March 2, 2007
Box Score
STOCKTON, Calif. -- Aaron Miller's ninth-inning RBI double to left scored pinch runner Paul Miles and gave Baylor a 5-4 victory San Francisco in Friday's first-day action at the Pacific State Bank Tiger Classic, hosted by University of the Pacific at Klein Field. It was the third walk-off victory for Baylor (9-4) in its last five games and the Bears' second in as many games.
After San Francisco (7-6) tied the game with a run in the top of the ninth, Tim Jackson was hit by John Quine's first pitch in the bottom of the frame. A balk was called on Quine's next pitch, moving the pinch-runner Miles from first to second. Miller then doubled over left-fielder Jonnie Noble's head in left on the next pitch, scoring Miles.
Baylor has won nine of its last 10 with four comeback victories in that span.
Miller's game-winning hit made a winner of reliever Nick Cassavechia (3-0), who was touched for a run on three hits and a walk in the top of the ninth. It was the first one-inning blown save in Cassavechia's career and only his third blown save in 12 career opportunities. Baylor starter Randall Linebaugh allowed three runs, two earned, on eight hits and a walk with four strikeouts in 5.0 innings.
Quine (0-1) took the loss after entering the game in the bottom of the ninth. USF starter Aaron Poreda yielded four runs on six hits and no walks with seven strikeouts over 8.0 innings.
San Francisco built a 2-0 lead with solo spots in each of the first two innings. Raynor Campbell's two-out RBI double in the third pulled the Bears to within one, but the Dons pushed their lead back to two runs on Mitchell Bialosky's RBI single in the fifth.
Beamer Weems tied the score in the sixth with a two-run home run to center that cleared a 20-foot wall at 410 feet. It was Weems' third home run of the season and his first from the right side.
Baylor took its first lead of the game in the seventh. Seth Hammock doubled to right-center and then scored on Ben Booker's single that hit first base and popped into right field.
San Francisco tied the game in the top of the ninth on Jonathan Norfolk's two-out RBI single on a 1-2 Cassavechia offering. However, Cassavechia got Chris Bacigalupi to ground out, ending the inning with runners on the corners.
Campbell produced Baylor's only multiple-hit game, going 2-for-4.
Baylor returns to action Saturday, facing host Pacific at 4 p.m. CST. Both teams have announced changes to their pitching rotations. Right-hander Jeff Mandel (1-2, 5.00 ERA) will start for Baylor, while southpaw David Rowse (0-2, 8.18 ERA) will start for Pacific.
NOTES: This was the first-ever meeting between Baylor and San Francisco. The Bears have won seven of their last eight games against programs they had never previously faced. ... Miller extended his hitting streak to five games; he has hit safely in 10 of the last 11 games.
