March 17, 2006
Box Score
WACO, Texas -- Matt Sodolak went 3-for-5 with a career-high five RBI as No. 22 Baylor defeated No. 25 Kansas 15-3 in Friday night's Big 12 Conference series opener at Baylor Ballpark. The Bears (13-5, 1-0) move to 16-0 all-time at home against the Jayhawks (15-7, 0-1) and win their sixth consecutive Big 12 opener.
Baylor avoided its first three-game losing streak since 2004 with the win. The Bears have lost consecutive games only seven times in that time.
After Kansas took a 1-0 lead in the top of the third, Baylor responded with five runs on four hits and three walks in the bottom of the inning. Kevin Russo got the scoring started with a two-run double that hit third base and skipped down the left-field line. Sodolak added an RBI single, and Tim Jackson capped the scoring with a two-run single down the line in right.
The Jayhawks got an unearned run in the top of the fourth, but the Bears again answered quickly with two runs on two hits and a walk in the bottom of the inning on a Zach Dillon RBI single and a Sodolak RBI groundout.
That was all the offense Baylor starter Ryan LaMotta would need in his first-career Big 12 regular-season start. LaMotta (3-2) tossed 6.0 innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on seven hits and a walk with six strikeouts. LaMotta now has allowed just three runs, two earned, on 14 hits with 26 strikeouts in 25.0 career innings against Kansas.
Baylor added a run in the sixth as Russo led off with a single, stole second and scored on a Sodolak single. The Bears then erupted for seven runs in the eighth inning, the highest-scoring inning for a Baylor team since putting eight on the board in the seventh inning May 22, 2004, at Texas Tech.
Sodolak got the scoring started in the eighth with a two-run single, and Ben Booker added an RBI single. Chase Gerdes then connected on his first home run of the season, a three-run shot to right. After Kevin Sevigny reached on an error, Beamer Weems capped the scoring with an RBI triple to right-center.
Kansas' Preston Land led off the ninth and ended the scoring with a solo home run to left.
Weems finished 3-for-4 and scored twice, while Russo was 2-for-4 with three runs and two RBI. Gerdes also had two hits on the night.
Kansas starter Sean Land (4-3) was saddled with the loss, allowing five runs on five hits and three walks in 2.1 innings.
Baylor and Kansas continue their Big 12 Conference series Saturday at Baylor Ballpark. First pitch has been moved to 1 p.m. CST due to the threat of inclement weather later in the day. Baylor sends southpaw Cory VanAllen (3-1, 2.05) to the mound, opposite Kansas right-hander Ricky Fairchild (4-1, 3.78).
NOTES: Baylor leads the all-time series 30-3, including a 16-0 advantage in Waco. The Bears are 24-3 against the Cougars during head coach Steve Smith's tenure, all coming since the inception of the Big 12 Conference.
