Baylor
Iowa State
SB Hits the Road to Take on Iowa State
4/22/2021 3:00:00 PM | Softball
Lady Bears are 16-5 all-time in Ames
• Friday at 4 p.m. (CT)
• Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT)
• Sunday at Noon (CT)
Site: Ames, Iowa / Cyclone Sports Complex
TV: Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Radio: 101.3 FM | Stream
Live Stats: BaylorStats.com
Twitter Updates: @BaylorSoftball
Series History
• Baylor leads, 39-15
• Waco: BU, 20-8
• Ames, Iowa: BU, 16-5
• Neutral: BU, 3-2
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Keeping it simple, Glenn Moore says the key for Baylor softball (22-12, 3-3) to turn it around is getting better pitching.
The Lady Bears, who ended a seven-game losing streak with an 8-0, five-inning win over Sam Houston State on Wednesday, will play Iowa State (24-16, 0-9) in a three-game series this weekend at Cyclone Sports Complex in Ames.
"I hate to make it that simple, but we've got to squelch offenses," said Moore, whose team has a 3.97 ERA after giving up 20 runs in getting swept at Oklahoma State.
"After a while, your offense starts pressing, and you see the effects on the offense. We've seen that a little bit, so we need to build more confidence in our team by performing better in the circle. We have the arms to do that, and we're just waiting for them to get on track."
Junior Sidney Holman-Mansell (7-3, 3.94) had a nice bounce-back game against Sam Houston, throwing 4 2/3 shutout innings, allowing just two hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
"It helped a little that the hitters were a little undisciplined. You don't see that as much in the Big 12," Moore said. "At the same time, she recovered when she was down, and threw really hard and really well. It was a positive game for us. We missed a lot of those midweeks to give us an opportunity to build some confidence."
Since picking up a pair of wins in the conference-opening series at Texas Tech, sixth-year senior Gia Rodoni (7-6, 4.30) has given up 16 earned runs in 22 1/3 innings over her last five appearances.
"She needs to get her speed up, to be quite honest," Moore said of Rodoni. "Her forte is her changeup, and it's only effective when you're throwing mid-60s. She's been knocking on that door of that a little bit lately. When she gets her velocity back, the other stuff will be very effective."
Freshman Maren Judisch (3-1, 2.89) has been the most effective, but got roughed up for five runs on nine hits in her last outing against Oklahoma State.
Sophomore Aliyah Binford (5-2, 4.29) returned from a two-week COVID pause to get the final out against Sam Houston State and also picked up her first RBI since April 2.
"She just throws batters off with her change of speeds and a little unorthodox delivery, just throws offenses off," Moore said. "But, she's been out for a long time right now, so I won't expect for her to come back and be real sharp this weekend. We got a few pitches out of her last night. I liked ending the game early, but I would have liked to have thrown her a little more as well."
Binford could make an even bigger impact in a lineup that has also had outfielders Nicky Dawson and Ana Watson out with injuries. With Binford in the cleanup spot Wednesday night, Taylor Ellis went 2-for-2 with a homer and two RBI hitting behind her.
"Having her in the lineup gives confidence to everybody, but also forces pitchers to throw to the ones in front of her so they don't face her," Moore said. "That's where Goose (McGlaun) becomes better or Taylor Ellis or whoever's ahead of her. They're going to see better pitches and it's going to give them a chance to do some damage."
While Iowa State sits at the bottom of the standings after getting swept by the league's three ranked teams – No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 9 Texas and No. 11 Oklahoma State – Moore said this is "the best Iowa State team I've ever seen." The Cyclones broke into the rankings earlier this season with a 16-2 start that included wins over Missouri and Ole Miss.
"Conference has not been kind to them, but they're very good and they have possibly the best player in the Big 12 in (shortstop) Sami Williams," Moore said. Williams is hitting .459 with 16 homers and 48 RBI.
"Jamie (Pinkerton) is doing a great job there, and they're hungry. I'm glad we got a win to get some momentum going in and start believing again, because we're going to need it up there."
Baylor and Iowa State will play the series opener at 4 p.m. Friday, followed by games at 1 p.m. Saturday and 12 noon Sunday at Cyclone Sports Complex. All three games will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
STORY LINES
• Baylor returns to Big 12 action with a three-game series at Iowa State over the weekend. BU is 39-15 all-time against the Cyclones with a 16-5 mark in Ames.
• The Lady Bears are coming off a dominating 8-0 win in five innings over Sam Houston on Wednesday.
• Taylor Ellis went oppo taco with her second home run of the season and ninth of her career in the first inning against the Bearkats. It marked her first home run at Getterman Stadium since Feb. 22, 2019.
• Emily Hott has reached base safely in 21 straight games. That ranks ninth in program history.
• Glenn Moore is three wins away from recording 800 at Baylor. His is the program's all-time wins leader (796) and is the active wins leader across all sports for Baylor Athletics.
• Alyssa Avalos made the #SCTop10 as her diving catch in center field from Sunday's series finale at No. 11 Oklahoma State came in at No. 6.
• After this weekend in Ames, Baylor will play seven of its next eight games at home. The series against No. 1 Oklahoma has been rescheduled for a doubleheader beginning at 4PM on Tuesday, April 27. It will be nationally broadcasted on ESPNU.
• Aliyah Binford (3/16) and Gia Rodoni (3/30) have eached been named the Big 12 Pitcher of the week this season, marking the first time since 2016 and the fourth season in program history (2004, 2014, 2016, 2021) that multiple Baylor pitchers have earned the weekly conference honors.
• Zadie LaValley leads the team with seven multi-RBI games this season.
• Lou Gilbert moved into the leadoff spot with Nicky Dawson's injury. Gilbert has both the short game and power as she has 36 hits to lead the team. Of those 36 hits, 12 of them are for extra bases (9 doubles, 1 triple, 2 home runs) and 11 of them are bunt singles.
• In Big 12 play alone, Gilbert is seventh in the league with a .450 batting average.
• Dawson is Baylor's all-time leader in career triples with 12 after ripping one to left center field against Louisiana Tech on March 7. The fifth-year senior outfielder now has five triples this season, a mark that ties her for first nationally. Dawson is now tied for second in program history for triples in a season alongside Kyla Walker (2017), Carrie Leerberg (2004) and Kelly Osburn (2005). Harmony Schwethelm had six triples in 2005.
• After 20 seasons as an assistant coach for the Lady Bears, Mark Lumley retired in October before he passed away in December after his fourth bout with cancer. The Baylor players and coaching staff will all be wearing blue ribbons in his honor. This season is for Lum.
