May 15, 2009

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WACO - With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Bree Hanafin came in to score from second on a wild throw to first by the Louisiana-Lafayette (43-12) first baseman, giving Baylor (38-20) the 2-1 lead it would not relinquish in the opening round of the NCAA Regional at Getterman Stadium Friday night.

"That was a great team we just beat," head coach Glenn Moore said. "I thought these girls gave everything they had, and as we have said, that's often enough to get us a win."

The Lady Bears were held hitless until a Hanafin single to left in the bottom of the fourth, but Brette Reagan grounded in to a double play, ending any threat.

Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Courtney Oberg led off the inning with a single, followed by single past the pitcher by Nicole Wesley. With runners at first and second with no outs, Megan Turk laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to advance the runners over, setting the stage for Sydney Wilson. Wilson then delivered an RBI-single over the shortstop's head, scoring pinch-runner Sophia Lujan, to tie the game at one apiece.

Whitney Canion kept the Ragin' Cajuns' bats at bay, striking out five straight batters beginning with the last batter of the fourth inning. The freshman allowed just one hit over the last three innings, giving the Lady Bears every opportunity to score.

Baylor took advantage of that opportunity in the sixth, after Hanafin sent a one-out double to the left center wall. After a Reagan groundout, Alex Colyer hit a grounder to short that was thrown wildly to first and a collision with the first baseman sent the ball out of the glove. That allowed Hanafin to beat a throw home for a 2-1 lead.

Canion got three-straight outs in the seventh to preserve the win. She finished the night allowing one earned run, five hits, five walks and nine strikeouts in 7.0 innings of work. Her nine strikeouts put her over the 400 mark, as the lefty now has 402 on the season.

UL got on the board in the first, as two singles and a walk loaded the bases for a sac fly from Codi Runyan, giving Louisiana-Lafayette a 1-0 lead. Canion got two-straight outs on a fielder's choice and a strikeout to end any further damage.

The Lady Bears will now face Texas State, 8-0 winners over No. 13 Northwestern, in the winner's bracket game at 1:30 p.m. at Getterman Stadium. Pre game will begin at 1:15 p.m. as the broadcast can be heard on 104.9 FM.