Friday, April 22
Waco, Texas
6:30 PM
Baylor
vs
Texas Tech
SB Set to Host Texas Tech
4/21/2022 5:55:00 PM | Softball
Bears are getting ready to start an eight-game homestand
BAYLOR (23-18, 2-7 Big 12) vs. TEXAS TECH (21-21, 4-8 Big 12)
Friday, April 22 • vs. Texas Tech • Waco, Texas |Getterman Stadium • Radio: 101.3 FM • TV: Big 12 Now ESPN+Saturday, April 23 • vs. Texas Tech • Waco, Texas |Getterman Stadium • Radio: 101.3 FM • TV: Big 12 Now ESPN+
Sunday, April 24 • vs. Texas Tech • Waco, Texas |Getterman Stadium • Radio: 101.3 FM • TV: Big 12 Now ESPN+
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
With top-ranked Oklahoma and No. 7 Oklahoma State in the rearview mirror, Baylor softball has won six of its last seven games going into a final stretch that starts with this weekend's series against Texas Tech.
"I think we're getting better every game now," said Baylor coach Glenn Moore, whose team improved to 23-18 overall (2-7 in the Big 12) with Tuesday's 2-1, nine-inning road win at UTA. "We lost a little confidence early on in the Big 12, and I think we're getting to the point where we're starting to believe we're the team we started out as. . . . Our personality has really not been defined yet, but I think we're getting closer and closer to that."
Beginning an eight-game homestand, the Bears face Texas Tech (21-21, 4-8) at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Getterman Stadium. Game 2 is 2 p.m. Saturday, followed by 1 p.m. Sunday, with all three games streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
Baylor swept last year's series in Lubbock and has dominated the all-time series, 56-19, with a 21-11 record against the Red Raiders in Waco.
"I see Baylor. I see Baylor softball," Moore said of Tech, which has won series against Kansas and Iowa State while getting swept by OU and Oklahoma State. "We're a lot alike, and we play with a lot of emotion on both sides of the field in this series. There's a lot of new faces at Tech. You're not in their clubhouse, either, but I think there is more camaraderie with their team and I would say they're more of a team, as I think we are this year."
Sophomore Dariana Orme (10-10, 3.04), who will likely start two of the three games, pitched a career-high 9.0 innings and struck out nine in Tuesday's win over the Mavericks.
"She gave up one unearned run in nine innings and pitched a phenomenal game," Moore said of Orme. "It all starts in the circle, so we need that to be a consistent factor and look forward to what she can do as she progresses as a pitcher. She's got some tools and some gifts, but she's still got elements of her game that aren't developed. And when they are, she's going to be really good."
The Bears got their offense going last weekend with 21 hits in a two-game sweep of Sam Houston and have averaged five runs in their last seven games. Sophomore centerfielder McKenzie Wilson, who hit her second homer of the season in the ninth inning of Tuesday's game, is hitting a team-best .417 with 25 RBI and a Big 12-leading five triples.
"I knew something had to give," Wilson said. "The pitcher was out there throwing a pretty good game, getting tired. But, I knew if I get this one pitch elevated, boom! . . . That one felt effortless, but I thought it was going to hit the wall. If you saw my home run trot, I sprinted around the bases pretty fast. But, it did feel good. Hopefully, with more home runs, my trot will get better."
Moore said Wilson has developed into a good opposite-field hitter. Even with teams consistently pitching her away and overloading the defense that way, she continues to hit over .400.
"Eventually, they'll start changing that. But, until they do, she's going to live on the left side of that field," Moore said of Wilson. "I think she's capable, once they start mixing it more, to hit more home runs. The kid has just bundles of talent. She's a triple-threat, plays great defense, and I like the spark. She's a tough, tough out. You won't continue to get her out the same way. She'll eventually make you pay. And she did that, of course, (at UTA)."
Despite a seven-game losing streak that included the Oklahoma and OSU series, Moore said the goal is still to earn an NCAA regional bid. The Bears have made 14 postseason appearances in the last 18 years and four World Series appearances, but are 57th in the latest RPI rankings.
"You need to be in the 40s, if not the high 30s, to feel really good about it," Moore said. "While I spoke early about how we had to be process-oriented, now the outcome is a little more important because we have to win ballgames. Our backs are against the wall, and we know that."
Sophomore outfielder Ana Watson, hitting .302, said the Bears "are on a high note right now, and I hope we stay there."
"We were tired of losing," Watson said. "We had been losing these close games to great teams, and we were sick of it. . . . I think what helps us is if we have each other's backs, and we're going to fight for the person next to us, and not let that person lose."
STORY LINES
• Baylor Softball is hosting Texas Tech in a three-game conference series this weekend at Getterman Stadium.
• The Bears swept the Red Raiders last season in Lubbock and have previously met 75 times. BU leads the all-time record 56-19 and also holds the 21-11 advantage over the Red Raiders at home in Waco.
• Baylor (23-18) have now won six of their last seven games and are on a three-game winning streak. The Bears took down UT Arlington in a midweek matchup this week, defeating the Mavericks after nine innings, 2-1. They have played three-straight non-conference games after picking up the series win over Kansas.
• The Red Raiders (21-21) are coming off of a midweek game against Abilene Christian where they fell, 2-7. Before that, Texas Tech took the conference series over Iowa State, 2-1 after falling in game one and coming back to win games two and three.
• Dariana Orme set new career highs in last week's midweek, pitching 9.0 innings and recording nine strikeouts in her sixth complete game this season.
•The Bears are currently sitting at 57 in the NCAA RPI rankings. All seven Big 12 schools currently rank in the top 100 RPI rankings.
• Last week, the Bears found their rhythm offensively, totaling 21 hits over two games.
BEARS IN THE BIG 12 RANKINGS
• McKenzie Wilson still ranks first in the Big 12 with five triples on the season, she has not been passed all season long. Her .417 season batting average still leads the Bears as well as her 25 RBI. Also in the Big 12, Wilson is third in batting average (.417), second in hits (50) and first for stolen bases (23).
• Baylor as a team is third in the conference in team pitching and fourth in team batting. BU is also leading the league in sacrifice bunts (18).
• Maren Judisch is tied for first in saves with two.
• McKenzie Wilson is 1st in percentage reached as a leadoff batter with .658, while Emry McDonough is batting 1.000 with the bases loaded.
• Josie Bower is leading the league in hit by pitches (9), while Taylor Strain leads in sacrifice bunts (8).
• As a pinch hitter, Katie Ellington is batting 1.000.
TEXAS TECH
BAYLOR LEADS 56-19Waco: Baylor leads 21-11
Lubbock, Texas: Baylor leads 27-4
Neutral: Baylor leads 8-4
- BaylorBears.com -
Players Mentioned
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