March 7, 2009
Box Score | Quotes
WACO, Texas - Dustin Dickerson's fifth hit of the night scored Brooks Pinckard from second with two outs in the bottom of the ninth as sixth-ranked Baylor edged fifth-ranked UC Irvine 4-3 in Saturday-night action at the fourth-annual QTI Baylor Classic. Baylor (9-2) improved to 6-1 this season in one run games, posting their fourth last-at-bat victory of the season. UC Irvine (6-4) lost its first one-run game of the season in three tries.
Dickerson, who also homered and had three RBI on the night, produced the 25th five-hit game in Baylor history and the Bears' first such effort since Aaron Miller's five-hit night against Illinois in last year's QTI Baylor Classic. The five hits were a single-game career high for Dickerson, who previously had produced 15 three-hit games in his career.
After fouling off a pair of 2-2 pitches with the bases empty and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Brooks Pinckard beat out an infield single and then moved to second on a wild pitch. Joey Hainsfurther followed with a four-pitch walk. Dickerson fouled off the first two pitches he saw from Irvine reliever Cory Hamilton; he then took a pitch outside for a ball before lining a single through the right side. Pinckard scored ahead of right fielder Eric Deragisch's throw.
That made a winner of Logan Verrett (4-0), who held UC Irvine scoreless on two hits and no walks with four strikeouts over 2.2 relief innings. Verrett entered a 3-3 game with runners at second and third and one out in the seventh; he used a strikeout and a fly out to escape the jam. Baylor starter Kendal Volz allowed three runs on four hits and four walks with two strikeouts over 6.1 innings.
Hamilton (0-1) took the loss; he allowed one run on two hits and a walk with three strikeouts over 1.1 innings. Starter Christian Bergman surrendered three runs - two earned - on nine hits and a walk with four strikeouts before giving way to Noel Avison with one out in the seventh. Avison worked 1.0 scoreless inning on one hit.
Baylor took the game's first lead when Dickerson lined a two-out solo homer just to the right of the batter's eye. Irvine tied the game in the top of the second on Ryan Fisher's two-out solo homer that cleared the batter's eye. The Bears quickly answered in the bottom of the inning thanks to Gregg Glime's two-out RBI single. Dickerson's one-out RBI single in the third pushed the Bears' lead to 3-1.
Brock Bardeen pulled the Anteaters back to within one with a two-out solo homer in the fourth. UCI tied the game in the seventh on Deragisch's RBI double that drove Volz from the game.
Glime and Raynor Campbell both had two-hit games, while Pinckard scored twice.
Action in the fourth-annual QTI Baylor Classic concludes Sunday as Irvine faces South Alabama at 11 a.m. CDT and Baylor hosts UAB at 3 p.m. Sophomore southpaw Jon Ringenberg (0-0, 6.00 ERA) is scheduled to make his first career start on the mound. UAB counters with right-hander Beau Pender (0-0, 2.57 ERA).
NOTES: Baylor leads the all-time series 4-3. This is the first game in the series won by the home team. €¦ Baylor is 15-18 all-time against programs currently playing as members of the Big West Conference, including a 3-1 mark this season. €¦ Baylor is 156-233-1 all-time against ranked opponents, including a 3-1 mark this season. The Bears are 76-121 all-time against top-10 opponents (2-1 this season) and 36-64 all-time against top-five opponents (1-0 this season). €¦ Baylor's starting pitcher has logged at least 5.0 innings in each of the Bears' 11 games this season. €¦ Miller (seven games), Hainsfurther (five games) and Glime (three games) all extended hitting streaks. Miller's ties his career long from the 2007 season.
