Box Score

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

Baylor softball's defense has struggled at times behind sophomore pitcher Gia Rodoni, allowing her to finish just two of her first 16 starts this season.

So, when Iowa State's Kirsten Caudle led off the second inning by motoring all the way around to third on a throwing error, Rodoni took mattered into her own hands and struck out the next three batters on nine pitches.

"Not her fault, but sometimes you make a change just to get fewer balls in play, see something different," coach Glenn Moore said. "I think she's tired of that happening, maybe, and she really took control of things and said, `Hey, I don't want to give up the ball.' So, she didn't."

Rodoni (11-1) tossed her second complete-game shutout of the season, giving up five hits and no walks with eight strikeouts in seven innings to help the 13th-ranked Lady Bears (34-6) clinch the series with a 7-0 win Saturday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.

"After that happened, I just kept telling myself, `They're not going to get a run, they're not going to beat me,''' Rodoni said. "I kept saying that in my mind before every pitch, and it helped me keep that focus to get the next three out."

Senior third baseman Lindsey Cargill, who had the throwing error in the top of the inning, made up for it with a two-out triple in the bottom half of the inning. After Taylor Ellis walked, the freshman shortstop got in a rundown between first and second and allowed Cargill to steal home for the game's first run.

Four pitches later, Sydney Christensen deposited a 2-1 fastball over the left-center field wall for a two-run homer into a stiff wind, giving Baylor the early 3-0 lead.

"The wind was blowing in so hard, so I was saying, `Oh my gosh, please go over!''' said Christensen, who's third on the team with five homers. "I was sprinting about halfway to first, and Coach (Dani) Price, our first base coach, said, `Good job, you hit it over.' I was like thank goodness, because I kind of lost it when I tucked my head and was running. I was just hoping for the best."

Moore said Christensen's bomb sent "the dagger a little deeper."

"It's hard to hit a ball out of here with the wind blowing in, and she hit it to the deepest part of the field," Moore said. "I thought she got all of it, but I've seen a lot of well-hit balls stay in the park. I wasn't that confident it was going out, but I felt like it had a chance, so thank goodness it did."

With the last-place Cyclones (15-26, 0-8) walking a total of 11 batters, Baylor tacked on two more runs in both the fourth and fifth innings. But twice, the Lady Bears (34-6, 7-1) left runners on second and third with a chance to end the game.

"I thought we kind of lost our focus," Moore said. "We swung at some pitches outside the zone when we had a chance to put the game away completely. It's hard to keep the focus for 21 straight innings (in a three-game series), and I think we got away from that a little bit. I challenged them to come out (Sunday) ready to play. Maybe it will be good for us, wake us up a little bit and stay focused for tomorrow, because you can't take anything for granted at this level."

Cargill had two of the team's eight hits, extending her career-high batting streak to 18, one off the school record set by Kelly Osburn in 2004-05. Ari Hawkins had a bunt single in the sixth to keep her on-base streak alive at 27 consecutive games, the third-longest in program history.

Baylor goes for its second consecutive three-game sweep with Sunday's series finale at 12:05 p.m. in a game that will be televised by FOX Sports Southwest Plus.

Gia Rodoni (11-1) finished off her second complete game shutout of the season, working the full 7.0 frames and allowing just five hits with eight strikeouts and zero walks.

The Baylor bats battled out to the early lead, piecing together a two-out rally in the bottom of the second.

Lindsey Cargill got the hits rolling with a triple to the corner in left field.

Taylor Ellis took a four-pitch walk, putting runners on the corners, still with two outs.

Ellis drew the Cyclones into a rundown on the bases, allowing Cargill to steal home to put the first run on the board.

With a 2-1 count, Sydney Christensen drilled a two-run bomb over the camera stand in left-center field, giving the Lady Bears a 3-0 lead through two frames.

Adding on in the bottom of the fourth, Ellis led off with a full-count walk, moving to second on an infield single for Maddison Kettler.

Jessie Scroggins worked a four-pitch walk to load the bases with one out.

Kyla Walker drove in Ellis, looping a single over the defense into left field, followed by an RBI ground out by Ari Hawkins to score Kettler, giving BU the 5-0 lead after four.

The Lady Bears kept the runs coming in the bottom of the fifth, with McGlaun leading off with a walk, moving to second on a single for Cargill.

A sac bunt for Ellis moved both runners in scoring position, with Christensen reaching safely on a ground ball fielder's choice to third base, loading the bases.

Kettler picked up the RBI on a walk, plating the sixth run of the game.

An RBI ground out for Scroggins brought Cargill across, giving BU the 7-0 advantage after five.

Rodoni closed out the game by retiring the Cyclones in order in back-to-back innings, completing the shutout and clinching the series win for the Lady Bears.

HIGHLIGHTS
- Lindsey Cargill, the team and Big 12's leading hitter, extended her hitting streak to 18, a new career high and the team's season high streak.
- Cargill holds sole possession of No. 2 in the program's record books for the longest hit streak. Cargill now trails only Kelly Osburn (19, 2004-2005) for the top spot, with a chance to tie in Sunday's game.
- Cargill's single bumped her career hit total to 227, passing Linsey Hays (225, 2012-2016) and tying Kaitlyn Thumann (227, 2012-2015) and Chelsi Lake (227, 2004-2007) for the No. 5 spot.
- Ari Hawkins extended her on-base streak to 27 games and counting, taking sole possession of the No. 3 spot in the program's on-base streak list. She now trails Shelby Friudenberg (33, 2017) for the second-longest streak for BU.
- Baylor claimed its sixth-straight Big 12 series, and has won six-straight conference games.
- Baylor has its second-best record through 40 games in program history, trailing only the 2005 team (35-5) for the best start to a season.

TOP QUOTES
"With the exception of the last two innings offensively, I thought we kind of lost focus. We swung at some pitches outside the zone when we had a chance to put the game away completely. It's hard to keep the focus for 21 straight innings, and I think we got away from that a little bit. So I challenged them to come out tomorrow ready to play. Maybe it'll be good for us, wake us up a little bit and stay focused for tomorrow, because you can't take anything for granted at this level." - Baylor head coach Glenn Moore

"I was very pleased with my performance today. I made a deal with [team sports psychologist Dr. Don Corley] that I was going to throw a no-hitter. That didn't happen but we're setting high goals and standards and I think keeping a focus like that helped me get through that game. Setting high goals and expecting that out of myself that I can do it. Setting the bar real high and trying to get that every game.

We knew even last year when we played them, they're an aggressive team so we came into today knowing that's their strength. We just had to attack them and we knew we were going to be fine." - Baylor pitcher Gia Rodoni

"The wind was blowing in so hard, so I was saying, 'Oh my gosh, please go over.' I was sprinting to first and Coach Price, our first base coach said, `Good job, you hit it over.' Thank goodness, because I kind of lost it when I tucked my head and was running. I was just hoping for the best and I hit it pretty solid." - Baylor catcher Sydney Christensen

STAT OF THE GAME
.850 - the winning percentage for the Lady Bears through 40 games, the second best start in program history (.875, 2005).

WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor will go for the sweep on Sunday, looking to secure its second-consecutive Big 12 sweep on Sunday at 12:05 p.m. at Getterman Stadium.

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