Murray State University Athletics
'Breds Come From Behind, But No. 14 Baylor Wins 7-6
5/30/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
The Murray State Thoroughbreds came from behind against No. 14 Baylor with the help of errors in tonight's NCAA Regional Tournament game at Hattiesburg, Miss., but an error allowed the winning run to score for Baylor, giving the top-seeded Bears the 7-6 win.
Murray State (25-30) will play tournament host Southern Mississippi (45-15) -- ranked as high as 12th by the Baseball America poll -- tomorrow (Saturday) morning at 11 a.m. in an elimination game. The Golden Eagles lost to Southern (44-5) in the first game of the day, 5-3.
Against Murray State, Baylor (42-21) scored in the bottom of the second inning when Michael Griffin led off with a single, then went to second when Mark Saccomanno was hit by a pitch. Ross Bennett then flied out, moving Griffin to third, then Trey Webb hit a sacrifice fly to give the Bears a 1-0 lead after two inning.
Baylor scored three in the third when Kevin Sevigny led off with a single and David Murphy drew a one-out walk. Josh Ford singled up the middle to score Sevigny. Saccomanno hit a two-out triple to center, scoring Murphy and Ford to give the Bears a 4-0 lead.
Murray State got on the scoreboard in the fifth inning when Dan McAleavey hit a one-out single. Ike Bridwell singled, with McAleavey hustling to third, then both moved up a base on a wild pitch, scoring McAleavey. Charlie Ward reached base on a fielding error, moving Bridwell to third, and Garner Byars reached on a fielder's choice, plating Bridwell and cutting the Baylor lead to 4-2 after five innings.
In the seventh inning, the 'Breds rallied for four unearned runs to take the lead. McAleavey reached first on a one-out bunt, then Bridwell singled to center field. Ward lined out to center, moving McAleavey to third, and Byars reached on a fielder's error, scoring McAleavey and cutting the BU lead to 4-3.
After Baylor changed pitchers, Brett McCutchan stepped up and hit a two-out double, scoring Bridwell and Byars and giving MSU a 5-4 lead. That double set a new MSU single-season record for doubles, as McCutchan picked up his 21st of the year.
McCutchan advanced to third base on a groundout, then scored on a single by Geoff Kirksey to give the 'Breds a 6-4 lead.
Baylor was able to knot the game in the bottom half of the inning, as Murphy led off with a single and Ford walked. Gordon Dugan came on to pitch for Murray State, and Griffin hit a sacrifice bunt to move Murphy and Ford up a base. Saccomanno grounded out, scoring Murphy, and Trey Webb hit a two-out single to score Ford to tie the game at 6-6 after seven innings.
Baylor pitcher Zane Carlson struck out the side in the eighth inning with 10 pitches. In Baylor's turn at bat, Sevigny led off with a walk, then Chris Durbin attempted a sacrifice bunt. The throw to first went over Ronnie Seets' head, and Sevigny scored, with Durbin at second base, giving Baylor a 7-6 lead.
In the ninth inning, Byars was hit by a pitch with one out, McCutchan grounded out, moving Byars to second base, Rebout walked (representing the go-ahead run), but Kirksey got out to end the game.
Murray State outhit Baylor 10-8, led by McAleavey, who went 2-for-4 with two runs; Bridwell, who went 2-for-4 with two runs; and Kirksey, who went 2-for-5 with an RBI. McCutchan hit a double and had two runs batted in for the 'Breds.
Kyle Perry started for MSU, allowing six runs on sevn hits, striking out two and walking three in six-plus innings. Dugan (2-5) came on in the seventh, allowing one unearned run on one hit, striking out one and walking two in 1-1/3 innings. Greg Gray entered in the eighth inning, allowing no hits, striking out one in facing the minimum number of batters in two-thirds of an inning.
For Baylor, Murphy went 2-for-4 with two runs. Saccomanno had a triple and three RBIs, while Webb had two RBIs. Ford scored twice for the Bears.
Carlson (3-4) got the win in relief, allowing one unearned run on two hits, stirking out five and walking one in 2-1/3 innings. Sean Walker started for the Bears, allowing five runs (one earned) on eight hits, striking out four and walking none in 6-2/3 innings.
"This was very typical of the way almost every game went for us this season," said MSU head coach Mike Thieke. "It went right down to the wire. Every game that Kyle Perry pitched in, he gave us a chance to win. He is the best big-game pitcher we've had at Murray State for a long time.
"After the game, one of our players told the rest of the team that we've been here before, in the OVC Tournament, and we came out on top then. I felt like, in the seventh inning, if we had gotten one more ball hit into the gap again, that we would have been closer to ending that game. (Not doing that) swung the momentum, and it can swing from one dugout to the other. When you play baseball at this level, you know it can hinge on one swing."
"There are no easy games in NCAA play," said Baylor head coach Steve Smith. "I thought, certainly, that Murray State played very well and took advantage of every opportunity we gave them. Our guys didn't panic, they kept their poise and got the run at the end. I'm proud of the way our guys played."
"I was disappointed that we lost the two-run lead," said Perry. "I felt that we could have stopped Baylor earlier in the inning, but I think that I made some mistakes that kept them in. I was a little nervous, but it was a good nervous. I'm always a little nervous before a game.
"Our dugout was where it needed to be," McCutchan said. "We knew we have nothing to lose, that we're the underdog. We thought we had the chance to win at the end (when MSU fell behind 4-0)."
Murray State opens tomorrow's play at 11 a.m. against Southern Miss. Baylor will take on Southern at 3 p.m. The winner of the MSU-USM game will play the loser of the Baylor-Southern game at 7 p.m. in the day's second elimination game. The 3 p.m. winner will face the 7 p.m. winner on Saunday at 1 p.m. in the championship round of the double-elimination tournament. The winner advances to the Super-Regional on June 6-9.
