - Stephanie Pomes' two-run blast turned out to be enough for the No. 19 Baylor softball team as Cristin Vitek tossed a complete game to defeat No. 23 Texas A&M 2-1 in an elimination game at the Big 12 Conference Tournament. With the win, Baylor moved to 46-14 on the season as the Lady Bears tied the 2002 squad for the most wins in school history.
"We showed a lot of heart today. I'm very proud of them. It was a long day because we played the first game and last game today and the team got themselves ready to play," head coach Glenn Moore said. "Tonight, we had good defense and good pitching that allowed us to hold onto the lead we had. I'm very pleased with this bunch."
Texas A&M grabbed the early lead with a single run in the bottom of the first inning when Wilhelmson lined out to left field to score McDonald and give the Aggies a 1-0 lead. Baylor did a good job of holding the Aggies to only one run as Texas A&M loaded the bases with nobody out, however, managed only one run in the inning.
Baylor grabbed the lead for good in the next half-inning as Stephanie Pomes took a 2-0 pitch from Texas A&M starter and Big 12 Conference Pitcher of the Year Kapchinski and hit a blast well over the left center-field wall with Kelly Osburn aboard to give the Lady Bears a 2-1 lead.
Both teams had chances to take control throughout, however, neither team was able to score as solid pitching and good defense kept the game close.
In the sixth inning, Texas A&M had its first two batters reach base, however, were unable to score a run as Vitek retired the next three batters in order to preserve the one-run lead.
After Baylor was retired in order in the seventh, Vitek got the first two Aggies out before back-to-back singles put runners on first and second. Vitek managed to slam the door shut, however, as she struck out James on a rise ball to end the game and become the first pitcher in Baylor history to record 30 wins in the season.
For the game, Vitek tossed a complete game, allowing seven hits while striking out six as she moved to 30-7 on the year.
Kapchinski took the loss for Texas A&M, allowing two runs on seven hits to drop to 17-8 on the season.
Pomes was perfect at the plate for the Lady Bears, going three for three on the night with two RBI and a run scored. Kim Wilmoth added a double for the Lady Bears and Kelly Osburn contributed with a single and two stolen bases.
Baylor will now have to defeat top-seeded Nebraska twice to advance to the Big 12 Conference championship game. The Lady Bears fell to the Cornhuskers twice during the regular season, falling to Nebraska 2-0 and 3-0 in a pair of games in Lincoln, Neb. Should the Lady Bears defeat Nebraska in game one, the two teams will play the deciding game at 12:30 p.m.
The championship game of the Big 12 Conference Tournament will take place at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 15, and will be televised on FoxSports Net.
