Late-innings swoon costs UT baseball game, series against Baylor

By Steve Lansdale

WACO, Texas — Sometimes being close just isn’t enough.

The Texas Longhorns could taste victory, almost reach out and grab it. UT had a 3-0 lead after seven innings in Waco against Baylor, and were within two innings of a victory that would have set them up for a rubber match Saturday to decide the winner of the three-game series.

Unfortunately for Texas, the game [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]was not called after seven innings, and the Bears roared back for four runs in the final two innings to win, 4-3, at Baylor Ballpark.

With the loss, the Longhorns’ season record fell to 23-15 overall and 6-8 in games against Big 12 opponents, while Baylor improved to 22-13, and 5-6 against conference foes.

Texas jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the second inning. Second baseman Bret Boswell opened the inning with a single to right field and headed to second on a walk by third baseman Ryan Reynolds. Right fielder Patrick Mathis advanced Boswell and Reynolds with a sacrifice fly, and Boswell subsequently scored the game’s first run on a sacrifice fly by shortstop David Hamilton, his team-leading seventh of the season. Reynolds then raced home with UT’s second run when center fielder Zane Gurwitz reached on an error.

Texas got a stellar performance from starter Morgan Cooper, who earlier in the week was named to USA Baseball’s Goldesn Spikes Award midseason watch list. Cooper scattered three Baylor hits over five shutout innings.

UT stretched its lead to 3-0 in the fifth when Hamilton and Gurwitz singled, and Hamilton scored on a single by designated hitter Kody Clemens.

Freshman righthander Blair Henley relieved Cooper in the sixth and threw two strong innings, but after Baylor got a run in the bottom of the eighth, Henley gave way to Beau Ridgeway. After a UT error and a Baylor hit, the game was tied, 3-3, heading into the ninth inning.

In the bottom of the ninth, Ridgeway issued a leadoff walk to pinch runner Levi Gilcrease, who moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. Ridgeway then served up an intentional walk in an effort to set up a double play that would end the inning. Ridgeway got the second out on a flyout to center, but Baylor catched Kameron Estha singled to center to drive in Gilcrease with the winning run.

The Longhorns, who committed three errors in a game for the first time since Feb. 18 against Rice, while try to salvage a game from the series when they face the Bears again at 3 p.m. Saturday.
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