Saturday, May 7
Austin, TX
1 PM
Baylor
28-22, 6-11
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Texas
36-16-1, 11-6
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Baylor
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Texas
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SB's Offense Explodes with Win Over No. 14 Texas, 17-3
5/7/2022 5:55:00 PM | Softball
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
AUSTIN – Baylor softball's bats got a wake-up call in Friday's series opener against Texas, exploding for 13 hits in a 10-6 loss. And they haven't slept since.
Along with some help from a program-record 15 walks, the Bears (28-22, 6-11) busted out with a season-high 16 hits and scored 10 seventh-inning runs in a 17-3 blowout of the 14th-ranked Longhorns (36-16-1, 11-6) Saturday afternoon at McCombs Field.
"We've been waiting to bust out of our slump for a while, and we saw an opening," Baylor coach Glenn Moore said. "Really proud of the fact that the girls continued to push and didn't just think that we had enough. I think we're learning from past experiences. We just continued to pound the strike zone from a pitching standpoint, played good defense and had quality at-bats. Just tough outs today."
Freshman Kaci West had a career day, going 3-for-4 with two walks and drove in five runs. She batted twice in the seventh, recording a two-run single and a bases-loaded walk, as Baylor brought 15 batters to the plate.
"We challenged our mentality to attack early so we weren't attacking the pitches that were out of the zone like I did (Friday)," West said. "I'm speechless. We had an incredible performance today."
While West set career highs for hits and RBIs, six other Baylor players had multi-hit games. Emily Hott didn't make an out in six at-bats, collecting a pair of singles in the first two innings and then four-straight walks.
Aliyah Binford (9-6) went the distance to pick up the win in her sixth complete game of the season, giving up three runs on six hits and one walk with five strikeouts. After a rough start when she gave up two runs in the first on a pair of doubles and an RBI groundout, she held the Longhorns to just four hits the rest of the way and put up five zeroes.
"Any kind of win is important to us," Moore said. "We haven't had the luxury of getting any wins like this one this year. Hopefully, it's going to let us know that hey, we can play pretty good ball. We played pretty good toward the end of the game last night, but we dug a hole. Hopefully, we'll get it all together and put another good one together tomorrow and come away with a series win."
The Bears got the hit parade started early with three hits in the first inning, but they failed to score when McKenzie Wilson was thrown out at home trying to score from second on Hott's one-out single through the right side.
After the Longhorns jumped out to the 2-0 lead, Baylor answered with a three-run second inning that included three-straight walks and a pair of RBI singles by Taylor Strain and Hott. The Bears tacked on two more runs in the third on a pair of singles, two UT errors, two walks and a wild pitch before the Longhorns brought in their third pitcher of the day.
Texas was fortunate to only be down 5-2 at that point. Baylor left eight runners stranded in the first three innings, leaving them loaded twice, and 13 for the game.
Logan Hulon, the Longhorns' fourth pitcher of the game, worked a rare 1-2-3 inning in the fourth. But, UT's control issues cost them again in the fifth, when West drove in a pair of runs with a two-out single after Hulon gave up three walks.
Texas got one of the runs back in the bottom of the fifth, with back-to-back doubles by Janae Jefferson and Mia Scott for the second time. Binford retired seven of the last eight batters to close it out, working around a one-out walk in the sixth.
In a familiar refrain, Baylor's 10-run seventh inning started with three-straight walks off UT starter Sophia Simpson, who re-entered in the sixth. West broke it open with a two-run double to left-center, then Josie Bower drove in two more with a single off relief pitcher Estelle Czech.
Thirteen of BU's first 14 batters in the inning reached base and six more runs came across before Binford mercifully flied out to right for the final out. Bower had her second-straight two-hit day and drove in a career-high four runs.
"The wheels came off today, but it wasn't on our track," Moore said. "Fortunately for us, we were able to enjoy the other side of it. I think the girls got a taste of it, kind of like a shark with blood in the water. They tasted it, and they wanted as much of it as they could. I was glad we didn't let up at all. To put up a 10-spot on a team as good as Texas says something about the ability that your team has."
Wilson, Strain, Binford and Sydney Collazos also collected two hits apiece, with Wilson adding a stolen base and four runs from the leadoff spot.
Going for their third Big 12 series win of the year, the Bears will square off against the Longhorns in Sunday's rubber match at 1 p.m. at McCombs Field. The game will be broadcast by the Longhorn Network.
"They're all important right now. I don't want to make it any bigger than it already is," Moore said. "The kids are enjoying the game right now, and it's been good to us. The future of this program is looking pretty good. In our defensive lineup, we had seven sophomores and two freshmen starting. So, these kids are going to be here for a while."
THE RUNDOWN
AUSTIN, Texas – Baylor softball's offense was on display Saturday afternoon as they took down No. 14 Texas in Austin, 17-3.
The Bears fell behind after the first inning after two doubles and a groundout plated two runs for them. Starting pitcher Aliyah Binford struck out two in the top of the first to get the Bears out of the inning.
Baylor's McKenzie Wilson led off the game with a double, before the Bears were able to plate three runs in the top of the second.
After three-straight walks loaded the bases to begin the inning, Ana Watson reached on a fielder's choice that scored Binford. Back-to-back singles from Taylor Strain and Emily Hott brought home the last two tuns of the inning.
Bringing more of the offense from game one of the series, Baylor took the 5-2 lead after the third inning. After Binford reached on a single to the pitcher, Sydney Collazos put one though the left side advancing Binford, who then scored on a throwing error by the Longhorns. Collazos came around to score later in the inning on a wild pitch.
Binford tossed three more scoreless innings for the Bears as they tacked on two more in the top of the fifth on a bases loaded single up the middle that scored two.
Baylor exploded in the top of the seventh, scoring 10 runs on eight hits. As five Bears walked in the inning, West and Josie Bower each hit doubles. The Bears' 17 runs mark the most allowed in Texas softball history.
HIGHLIGHTS
Baylor Bear Insider
AUSTIN – Baylor softball's bats got a wake-up call in Friday's series opener against Texas, exploding for 13 hits in a 10-6 loss. And they haven't slept since.
Along with some help from a program-record 15 walks, the Bears (28-22, 6-11) busted out with a season-high 16 hits and scored 10 seventh-inning runs in a 17-3 blowout of the 14th-ranked Longhorns (36-16-1, 11-6) Saturday afternoon at McCombs Field.
"We've been waiting to bust out of our slump for a while, and we saw an opening," Baylor coach Glenn Moore said. "Really proud of the fact that the girls continued to push and didn't just think that we had enough. I think we're learning from past experiences. We just continued to pound the strike zone from a pitching standpoint, played good defense and had quality at-bats. Just tough outs today."
Freshman Kaci West had a career day, going 3-for-4 with two walks and drove in five runs. She batted twice in the seventh, recording a two-run single and a bases-loaded walk, as Baylor brought 15 batters to the plate.
"We challenged our mentality to attack early so we weren't attacking the pitches that were out of the zone like I did (Friday)," West said. "I'm speechless. We had an incredible performance today."
While West set career highs for hits and RBIs, six other Baylor players had multi-hit games. Emily Hott didn't make an out in six at-bats, collecting a pair of singles in the first two innings and then four-straight walks.
Aliyah Binford (9-6) went the distance to pick up the win in her sixth complete game of the season, giving up three runs on six hits and one walk with five strikeouts. After a rough start when she gave up two runs in the first on a pair of doubles and an RBI groundout, she held the Longhorns to just four hits the rest of the way and put up five zeroes.
"Any kind of win is important to us," Moore said. "We haven't had the luxury of getting any wins like this one this year. Hopefully, it's going to let us know that hey, we can play pretty good ball. We played pretty good toward the end of the game last night, but we dug a hole. Hopefully, we'll get it all together and put another good one together tomorrow and come away with a series win."
The Bears got the hit parade started early with three hits in the first inning, but they failed to score when McKenzie Wilson was thrown out at home trying to score from second on Hott's one-out single through the right side.
After the Longhorns jumped out to the 2-0 lead, Baylor answered with a three-run second inning that included three-straight walks and a pair of RBI singles by Taylor Strain and Hott. The Bears tacked on two more runs in the third on a pair of singles, two UT errors, two walks and a wild pitch before the Longhorns brought in their third pitcher of the day.
Texas was fortunate to only be down 5-2 at that point. Baylor left eight runners stranded in the first three innings, leaving them loaded twice, and 13 for the game.
Logan Hulon, the Longhorns' fourth pitcher of the game, worked a rare 1-2-3 inning in the fourth. But, UT's control issues cost them again in the fifth, when West drove in a pair of runs with a two-out single after Hulon gave up three walks.
Texas got one of the runs back in the bottom of the fifth, with back-to-back doubles by Janae Jefferson and Mia Scott for the second time. Binford retired seven of the last eight batters to close it out, working around a one-out walk in the sixth.
In a familiar refrain, Baylor's 10-run seventh inning started with three-straight walks off UT starter Sophia Simpson, who re-entered in the sixth. West broke it open with a two-run double to left-center, then Josie Bower drove in two more with a single off relief pitcher Estelle Czech.
Thirteen of BU's first 14 batters in the inning reached base and six more runs came across before Binford mercifully flied out to right for the final out. Bower had her second-straight two-hit day and drove in a career-high four runs.
"The wheels came off today, but it wasn't on our track," Moore said. "Fortunately for us, we were able to enjoy the other side of it. I think the girls got a taste of it, kind of like a shark with blood in the water. They tasted it, and they wanted as much of it as they could. I was glad we didn't let up at all. To put up a 10-spot on a team as good as Texas says something about the ability that your team has."
Wilson, Strain, Binford and Sydney Collazos also collected two hits apiece, with Wilson adding a stolen base and four runs from the leadoff spot.
Going for their third Big 12 series win of the year, the Bears will square off against the Longhorns in Sunday's rubber match at 1 p.m. at McCombs Field. The game will be broadcast by the Longhorn Network.
"They're all important right now. I don't want to make it any bigger than it already is," Moore said. "The kids are enjoying the game right now, and it's been good to us. The future of this program is looking pretty good. In our defensive lineup, we had seven sophomores and two freshmen starting. So, these kids are going to be here for a while."
THE RUNDOWN
AUSTIN, Texas – Baylor softball's offense was on display Saturday afternoon as they took down No. 14 Texas in Austin, 17-3.
The Bears fell behind after the first inning after two doubles and a groundout plated two runs for them. Starting pitcher Aliyah Binford struck out two in the top of the first to get the Bears out of the inning.
Baylor's McKenzie Wilson led off the game with a double, before the Bears were able to plate three runs in the top of the second.
After three-straight walks loaded the bases to begin the inning, Ana Watson reached on a fielder's choice that scored Binford. Back-to-back singles from Taylor Strain and Emily Hott brought home the last two tuns of the inning.
Bringing more of the offense from game one of the series, Baylor took the 5-2 lead after the third inning. After Binford reached on a single to the pitcher, Sydney Collazos put one though the left side advancing Binford, who then scored on a throwing error by the Longhorns. Collazos came around to score later in the inning on a wild pitch.
Binford tossed three more scoreless innings for the Bears as they tacked on two more in the top of the fifth on a bases loaded single up the middle that scored two.
Baylor exploded in the top of the seventh, scoring 10 runs on eight hits. As five Bears walked in the inning, West and Josie Bower each hit doubles. The Bears' 17 runs mark the most allowed in Texas softball history.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Most runs allowed in a game in Texas softball history
- The Bears loaded the bases five different times
- Baylor had 16 hits on the game, the most since the 2016 season
- Emily Hott was 2-for-2 at the plate, with an RBI and four walks, which is a new career high
- All but one Bear recorded at least one hit
- McKenzie Wilson reached base in every at bat
- 15 walks is the most ever issued in a game by Texas
- 15 is the most walks Baylor has ever received in a game
- Most hits in a game this season
- Most hits Texas has given up this year
- Kaci West had two doubles in a game for the first time in her career, along with a career-high five RBI
- Josie Bower had a career high four RBI
- BaylorBears.com -
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Binford, Aliyah (9-6)
L: O'Leary, Shea (1-4)
Batting:
2B: Wilson, McKenzie 1 ; West, Kaci 1 ; Bower, Josie 1
RBI: Wilson, McKenzie 1 ; Strain, Taylor 2 ; Hott, Emily 1 ; West, Kaci 5 ; Bower, Josie 4 ; Collazos, Sydney 1 ; Watson, Ana 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wilson, McKenzie 4 ; Strain, Taylor 3 ; Hott, Emily 2 ; West, Kaci 1 ; Bower, Josie 1 ; Binford, Aliyah 2 ; Collazos, Sydney 2 ; Wachtendorf, Ashlyn 1 ; Watson, Ana 1
SB: Wilson, McKenzie 1
CS: Powell, Grace 1
HBP: Wilson, McKenzie 1
Batting:
2B: Jefferson, Janae 2 ; Scott, Mia 2
3B: Dayton, Bella 1
RBI: Scott, Mia 2 ; Iakopo, Mary 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jefferson, Janae 2 ; Scott, Mia 1
SB: Scott, Mia 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
4
H
2
RBI
1
AB
4
R
3
H
2
RBI
2
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
P/INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C
/ SoftballUTIL
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
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