Feb. 11, 2006
Box Score
WACO, Texas -- Ryan LaMotta notched five strikeouts in 5.1 shutout innings, and Baylor's offense made good use of six hits on a cold, windy day as the Bears defeated Stephen F. Austin 9-2 in the 2006 season opener Saturday at Baylor Ballpark. Baylor (1-0) won its season opener for the second consecutive season after dropping three straight openers.
LaMotta (1-0) appeared in his 96th career game but made only his fourth career start Saturday. The senior right-hander did not allow a hit until Clay Britton's one-out dying liner down the left-field line in the fifth. Adam Bosley followed with a line-drive single up the middle, but LaMotta got out of the jam with an inning-ending ground-ball double play. LaMotta allowed a leadoff single in the sixth and then recorded a strikeout before leaving the game.
Baylor got its offense going early as Chase Gerdes led off the bottom of the first with a double to left-center. He moved to third on a Beamer Weems sacrifice bunt and then scored on a Zach Dillon sacrifice fly. The Bears added a pair of unearned runs in the second. Kevin Sevigny led off with a triple and later scored on when Weems reached on an SFA error. Two batters later, Kevin Russo scored Weems with a single to right-center.
The Bears put the game out of reach in the middle innings, scoring three runs in the fifth and three more in the sixth. Seth Fortenberry had a two-out, two-run triple in the fifth and later scored on a passed ball. In the sixth, Baylor got runs a passed ball, a balk and Dillon RBI single.
SFA managed a pair of runs in the top of the ninth on three hits.
Sevigny went 2-for-3 with two runs, while Dillon and Fortenberry plated two runs each. Gerdes also scored twice.
Temperature at first pitch was 49 degrees with a wind chill in the low 40s thanks to a sustained 20 mph northwest wind with gusts up to 34 mph (blowing in from left-center). By the game's end, the temperature had dropped to 42 degrees with a sustained wind chill in the mid 30s.
Baylor and SFA conclude their three-game series Sunday with a doubleheader at Baylor Ballpark. The first game is scheduled for 1 p.m. CST with the second game approximately 30 minutes following the end of game one. The Bears are scheduled to send southpaw Cory VanAllen to the mound in opener and right-hander Tim Matthews to the hill in the nightcap.
NOTES: Baylor leads the all-time series 19-0, including a 15-0 edge in games played in Waco. This was the first meeting between the Bears and the Lumberjacks since April 11, 1995. ... Baylor improved to 7-5 in season openers under head coach Steve Smith and 22-15 in such games since 1970. ... The Bears improved to 8-4 in home openers under Smith and 35-12 in such games since 1960. Baylor snapped a three-game losing in home openers. ... Baylor has now won 24 consecutive games when scoring at least seven runs.
