WCWS NOTEBOOK

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. ÃÆ'Æ' ¢ÃƒÆ' ¢' ¬" Bumped into the loser's bracket of the Women's College World Series with Thursday's 6-3 loss to defending national champion Oklahoma, the 15th-seeded Baylor softball team (48-14) gets a chance at redemption.

The Lady Bears will try to stay alive with a 1:30 p.m. matchup Saturday against the third-seeded Oregon Ducks (52-7) at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.

"Motivation itself comes up from last year in how we didn't get to host, bringing back all these feelings and memories about not being able to host and playing Oregon and being set up there," said senior second baseman Ari Hawkins. "I really think that will playing into this game."

Coach Glenn Moore said playing Oregon in last year's regional "probably gives us a little bit of confidence, kind of similar to the confidence we had at Arizona, having played them earlier in the year, maybe, having seen them and not being completely surprised."

"As far as motivation from that, I don't anticipate this team needs any more motivation," he said. "We're at the World Series, backs are against the wall, it's a one-game season now. And I would just be very surprised if this team doesn't come out and fight like crazy. It's going to take that to beat a team that many were asking a couple months ago if they might be the first team to go undefeated. They were 30-something and 0, and they're very, very good. And we're going to have to play very well to have a chance to beat them."

One thing that gives the Lady Bears some amount of confidence is they're facing a right-handed pitcher for the first time since the Waco Regional. Arizona had a pair of tough lefties in Danielle O'Toole and Taylor McQuillin, and Oklahoma threw Paige Parker and Paige Lowary in Thursday's game.

Oregon has a trio of right-handers, with sophomore Megan Kleist (20-4) going the distance in Thursday's 3-1 loss to sixth-seeded Washington. Freshman Maggie Balint (21-3, 1.23 ERA) will likely be matched against Baylor sophomore Gia Rodoni (18-3, 1.56) in Saturday's elimination game.

"We don't match up well against lefties, and we've seen lefties since the last weekend of our season with Tierra Davis at Texas, and then we saw her at the Big 12 tournament, lefties at Arizona and lefties here," Moore said. "We're kind of sick of seeing lefties right now. The left-handed hitters are kind of the strength of our program. Not that we don't have a couple righties that can swing it, but the lefties are certainly what makes us tick."

After Thursday's loss, Baylor is 5-7 all-time in the World Series and has never lost back-to-back games.

"I feel like this is our chance to almost rebound and get back," said Rodoni, who threw a perfect inning with one strikeout in Thursday's loss. "I know they lost some key players and we did, too. This is a new start for us. It's a different team going against a different team, so I just feel confident in what we have going on."

The Baylor-Oregon winner stays alive and will face LSU (48-21) at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. LSU opened with a 2-1 upset of UCLA before falling to top-seeded Florida, 7-0, Friday night.

Memories of 2014 Come Flooding Back
Being back at the Women's College World Series for the first time in three years has sent former Baylor catcher Robin Landrith "down memory lane, completely unexpectedly."

"I just remember having a lot of fun at the World Series," said Landrith, who just finished her first year at Yale working on a master's degree in theology. "When you're growing up playing softball, it's just what you want to do. You want to get there. And once you're there, it's just so exciting. My memories are all very fond of the time at World Series. It was just a lot of fun."

Landrith was part of the greatest comeback in WCWS history, when the Lady Bears rallied from a seven-run deficit to beat Kentucky, 8-7, to reach the semifinals in 2014. She drove in the tying runs in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out, two-run double.

"It's funny, because looking back that game was great. But, for five innings, it was embarrassing; we were terrible," Landrith said. "I specifically remember it was almost (senior catcher Claire Hosack's last game). I remember feeling the emotion from her, because she's like my big sister. So, I say it was a lot of fun, and it was. But, it was also very emotional."

Hosack, who's also in town for the World Series, said the way the 2014 team came out of the loser's bracket after being run-ruled by Florida (11-0) should be encouraging to this year's team. The 15th-seeded Lady Bears (48-14) lost to defending national champion Oklahoma, 6-3, in Thursday's opening round and play third-seeded Oregon (52-7) in an elimination game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.

"It just shows what Baylor history is all about and what Baylor is capable of," said Hosack, who was 2-for-3 in the Lady Bears' 7-2 win over Florida State in the first elimination game. "These are great girls and this team has great chemistry, and they've shown that before in the past. They came back at Arizona. They just have to come out with all the heart they have and all the heart they've been giving all year, and they'll be OK."

While Landrith just finished her career last season, Hosack was a senior when second baseman Ari Hawkins and third baseman Lindsey Cargill were freshmen on the 2014 team.

"Those girls were great when they were freshmen," said Hosack, a sales rep and social media coordinator for a line of children's clothing based in North Palm Beach, Fla. "And to watch them now, they're stronger, faster, better, smarter. They definitely grew as softball players, and they're great leaders for this team. They know what needs to be done, and they know how to do it."

After last year's team lost to Oregon in the NCAA Eugene Regional, Landrith wasn't sure if this year's squad was capable of making it back to the World Series.

"But, when they started beating up on teams in California, I did," she said of the Lady Bears knocking off Arizona State, Michigan, Washington and UCLA at the Judi Garman Classic earlier this season. "Oh my gosh, that's no joke. It's so hard to get to the World Series, so it's not like, 'Oh, World Series, immediately.' But, when they beat Arizona, I was so excited and not shocked because of what they had already done this season."

'You Just Can't Forget History'
Considering that only two of Baylor softball's 18 players were even born before the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing that left 168 dead and destroyed one-third of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, it's understandable that that part of history is lost on them.

"My daughter's a senior (in high school), and she said, 'Daddy, we've never talked about this in school,''' said Baylor coach Glenn Moore, who took the team through the OKC Memorial on Friday's day off at the World Series. "That's a shame, it's a disgrace if that's not talked about. She said, 'We talked about 9/11, but I don't remember us talking about this.' She's an intelligent kid. We've got to make sure we don't forget history."

Senior third baseman Lindsey Cargill, who was actually born the day after the April 19, 1995 OKC bombing, said Friday's visit was "very emotional, especially with the entire team."

"I'm old enough to remember that vividly," Moore said. "You just can't forget history. If you want to prevent things like that from happening again, you've got to keep it fresh on their mind."

WCWS Appearances Rare for Private Schools
In 2007, when Baylor softball made its first trip to the Women's College World Series, private schools made up nearly half of the eight-team field with the Lady Bears joined by Northwestern and DePaul.

Since then, 26 different schools have made World Series appearances, including three more by the Lady Bears. But, Baylor is the only private school that has made it in the last decade.

Florida leads the way with its eighth appearance over that stretch, followed by Alabama and Oklahoma with seven and six trips, respectively.