Dirtbags
sweep wet series with No. 12 Baylor
Troy Tulowitzki
Jason Vargas
Baseball:
The team won its third straight series against
a ranked opponent beating the Bears in a
rain adjusted series.
By
Michael Bower
Daily Forty-Niner
The
No. 8 Dirtbags had two come-from-behind
wins in a doubleheader Saturday to complete
the three-game sweep of the No. 11 Baylor
Bears at Blair Field.
The
Bears (3-4) came in to the series with a
three-game winning streak only to lose three-straight
games to the Dirtbags (7-2), who have started
its own four-game winning streak.
“I
like the fact they are playing together,”
head coach Mike Weathers said. “There
is a lot of energy in the dugout.”
Troy
Tulowitzki drove in all four runs, and Jered
Weaver pitched seven innings giving up just
one run as the Dirtbags rolled to a 4-1
victory Friday night in front of 1,327.
Tulowitzki’s
two-out triple with the bases loaded scored
three runs in the top of the first inning
as the Dirtbags never trailed en route to
Weaver’s third win in as many tries.
“I
happened to get a fastball that was up and
away, and I drove it into right field. Good
things happen when you put the ball in play,”
said the sophomore, Tulowitzki.
Weaver
finished the game with 10 strikeouts while
scattering six hits. It is Weaver’s
second-straight start with double-digit
strikeouts. Weaver’s earned run average
through three games is a microscopic 0.84.
Brett
Andrade and Neil Jamison pitched the final
two innings behind Weaver. Andrade pitched
a perfect eighth inning recording one strikeout
while Jamison struck out two batters in
the ninth for the save.
“It
is working out pretty good,” Weathers
said of Andrade and Jamison. “What
is important though is that Weaver is getting
to the seventh inning.”
The
Dirtbags jumped on top early, but after
the three runs in the first inning the Dirtbags
struggled at the plate. Baylor starter Mark
McCormick and reliever Ryan LaMotta struck
out a combined 11 Dirtbags, which Weathers
was not thrilled about.
“You
can see some frustration in the guys,”
Weathers said. “They are starting
to press a little bit.”
The
only run surrendered by Weaver came in the
fourth inning when the Bears put together
three-straight, two-out hits. The Dirtbags’
final run came in the eighth inning when
Tulowitzki’s infield single scored
Brad Davis who singled, stole second base
and moved to third on Mike Hofius’
groundout to shortstop.
Game
one of the doubleheader Saturday proved
to be the Jason Vargas show.
Vargas
went 4-for-4 with a RBI at the plate, and
pitched seven innings striking out six as
the Dirtbags defeated Baylor 4-3 giving
the Dirtbags its third-straight series over
a ranked opponent.
Vargas
(2-1) gave up three runs on eight hits while
walking two. Brian Anderson pitched a scoreless
eighth inning before Jamison nailed down
the victory with a perfect ninth for his
fourth save of the season.
After
giving up a run in the top of the first
inning Vargas tied the game with a one-out
single in the bottom half of the inning.
Vargas
shutdown the Bears’ threats to score
twice. In the third, with Baylor leading
2-1 and the Bears’ Michael Griffin
on third with no outs, Vargas got a fly
out, and two strikeouts to escape unharmed.
In
the seventh inning the Bears threatened
again with runners on first and third, but
Vargas induced the double play ball to get
out of the inning, and keep the 4-3 lead.
The
Dirtbags trailed 2-1 heading into the third
inning. Tito Cruz kicked off the rally with
a one-out single, before Scott Bradley ripped
a double to put runners on second and third.
Bobby Pearce brought home the Dirtbags’
first run with a sacrifice fly.
The
big two-out hit that tied the game came
from the smallest man on the team, Steve
Velazco. Velazco’s two-out single
knotted it up at 3-3.
Davis’
sacrifice fly in the fourth inning put the
Dirtbags ahead for good 4-3.
Game
two was a messy one as the rain began to
fall harder making the field crew come in
between every inning to try and keep the
game playable.
The
Dirtbags should thank the field crew because
the team needed all nine innings to edge
out the Bears 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth.
The
Dirtbags were coming up empty all afternoon
until Davis smashed a one-out single in
the ninth. Josh Gardiner then pinch ran
for Davis and stole second base. Hofius,
who had been 0-for-3 coming in to the at
bat, singled Gardiner home to tie the game.
Velazco, who pinch ran for Hofius, then
moved to second when Tulowitzki was hit
by a pitch. John Bowker then ripped the
game-winning single to bring home Velazco.
Cesar
Ramos pitched seven innings giving up an
unearned run on four hits while striking
out a career-tying six. Andrade pitched
the final two innings to pick up his first
win of the season as he and Ramos combined
to retire the final 10 Bears’ hitters
in a row.
The
Dirtbags are on the road this weekend. The
team will travel to Houston for a three-game
series that begins Friday.
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