April 17, 2015 Box Score
Records: Baylor (31-9, 6-1); Oklahoma (36-6, 9-1) |
Attendance: 1,029
WACO, Texas - In front of 1,029 fans and a nationally televised audience on ESPN2, the No. 17 Baylor Bears blanked the No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners 8-0 in six innings Thursday night at Marita Hynes Field. Baylor (31-9, 6-1) handed the Sooners (36-6, 9-1) their first Big 12 loss of the season behind
Heather Stearns' two-hit shutout.
Stearns allowed just two hits to Oklahoma, who came in leading the NCAA Division I with a .380 team batting average, walked none and struck out nine in the win. She improved to 14-6 on the season and struck out the side in the first and sixth innings.
Hype had been built for OU first baseman Lauren Chamberlain, who has a chance to become the NCAA's all-time leader in home runs this series, but Stearns stole the spot light striking out Chamberlain in all three plate appearances, including the first and final outs of the game.
Robin Landrith hit a solo home run and
Christy Lisenby hit a pinch-hit three-run homer in the win for Baylor. The Bears dropped OU starter Paige Parker to 18-4 on the season; Parker allowed four runs and six hits in five innings of work to take the loss.
HIGHLIGHTS ?
Heather Stearns pitched a two-hit shutout against the No. 1 batting team in the nation, OU. She struck out nine to improve to 14-6 on the season. It was Stearns' eighth shutout of her career.
? Stearns' nine strikeouts moved her to fifth-place all-time on the Baylor career strikeouts list, with her third punchout Thursday pushing her past Joni Miller (447, 2000-2003).
? Stearns' shutout placed her in a tie for seventh-place all-time on BU's career list for shutouts with Carrie Arn (9, 1997-2000).
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Ari Hawkins extended her hitting streak to seven games and drove in two runs with a third inning double. It marked the first time this season that Hawkins has driven in multiple runs in a game.
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Christy Lisenby's pinch-hit home run was her fourth of the season, and it was a three-run shot over the rightfield wall to highlight a four-run sixth.
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Robin Landrith hit her first home run of the season, a solo shot, in the fifth to give Baylor a 4-0 lead.
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Kaitlyn Thumann's single in the third inning helped the senior break a 0-for-17 slump at the plate.
? Baylor's win at Hynes Field was just the sixth in 25 games in Norman, Okla. for the Bears.
? The 8-0 win in six innings marked Baylor's first-ever run-rule victory over the Sooners in 60 all-time meetings.
STAT OF THE GAME I 5 -
Heather Stearns became just the fifth pitcher to get OU seniors Lauren Chamberlain and Shelby Pendley to strike out twice in the same game (stat courtesy Graham Hays, ESPNW).
STAT OF THE GAME II 51 -
Heather Stearns is 5-0 in Big 12 competition this season and has struck out 51 batters in 34.2 innings pitched in league play.
THEY TWEETED IT WHAT'S NEXT Baylor has a chance to take the series from Oklahoma for the first time since the league began three-game Big 12 series in 2012. Baylor last took two games in one season from the Sooners in 2004. The Lady Bears and Sooners will resume the series Friday at 6:30 p.m. on Fox Sports Southwest, and 1660 AM.
