University of Missouri
Baylor
Tigers Drop Two-of-Three at No. 19 Baylor
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 22, 1999
COLUMBIA, Mo.- The Missouri Tigers are now 12-10 and 2-7 in the Big 12 Conference after dropping two-of-three games from the 19th ranked Baylor Bears (20-6, 7-2) in Waco, Tex. this past weekend. Missouri travels to Southwest Missouri State for a single game this Wednesday before opening up a three-game series with the defending Big 12 champion Texas A&M Aggies this weekend in Columbia.
The Tigers road starting pitcher Justin Stine (2-2) and got some timely hitting late in the game as Missouri fought back from a 4-0 deficit to beat Baylor 8-4 on Friday. Stine hurled his first complete game of the season allowing just two earned runs on 11 hits. Trailing 4-0 in the sixth inning, Baylor starter Chad Hawkins gave up a three-run home run to Jake Epstein, his third of the season, to cut the Baylor lead to 4-3. The Tigers then struck for four runs in the eighth inning off of Baylor relievers Justin Taylor and Mark Outlaw. A Mike Rallo pinch-hit sacrifice fly tied the game at 4-4 before Dustin Barnes singled in the go-ahead run. W.T. Hoover then singled in two more runs for the Tigers giving them a 7-4 advantage. Jon Williams drove in an insurance in the ninth inning to seal the win.
Baylor turned the tables on Saturday as it was their turn to come back from a 4-0 deficit. The Tigers broke out against All-American pitcher Jason Jennings (5-0) in the second inning. Missouri loaded the bases for W.T. Hoover (2-for-4, 3 RBI) who smacked a double into the gap in left-center field to clear the bases and give Mizzou a 3-0 lead. Missouri starting pitcher Jody Harris (3-2) was brilliant for five innings but ran into problems in the sixth. Baylor's Matt Williams drove in two runs with a double to cut the Missouri lead to 4-3. After Harris allowed two base runners in the seventh inning, the Tigers went to their closer Ryan Jamison. The junior right-hander could not put out the fire. Baylor pinch-hitter Jaime Bubela delivered a two-run triple that just eluded a diving Mike Ketelsen in center field to drive in the go-ahead runs and put Baylor up for good 5-4. Williams would later drive in Bubela to give the Bears a 6-4 advantage. Jennings settled in for the Bears and pitched a complete game giving up eight hits while striking out 12 Missouri hitters.
In the rubber game on Sunday, Missouri threatened but could not break through offensively as Baylor took the finale by a score of 9-2. Despite giving up four runs, Mizzou starter Logan Dale was as sharp as he has been all season long. The Bears strung together four straight hits off of Dale in the third inning to take a 2-0 lead. Perhaps Dale's only real bad pitch of the day came in the fifth inning when he put a fastball into the eyes of Baylor's Jon Topolski who drilled the ball over the right field fence for a two-run homer giving the Bears a 4-0 advantage. Baylor increased their lead to 7-0 in the sixth inning off of Ralph McCasland. After McCasland hit the leadoff man Preston Underdown with a pitch, he retired the next two hitters. With McCasland ahead in the count one ball and two strikes to Jaime Bubela, McCasland hit him in the back. Baylor's Mark Cogdill then lined a McCasland fastball over the right field fence and off of the foul pole for a three-run homer to put the game out of reach. Baylor's Josh Scott (5-2) was the winning pitcher going 6 1/3 innings allowing seven hits and one run while striking out five.
