May 19, 2006
Box Score
CORVALLIS, Ore. - Chelsi Lake's two-run, walk-off blast capped a furious, four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh inning as the No. 19 Baylor softball team claimed a dramatic, come-from-behind victory over Portland State, 5-3, in the first game of the NCAA Corvallis Regional. With the win, Baylor improves to 37-20 on the season as Portland State falls to 37-19 with the loss.
"Portland State played extremely well, give them a lot of credit. Things kept going against us; but, we kept believing that things were going to happen our way," head coach Glenn Moore said. "I knew we were still capable of scoring some runs. I guess that's why you play seven innings. That's why you keep fighting and never quit and I am extremely proud of the way the team came through in the end."
The Vikings jumped out to an early lead on the Lady Bears as starting pitcher Mandy Hill delivered a two-out, two-run home run over the right-center field fence, her 12th of the season, to give Portland State the early two-run advantage.
Baylor cut the lead in half in the bottom of the inning; however, as Tessa Lynam delivered a RBI ground out, scoring Kelly Osburn from third to cut the lead to 2-1.
The score remained the same until the fourth inning as Portland State pushed across a run on a suicide squeeze attempt by Jamee Rauch, scoring Kimi Daniel from third as the Vikings claimed a 3-1 lead.
Baylor was unable to cut into the lead over the next three innings as the Lady Bears trailed by a pair of runs heading into its final at-bat.
With one out, Osburn got the Baylor rally started as she lifted her 14th home run of the season, and 37th of her career, well over the left-center field wall and into the bleachers to cut the lead to 3-2.
Aggressive base-running would tie the game for the Lady Bears as Harmony Schwethelm, who followed Osburn's homer with a single, stole second base on the first pitch to Tessa Lynam. On the third pitch of the Lynam at-bat, Schwethelm took off for third base and came home as the throw went into left field as the senior scored easily to tie the ball game.
The stolen base was a significant one for Schwethelm as the senior, who had three stolen bases in the contest, recorded the 100th stolen base of her career on the swipe of third. For her career, Schwethelm is 100-of-115 in stolen bases as she became the first player in school history to steal 100 bases for a career.
With Michelle Hext coming into the game in relief of starter Hill during the Lynam at-bat, Hext eventually lost Lynam to a walk as Lake came to the plate with a chance to give Baylor the win.
On a 2-2 pitch from Hext, Lake delivered a line drive blast well over the right-field wall, sending the Baylor bench into a frenzy as the junior came around to touch home and give the Lady Bears a dramatic, first round victory.
"It's the things you think about when you're 10 years old," Lake said. "I was in the fortunate place to have that opportunity given to me. I am so proud of the way the team fought today. Everybody came through when it mattered most."
The blast was Lake's 17th of the season as the junior recorded the first walk-off victory for Baylor in NCAA Championship play. Lake's walk-off home run was the first for Baylor since the junior delivered a walk-off grand slam against Nebraska on April 11, 2005.
Baylor starter Lisa Ferguson picked up the complete game victory after allowing three runs on seven hits in seven innings of work as she improved to 19-13 on the season.
Mandy Hill was saddled with the loss after allowing four runs on seven hits in 6.1 innings of work as she fell to 23-8 on the season.
Baylor moves on to face the winner of Oregon State-Nevada contest at 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 20. Fans can listen to the broadcast in the Waco area on KWGW 104.9 FM or by tuning into www.baylorbears.com.
Should Baylor win game three of the NCAA Corvallis Regional, the Lady Bears will move onto the championship game on Sunday, May 21, at 3:00 p.m. A loss would mean Baylor would play in an elimination game on Saturday, May 20, at 6:00 p.m.
