April 17, 2005
Box Score
LAWRENCE, Kan. --- The No. 8 Baylor softball team grabbed an early 7-1 lead and withheld a late Jayhawks rally as the Lady Bears earned a sweep of Kansas with an 8-5 win over KU in action at Arrocha Ballpark. With the win, Baylor improved to 39-7 overall, 7-4 in the Big 12, as Kansas fell to 19-18, 2-7 in Big 12 play.
For the second straight game, Baylor grabbed an early three-run lead with three runs in the top of the first inning. Kelly Osburn put the Lady Bears on the board first when she stole home after Stephanie Pomes got caught in a rundown between first and second. With two outs, Tessa Lynam gave Baylor a two-run lead when she hit a line drive off the top of the right-center field wall, scoring Pomes from first to make the score 2-0. Finally, on a Kim Wilmoth single, Lynam came around to score the final run of the inning after center fielder Jackie Vasquez mishandled a throw in a rundown of Wilmoth between first and second.
Kansas cut the lead to two with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning when Destiny Frankenstein doubled to the right-center field gap, scoring Vasquez from first, as the Jayhawks cut the lead to 3-1 heading into the second inning.
April Luce then gave the Lady Bears a commanding five-run lead as she smashed a bases loaded clearing double in the left-center field gap with two outs in the third inning, scoring Pomes, Wilmoth and Melissa Huffhines as Baylor grabbed a 6-1 lead.
After Kansas was unable to cut the lead in the third, Baylor extended the lead to six with a run in the fourth. Chelsi Lake knocked in her team leading 51st RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Osburn from third to give Baylor a 7-1 lead.
Kansas cut the lead to three with single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth, however, Harmony Schwethelm extended the lead back to four for Baylor when she scored on a throwing error by the Jayhawks first baseman as the Lady Bears carried an 8-4 lead heading into the bottom of the inning.
Lisa Ferguson (15-2) retired Kansas in the bottom of the inning after the Jayhawks cut the lead to 8-5 and picked up her team-leading 15th win of the season after allowing two earned runs in 3.2 innings of relief work.
Kassie Humphreys took the loss for Kansas to fall to 3-6 on the season after allowing six runs on five hits in 2.2 innings of work.
Kelly Osburn led the way for Baylor, going two-for-three with two runs, a double and a triple as Baylor improved to 10-18 all-time against the Jayhawks.
Baylor will finish up its five-game road swing through the Big 12 Conference when the Lady Bears face No. 5 Oklahoma in a doubleheader on Monday, April 18, at 4:00 p.m.
