April 1, 2009
Box Score | Quotes
WACO, Texas - Seventh-ranked Baylor sent 15 batters to the plate in an 11-run first inning and coasted to a 14-1, seven-inning victory over Prairie View A&M in midweek action Wednesday night at Baylor Ballpark. Baylor (18-7) improved to 5-0 all-time against Prairie View A&M (15-14) with the win.
Baylor's 11-run first inning was one run shy of the school record for first-inning runs. The Bears enjoyed a 12-run first inning in the second game of a doubleheader March 17, 1986, against Dallas Baptist.
Ben Booker opened the frame with a single, and Shaver Hansen followed with a two-run homer. It was Hansen's third consecutive game with a home run; he has four round-trippers in the last six games. That was just the beginning, though, as the Bears used nine hits, two walks and a two-out Prairie View A&M error. Dan Evatt capped the inning with his second double of the frame, the latter one plating two runs.
Starter Jon Ringenberg (1-0) scattered two hits and one walk with two strikeouts, earning the victory in a predetermined 3.0-inning start. Reed Woytek allowed one run on one hit with one strikeout over 2.0 innings, while Ross Speed and Max Garner each worked a scoreless inning to close the game for the Bears. Speed struck out all three batters he faced.
Prairie View A&M starter Terry Salter (2-4) took the loss. Salter, who allowed one unearned run on two hits over 4.0 innings in a 2007 start at Baylor Ballpark, did not escape the first inning Wednesday. He was touched for 11 runs - seven of which were earned - on nine hits and two walks with one strikeout.
The Panthers lone run came in the fifth inning when Oscar Reed opened the inning with a double down the left-field line and later scored on George McDonald's groundout.
Baylor capped the scoring with a three-run sixth. The game was called due to the 10-run mercy rule after the top of the seventh inning.
Booker was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI, while Hansen was 2-for-2 with a walk, two runs and two RBI; both Booker and Hansen got their two hits in the first inning and were out of the game by the fourth. Evatt finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, three RBI and two runs scored, while Landis Ware was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
Baylor hits the road this weekend, traveling to Lawrence, Kan., for a three-game series at Kansas. The Bears and the Jayhawks meet Friday at 6 p.m. CDT, Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
NOTES: Aaron Miller was 0-for-3 with a run scored, reaching base on an error in the first. It marked the first time this season that he did not reach base safely (hit, walk, hit by pitch), snapping a 24-game streak and a 38-game streak dating back to last season. ... Hansen is the first Baylor player to homer in three consecutive games since Matt Czimskey did so at the 2007 Big 12 Championship.
