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Baylor-Minnesota baseball - NCAA regional
8:38 p.m. — Baylor defeats Minnesota, 5-0, as Verrett strikes out the side in impressive fashion. It’s a three-pitcher shutout for the Bears, the first since that aforementioned 19-0 win over Missouri on April 11. Baylor will play LSU at 6 p.m. Saturday in the “winner’s bracket” of the regional.
8:32 p.m. — Dickerson drops in a one-out single for the Bears, but they can’t bring him around. Still, they’ll take a comfortable 5-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Logan Verrett will try to close it out for Baylor.
8:24 p.m. — It got a little dicey, but Fritsch comes up big to keep the shutout bid alive. Kyle Geason smacked a one-out single for the Gophers, and then Matt Nohelty hit a bad-hop grounder that Hainsfurther couldn’t field, drawing a tough-luck error. But Fritsch gets A.J. Petterson to ground out, and then fools Derek McCallum on an 0-2 count, getting the slugger to pop a high foul to Glime behind the plate for the third out. Baylor will take a 5-0 lead into the ninth.
8:15 p.m. — Baylor media relations director and baseball guru Larry Little just told me that Gedwed’s nine pitch hits very well could be a school record. Before the 1980s, the record books on pinch hits are kind of sketchy.
8:13 p.m. — Brooks Pinckard takes over in center field for Don Lambert. Pinckard had been out for a couple of weeks due to a staph infection on his leg.
8:12 p.m. — Gedwed delivers in a pinch, and gives Baylor a little insurance, cranking a two-run double to the left-centerfield gap. That was Gedwed’s ninth pitch hit of the season, tops in the Big 12. The Bears take a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth.
8:07 p.m. — Rasmussen faced just one batter, but he did his job, striking out Ben Booker looking. Scott Matyas will come in to the game to face pinch-hitter Kenton Gedwed, who is batting for the would-be pinch hitter Brooks Kimmey. You’ve got to love these games within the game by the skippers.
8:00 p.m. — There’s going to be a pitching change for Minnesota. Shaver Hansen led off the inning by crushing a deep fly off the glove of a running Decker in center field (scored a double). Then Aaron Miller walked, and Dan Evatt moved both runners up a base with a nicely-placed sacrifice bunt. Buske pitched well for the Gophers, but he stands to be the loser if the score holds up. Lefty Luke Rasmussen will take over on the hill for Minnesota.
7:56 p.m. — If you’re interested, the attendance has been announced as 3,247. That’s the actual crowd figure, which is rarely announced at games. The paid attendance (which is higher because of season ticket sales) was 9,314.
7:52 p.m. — Fritsch keeps the shutout intact, giving up only a one-out single to Kyle Knudson before retiring the next two batters to escape. Speaking of escapes, it appeared as if everyone on Baylor’s team came out free and clear after a sharply-hit foul ball off the bat of Minnesota’s Eric Decker screamed into the dugout. The Bears still lead, 3-0, through seven complete innings.
7:42 p.m. — Now seeing Buske for the third and fourth time through the order, the Bears begin to get to the Gopher righty in the top of the seventh. Gregg Glime drills a one-out double into the right-field corner, and then Raynor Campbell follows with a double of his own to the gap in right-center to chase home Glime and extend BU’s lead to 3-0. Craig Fritsch will come in to relieve Kempf, who was terrific, allowing three hits and striking out six.
7:34 p.m. — It’s been a while since Baylor has put together this crisp of a game. Minnesota’s Kyle Geason leads off with a single, but Kempf nabs him with a pickoff move, and Geason is thrown out 1-to-3-to-6-to-3, if you’re scoring at home. (Or even if you’re alone). Kempf walks A.J. Petterson on a close-call pitch on ball four. That walk prompts Steve Smith to visit the mound presumably to talk strategy on how to pitch to McCallum, but it’s no worries for the Bears, as the Gopher slugger ends the inning with a fielder’s choice grounder. Baylor continues to hold its 2-0 lead through six full innings.
7:23 p.m. — For the record, Buske isn’t pitching too bad himself. That’s five zeroes that the Minnesota right-hander has strung up after BU’s two-run first. The Bears went down in order in the top of the sixth, but still lead 2-0.
7:20 p.m. — There is still some baseball to be played, but this is easily Kempf’s best outing since April 11 against Missouri, when he struck out 12 Tigers and pitched a two-hitter in a seven-inning run-rule win by the Bears.
7:17 p.m. — Willie Kempf is a gamer. He’s rolling along, chalking up another 1-2-3 inning. He has six strikeouts through five innings, as Baylor maintains its 2-0 edge.
7:13 p.m. — Joey Hainsfurther worked a two-out walk for the Bears, but Baylor couldn’t pad its lead, as Buske struck out Hansen to close it out. Minnesota will try to cut into BU’s lead heading to the bottom of the fifth, trailing 2-0.
7:03 p.m. — Minnesota second baseman Derek McCallum, one of the top hitters in the Big Ten, gives his team a baserunner when he loops in a one-out single to left. But Kempf induces a pop foul from the next hitter, and then gets a terrific scoop-and-throw from second baseman Joey Hainsfurther on a roller up the middle for the third out. I’ve said it before, but Hainsfurther’s defense at second has been splendid over the past few weeks. Baylor holds a 2-0 lead through four complete.
6:57 p.m. — Baylor manages one baserunner in the top of the fourth, thanks to a one-out flare to center from Don Lambert. But after holding Lambert close to the bag, Buske eventually picks the BU centerfielder off, then gets a groundout from Gregg Glime to close the inning. The Bears still have a 2-0 edge going into the home half of the fourth.
6:50 p.m. — Three up, three down for Minnesota, as Kempf whiffs the first two hitters before getting a groundout to second for the third out. Kempf is pitching well through three innings, having struck out five, walked one and surrendered just one hit. Baylor leads 2-0.
6:48 p.m. — For you football fans out there, it’s pretty clear that pigskin season is on the horizon as you look out over Alex Box Stadium. Probably some 300 yards over the center field fence sits LSU’s massive Tiger Stadium. Obviously LSU has tremendous football tradition as well, as the back of the scoreboard reminds onlookers of the program’s three national championships.
6:44 p.m. — Hansen and Aaron Miller each work two-out walks off the Gophers’ Buske, but the Bears can’t add to their lead, as Dan Evatt strikes out for the third out. The score remains Baylor 2-0 through 2.5 innings.
6:34 p.m. — Kempf works his way out of a leadoff walk when Minnesota’s second hitter, catcher Kyle Knudson, rolls a tailor-made double play ball to Hansen at short. The Bears turn an easy 6-4-3 DP. Then after Nick O’Shea singles to center, Kempf fans the Gophers’ Eric Decker to escape the inning unscathed. Baylor still leads 2-0 through two innings.
6:25 p.m. — Buske retires Baylor’s Don Lambert, Gregg Glime and Raynor Campbell without issue in the top of the second. Minnesota will try to cut into Baylor’s 2-0 lead heading to the bottom of the second.
6:19 p.m. — Kempf sets down Minnesota’s Matt Nohelty, A.J. Petterson and Derek McCallum in order, striking out the final two. An efficient first frame for the BU junior right-hander. BU still leads 2-0.
6:16 p.m. — If you’re interested in the crowd, it’s a pretty good-sized one. (Official attendance number to come later). There’s a sizable contingent of purple and gold-clad LSU supporters, who stuck around for the late game after their beloved Tigers defeated Southern, 10-2, earlier today. There’s also a decent number of Baylor fans on hand.
6:11 p.m. — It’s a new season for the Bears, and it has started well. After a leadoff single from Dustin Dickerson and a fielder’s choice grounder by Joey Hainsfurther, BU shortstop Shaver Hansen smokes a Tom Buske fastball deep over the fence in right field. I’d estimate the ball landed a good 50 feet over the fence. Willie Kempf will work with a lead as the Bears head to the bottom of the first, leading 2-0.
6:02 p.m. — This stadium really is a gem. It’s got a little more of a modern feel to it, but not necessarily in a bad way. There’s a huge overhang over the grandstand that provides a lot of shade for the fans, and a pretty massive high-def scoreboard over the left-field bleachers.
5:59 p.m. — Speaking of rides (or rather drives), I had a nice long 8-hour one from Waco today. Actually, I could have made better time had it not been for a 45-minute delay east of Beaumont on I-10. Make note of that construction-related delay if you’re a Baylor fan heading this way.
5:57 p.m. — Bonjour, baseball afficianados. Hello from Baton Rouge. I’m back to bring you periodic updates of Baylor’s NCAA regional opener against Minnesota here at LSU’s gorgeous new Alex Box Stadium. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
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