Baylor
Louisiana Tech
Lynam's Walk-Off Blast Keys Softball Sweep
2/25/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 25, 2005
WACO, Texas --- Trailing 5-3, Tessa Lynam's one-out, three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning gave the No. 11 Baylor softball team a dramatic 6-5 win over Louisiana Tech in the Lady Bears first game at the Compass Bank Invitational. The Lady Bears then cruised to a 9-0 win over Birmingham-Southern in game two as Baylor improved to 19-2 on the season.
In game one against the Lady Techsters (8-9), Baylor fell behind early as Louisiana Tech scored a single run in the top of the third. Baylor managed to get the run back in the bottom of the inning when Kylie Conroy singled to right field to score Kelly Osburn to knot the score at 1-1.
Louisiana Tech used a combination of timely hitting and Baylor mistakes to grab a four-run lead, however, with four runs in the fourth inning. Ashley Cameron hit a RBI double to start the scoring as Lindsey Meadows followed with a bases loaded walk to make the score 3-1.
With the bases loaded and only one out, Baylor starting pitcher Lisa Ferguson forced a ground ball, however, the Lady Bears were unable to turn a double play as the ball got away from Conroy, allowing two runners to score as Louisiana Tech took a 5-1 lead.
With the score 5-1 heading into the sixth, Baylor would use the long-ball to mount a rally. Chelsi Lake cut the lead in half in the sixth when she followed a Lynam single with a blast over the left-center field wall to make the score 5-3. The home run was the sixth of the season for Lake, who leads the team in the category.
Baylor was unable to do any further damage in the frame as the Lady Bears trailed by two heading into the final inning. After the Lady Bears retired the side in the top of the seventh, Baylor used a one-out rally to defeat the Lady Techsters.
Harmony Schwethelm began the rally with her single up the middle with one out as Conroy followed with another single up-the-middle to set up Lynam's heroics. On a 2-1 pitch from Meadows, Lynam hit a blast that easily cleared the left field wall and set off a wild celebration as Baylor claimed a 6-5 come-from-behind win.
The home run, Lynam's fifth of the season, was the first walk-off, game-winning home run for Baylor since Osburn hit a two-run blast in a tie game against No. 9 Oklahoma on March 29, 2004.
Ferguson picked up the win for Baylor to improve to 8-1 on the season as she allowed two earned runs on five hits in seven innings of work.
Meadows took the loss for Louisiana Tech as she allowed six runs on 11 hits in 6.1 innings of work to fall to 4-6 on the season.
Osburn, Schwethelm, Lynam and Conroy each had two hits in the win as Baylor won its fifth straight over Louisiana Tech in the series.
It was much easier for the Lady Bears in game two as a four-run first inning propelled Baylor to a 9-0 win over Birmingham-Southern (5-6).
Baylor capitalized on four Kristina Villavicencio wild pitches in the opening frame as Schwethelm, Lynam and Kim Wilmoth all scored on wild throws. Wilmoth provided an RBI single in the frame as Baylor opened up a 4-0 lead.
The Lady Bears extended the lead to five when Erin Sheek singled with the bases loaded in the third to make the score 5-0.
After a single run in the fourth, three runs in the seventh pushed the lead to nine for Baylor. Osburn provided the key spark in the inning as she hit a two-run triple to right field, scoring Conroy and Sheek as the Lady Bears scored at least eight runs for the ninth time this season.
Sarah Hausner retired the side in order in the bottom of the inning as Baylor improved to 17-0 all-time at the Compass Bank Invitational.
After Tessa Lynam allowed only one hit in 3.2 innings of work, Nicole Jackson picked up her first career victory as she moved to 1-0 on the season, allowing only two hits in 2.1 innings of work.
Villavicencio took the loss for the Panthers, allowing six runs on eight hits in 5.1 innings of work.
Wilmoth had three stolen bases and two hits for Baylor as Osburn, Schwethelm and Sheek added two hits apiece in the Lady Bears win.
Baylor will continue play at the Compass Bank Invitational on Saturday, Feb. 26, when the Lady Bears face No. 1 Arizona at 2:00 p.m. The match-up with the Wildcats will mark only the second time in school history Baylor will face the nation's top-ranked team and will mark the first time Baylor has faced a No. 1 team at Getterman Stadium.
Following the contest with Arizona, Baylor will face Sam Houston State at 4:30 p.m.
