May 30, 2009
Box Score | Quotes | 
BATON ROUGE, La. -- Austin Nola's one-out RBI single scored Dean Mitchell with the go ahead run in the top of the 10th inning, and Baylor went down in order in the bottom half of the inning as the third-seeded Bears dropped a 3-2 decision to top-seeded and second-ranked LSU in Saturday night's winners' bracket game of the NCAA Baton Rouge Regional at Alex Box Stadium.
Baylor (30-25) suffered its first extra-inning loss this season in five such games, while LSU (47-16) played its first extra-inning game of the season. The Bears now face second-seeded Minnesota in an elimination game Sunday at 1:04 p.m. CDT. The winner of that game faces LSU at 6 p.m. Sunday in the championship round.
Kendal Volz retired the first batter of the 10th on a groundout but issued consecutive full-count walks to Mitchell and DJ LeMahieu. Sean Ochinko followed with a pinch-hit infield single to load the bases, setting the stage for Nola's game-winning single to center.
Volz (3-7) was saddled with the loss, allowing one run on two hits and four walks with two strikeouts over 2.2 innings. Starter Shawn Tolleson surrendered two runs on four hits and two walks with two strikeouts over 4.0 innings, and Aaron Miller tossed 3.1 scoreless innings of relief on three hits and two walks with six strikeouts.
LSU starter Anthony Ranaudo (9-3) was spot on for the Tigers. He allowed two runs - one earned - on three hits and three walks with 14 strikeouts over 9.0 innings. Matt Ott recorded his 15th save of the season, working a perfect bottom of the 10th with one strikeout.
Mitchell broke a scoreless tie with a two-out solo homer in the second. LSU pushed its lead to 2-0 in the top of the fourth, but the damage could have been worse as the Tigers loaded the bases with no outs. LeMahieu hit a ground ball to Shaver Hansen at short, but Mikie Mahtook did not run from second on the play. Hansen got the force out at third, allowing Micah Gibbs to score from third. Tolleson then picked off Mitchell at second and escaped with a come-backer to the mound.
Baylor got on the board in the sixth as Gregg Glime led off with a homer just inside the foul pole down the right-field line. It was Glime's third homer in the last 16 games after not hitting a homer in his first 112 games of his career.
LSU gave a run back in the eighth. Baylor had runners on the corners with two outs and Joey Hainsfurther at the plate. Hainsfurther bounced a 2-2 pitch to Tiger third baseman Tyler Hanover, who misplayed the ball. That allowed Brooks Pinckard to score from third and the Bears to tie the game at 2-2.
Hainsfurther and Booker delivered Baylor's lone hits other than Glime's homer; both had singles. Dustin Dickerson was 0-for-3 with a walk, snapping his 14-game hitting streak; he had hit safely in 38 of the previous 39 games. Mitchell, LeMahieu and Nola all had two-hit games for LSU.
Right-hander Jon Ringenberg (2-0, 5.76 ERA) will start for the Bears, while Minnesota counters with right-hander Chauncy Handran (7-3, 4.30 ERA).
NOTES: LSU leads the all-time series 7-2, including a 7-1 in games played at Baton Rouge. The Bears are 1-4 against the Tigers in NCAA Tournament play. ... Baylor falls to 34-31 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, including a 28-20 mark in regional play. The Bears are 4-11 all-time on opponents' home fields in NCAA Tournament play. ... Baylor snapped a seven-game winning streak in games played east of the Mississippi River; the Bears last such loss was in the final game of the 2003 NCAA Super Regional at LSU.
