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Tigers Upend No. 24 Baylor, 3-1
March 3, 2007
Stockton, Calif. - Behind a dominant performance from freshman David Rowse (Pleasanton, Calif.), the Pacific baseball team defeated No. 24 Baylor, 3-1, in the second day of action at the Pacific State Bank Tiger Baseball Classic on Saturday, March 3. The win lifted the Tigers to 5-11 on the season, while Baylor fell to 9-5 overall. Rowse (1-2) picked up his first win of the season as he limited Baylor to just two hits, three walks and an unearned run over eight innings. Rowse also notched a career-high nine strikeouts in the contest. The dominating performance of Rowse on the hill helped give an ailing Tigers' offense some confidence as Pacific claimed the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a single run on two hits. Sophomore Joe Oliveira (San Diego, Calif.) got the Tigers started with a leadoff single to right. Sophomore Zach Chamberlin (San Rafael, Calif.) followed with a slap bunt single through the left side. With runners at first and second with no outs, sophomore Kurt Wideman (Fallbrook, Calif.) tried to sacrifice over the runners with a bunt, but Baylor cut down Oliveira at third. A one-out walk to junior Brett Manning (Boulder, Colo.) loaded the bases for junior Denis Hill (Pleasant Hill, Calif.). Down in the count, 1-2, Hill tried to check his swing and skewed a ground ball down the third base line. Hill's grounder forced Baylor third baseman Seth Hammock to bare hand the ball and throw to first. Hill was out at first by less than a step, but Chamberlin scored on the play, giving Pacific a 1-0 lead. Baylor answered back in the top of the sixth with a single, a two-base error and a sacrifice fly. Raynor Campbell reached on a bunt single to start the inning. Rowse tried to pick Campbell off first, but his throw eluded Wideman allowing Campbell to go all the way to third. Following a walk, Dustin Dickerson tied the game on a medium range fly ball to center field.
The game remained tied until the first pitch of the bottom of the seventh as Wideman tattooed a fastball over the left field wall for his second home run of the season. Already leading 2-1, Pacific added an insurance run with some excellent execution. Following Wideman's home run, Manning walked and was pinch-run for by junior John Joines (Milpitas, Calif.). One out later, junior Adam Ching (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) sent Joines to third with a single through the right side. The next batter, sophomore Joey Centanni (San Diego, Calif.) placed a perfect safety squeeze bunt along the first base line to score Joines and give the Tigers a 3-1 lead. With a two-run edge, Rowse mowed down the Bears in the eighth inning and gave way to senior Jake Wild (Kingburg, Calif.), who closed the door with a perfect ninth for his second save of the season. Baylor's Jeff Mandel (1-3) suffered the loss as he allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks in 6.2 innings. The victory marked the first time Pacific defeated a ranked opponent since April 22, 2005, when the Tigers took out No. 9 Long Beach State, 5-1. Following Saturday's action, each of the four teams (Baylor, San Diego State, San Francisco and Pacific) in the Pacific State Bank Tiger Classic were all 1-1 in two games. Baylor and San Diego State will face off in the 10 a.m. contest on Sunday, March 4. The Tigers, meanwhile, will conclude the tournament against San Francisco at 2 p.m. |
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