Feb. 27, 2005
Box Score
WACO, Texas --- The No. 11 Baylor softball team split a pair of games on the final day of action at the Compass Bank Invitational, falling to No. 1 Arizona 1-0 before defeating Sam Houston State 6-1. With the split, Baylor moves to 20-3 on the season and becomes the first softball team in the nation to reach 20 wins on the year.
The Wildcats got on the board early against the Lady Bears as Callista Balko hit a double off the top of the left field wall to score Autumn Champion and give Arizona a 1-0 lead.
The lead would stand up as Arizona pitcher Alicia Hollowell pitched out of a couple of jams to record the complete game victory and move to 8-0 on the season.
Baylor's best chance to tie the game came in the fifth inning after Stephanie Pomes and Melissa Huffhines reached base in back-to-back plate appearances to open the inning. After a wild pitch sent the runners to second and third with one out, Hollowell managed to strike the next two Baylor batters out to allow Arizona to hold onto a slim, one-run lead.
After Tessa Lynam hit an infield single to lead off the sixth, Hollowell retired the next six batters in order to complete the win.
For the contest, Hollowell pitched seven innings and allowed three hits in recording her third complete game shutout of the tournament.
Baylor starter Cristin Vitek pitched well for the Lady Bears in the loss, allowing only one run on three hits while striking out five as she fell to 6-2 on the season.
The Lady Bears rebounded in game two; however, as Baylor got on the board early and cruised to a 6-1 win over Sam Houston State.
In the top of the first inning, Kim Wilmoth singled to second base to score Kelly Osburn as the Lady Bears grabbed an early 1-0 lead.
Baylor extended the lead to two when Wilmoth knocked in Lynam with a single to right field for her second RBI of the game as the Lady Bears grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third inning.
After Sam Houston State cut the lead in half with a run in the bottom of the fourth, the Lady Bears put the game away with three runs in the sixth inning. April Luce opened the scoring in the inning when her double to right-center field scored Wilmoth to give BU a two-run cushion. Pomes then provided the Lady Bears with a four-run advantage as she slammed a 0-1 pitch from Shalayne Blythe over the left field wall to score Luce and give Baylor a 5-1 lead.
The home run was the third of the season for Pomes and the 20th of the year for the Lady Bears, tying last season's home run total.
Pomes added another RBI single in the seventh as Lisa Ferguson retired the Bearkats in order in the bottom of the inning to close out the win.
Lynam picked up the win for the Lady Bears, allowing one unearned run and three hits in four innings of work as she moved to 5-0 on the season.
Ferguson tossed three scoreless innings of relief as she picked up her first save of the season. The save was the ninth of her career, moving her within one of Baylor's career leader, Joni Miller, who recorded 10 saves from 2000-2003.
Blythe took the loss for Sam Houston State as she fell to 2-5 on the season after allowing five runs on 12 hits in 5.2 innings of work.
Lynam and Wilmoth each had three hits in the win as Pomes added three RBI as Baylor improved to 18-1 all-time at the Compass Bank Invitational.
Arizona claimed the tournament championship with a 4-0 record as the Wildcats and Lady Bears each placed four on the all-tournament squad. Lynam, Osburn, Pomes and Harmony Schwethelm made the squad for Baylor as Crystal Farley, Balko, Caitlin Lowe and Hollowell were named to the all-tournament team from Arizona. Dawn Treadwell from Birmingham-Southern and Blythe from Sam Houston State rounded out the all-tournament field.
Baylor will return to action on Wednesday, March 2, when the Lady Bears host Oklahoma Christian in a doubleheader beginning at 4:00 p.m.
