April 15, 2007
Box Score
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- Beamer Weems spear-headed Baylor's four-home run attack in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader as the Bears overcame a 4-3 loss in the opener for a 6-2 series-clinching victory Sunday at Kansas. Baylor (21-17, 6-9) posted its first Big 12 Conference road series victory since the 2005 season. Kansas (19-22, 5-10) has now dropped two of three in all five Big 12 series this season.
Baylor posted its ninth consecutive series victory over Kansas, including five straight at Lawrence. The Bears earned their first three-game road series victory of any kind since taking two of three at Long Beach State last season.
Trailing 1-0 in the second game, Baylor got back-to-back home runs from Chase Gerdes and Weems to start the fourth inning. Aaron Miller pushed Baylor's lead to 3-1 with a solo home run in the sixth; it was Miller's second round-tripper of the doubleheader. The Bears added two runs in the seventh on Shaver Hansen's RBI double and a Raynor Campbell groundout.
Kansas got a run back in the bottom of the seventh, but Weems answered with a leadoff home run in the eighth. Weems' first home run was from the right side of the plate, while his second was from the left side of the plate. He became the first Baylor player to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game since Drew Sutton accomplished the feat against Northwestern State in 2004.
Nick Cassavechia entered the game with a run in, a runner at first and no outs in seventh. He retired all nine batters he faced with two strikeouts for his seventh save of the season.
Baylor starter Kendal Volz (5-1) earned his third Big 12 victory of the season, allowing one run on seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts over 5.0 innings.
Kansas starter Andy Marks (3-4) took the loss; he surrendered four runs on five hits with eight strikeouts over 6.0 innings.
Kansas won the first game 4-3 on Ryan Price's one-out, walk-off solo home run just to the left of the batter's eye. The loss snapped Baylor's six-game winning streak at Hoglund Ballpark. The Bears also fell to 0-5 in the middle games of Big 12 series this season.
The Jayhawks built a 3-0 lead thanks to a Robby Price RBI groundout in the third and John Allman's two-run homer in the fifth. Baylor answered with Miller's two-run homer in the sixth and tied the game at 3-3 on Campbell's RBI single in the seventh.
Neither starter factored in the decision. Baylor's Randall Linebaugh allowed three runs on five hits and five walks with five strikeouts over 5.0 innings. Kansas' Zach Ashwood allowed two runs on two hits and three walks with two strikeouts over 5.1 innings.
Paul Smith (3-2) earned the victory, pitching the final two outs of the ninth. Willie Kempf (1-1), who got the Bears out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the eighth, was saddled with the loss after allowing the ninth-inning home run.
Baylor begins a four-game home stand Tuesday, hosting Texas-Arlington for a 6:30 p.m. CDT first pitch at Baylor Ballpark. This is the third and final scheduled meeting between the Bears and the Mavericks this season. Baylor defeated UTA 9-7 at Baylor Ballpark in late February and 10-2 at Arlington in late March.
NOTES: Baylor leads the all-time series 33-5, including a 14-4 advantage in games played at Lawrence. The Bears are 28-5 against the Jayhawks since the inception of the Big 12 Conference. ... Cassavechia's save was the eighth of his career in Big 12 play, tying Abe Woody (2003-05) for the second-most in Baylor history. ... Gerdes played in the 84th and 85th Big 12 games of his career; he now is tied with Eric Nelson (1997-99) and Jon Topolski (1997-99) for eighth all-time at Baylor. ... Gerdes (six games) and Campbell (three games) both extended hitting streaks. ... Weems failed to earn a hit in the first game, snapping a 10-game hitting streak in Big 12 play.
