Baylor
McNeese State
Softball Sweeps Pair from McNeese State
2/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 9, 2005
WACO, Texas -- The No. 15 Baylor softball team is off to its best start in school history as the Lady Bears swept a doubleheader from McNeese State in action at Getterman Stadium. Baylor defeated the Cowgirls 8-1 in game one before cruising to a 9-4 win in game two as Baylor is now 8-0 on the season, surpassing the 2002 squad which started 7-0 for the best start in school history.
The Lady Bears used the long ball to cruise to an 8-1 win in game one. Baylor tagged McNeese State pitching for three round-trippers in the win, tying the school record for most home runs in a game. Junior Kelly Osburn hit two blasts while Erin Sheek hit her first career home run in the win.
Osburn got the Lady Bears off to a fast start with her blast to lead-off the bottom of the first inning. The junior took a 3-2 pitch from Meghan Novak over the left field wall to give Baylor the early 1-0 lead. Baylor added another run in the inning when Chelsi Lake doubled off the left-center field wall to score Tessa Lynam and give Baylor a two-run lead.
After single runs by Baylor and McNeese State in third, the Lady Bears exploded for four runs in the fourth to grab control of the game. April Luce opened the inning with a single as Erin Sheek followed with a blast over the left field wall to give Baylor a four run lead. Another two run blast made it 7-1 as Osburn hit her second home run of the game over the center-field wall to score Kylie Conroy.
With the home run, it marked only the fourth time in school history a Baylor batter has hit two home runs in a game. Osburn was the last to accomplish the feat when she hit two blasts in a win over No. 11 Tennessee on Feb. 27, 2004.
Baylor added a run in the bottom of the sixth when Sheek singled home Luce as McNeese State was unable to come up with an answer as the Lady Bears picked up the 8-1 win.
Cristin Vitek picked up the win against the Cowgirls, allowing one run on two hits in four innings of work as she moved to 3-0 on the season.
Lynam came in and pitched a perfect three innings of relief, allowing no hits and striking out three to record her first save of the season.
Osburn and Sheek each knocked in three runs as Lake drove in two in the win.
Meghan Novak took the loss for the Cowgirls, allowing seven runs on nine hits over 3.1 innings of work to fall to 1-2 on the season.
Baylor jumped out to an early lead in game two as well as the Lady Bears grabbed a quick 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Osburn and Harmony Schwethelm lead off the game with back-to-back singles and ended up on second and third after a double steal. Osburn came around to score on a wild pitch as Schwethelm scored on a fielding error to give the Lady Bears a two-run lead.
Baylor kept the heat on the Cowgirls, extending the lead to seven runs with four runs in the third and a run in the fourth. Lake recorded RBI singles in the third and fourth as Ottens also provided a run-scoring single during the outburst as the Lady Bears grabbed control of the game.
Courtney Parks provided the McNeese State offense with a three-run blast in the fifth; however, it was too little as Baylor went on to win its eighth straight game and sixth straight in the series against the Cowgirls.
Lisa Ferguson picked up the win for the Lady Bears, tossing four shutout innings in the victory to move to 3-0 on the season.
Jana Jones took the loss for McNeese State, allowing seven runs in four innings to fall to 0-1 on the season.
The Lady Bears will look to continue their hot start when Baylor returns to action on Friday, Feb. 11, when the Lady Bears travel to Las Vegas., Nev., for the Louisville Desert Classic to face UC Riverside at 6:00 p.m. Baylor will also face No. 9 Tennessee, No. 12 Michigan, No. 14 Oregon and Hawai'i at the annual invitational.
