SB Opens Home Slate with Getterman Classic

BAYLOR (4-1) vs. GETTERMAN CLASSIC

Friday, Feb. 17 • vs. Stephen F. Austin • Waco, Texas | Getterman Stadium • Radio: 101.3 FM
Saturday, Feb. 18 • vs. Longwood • Waco, Texas | Getterman Stadium • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: Big 12 Now ESPN+
Sunday, Feb. 19 • vs. No. 1 Oklahoma • Waco, Texas | Getterman Stadium • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: Big 12 Now ESPN+
Sunday, Feb. 19 • vs. Army • Waco, Texas | Getterman Stadiumm • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: Big 12 Now ESPN+

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            After a 4-1 record at the UNLV Rebel Kickoff in Las Vegas that included a pair of run-rule victories, Baylor softball will play its next 14 games at home, starting with this weekend's Getterman Classic.
            The Bears will face SFA (4-3) at 3 p.m. Friday on the opening day of the three-day tournament at Getterman Stadium. Baylor will also play Longwood (1-3) at 3 p.m. Saturday, top-ranked Oklahoma (5-0) at 12 p.m. Sunday and wrap it up with Army (2-2) at 2 p.m. Sunday.
            "Getterman Stadium is one of the top facilities in the country," said Baylor coach Glenn Moore, "and if we can earn the respect of our fan base early on by playing well and winning some games and being exciting to watch, hopefully by conference time they'll come back out to support us when it matters the most."
            Baylor hit .408 on the opening weekend with two homers and 11 doubles and scored a combined 41 runs. On top of run-rule wins over Southern Utah and UNLV, the Bears rallied from an 8-0 deficit against seventh-ranked Arkansas before falling, 11-7.
            "I thought we did a great job of not giving in or throwing in the towel," Moore said, "and that's what a coach wants to see how a team is going to respond under that type of adversity. If you're going to throw in the towel, you're going to throw it when you're down eight runs against the defending SEC champions. But they didn't do that and fought back. . . . I'm very happy with our fight there, and we just need to make our corrections and grow."
            Five starters hit above .400 on the opening weekend, led by third baseman-pitcher Aliyah Binford, who went 9-for-14 (.643) with one homer and five RBIs. Arizona transfer Amber Toven hit .588 with four doubles and five RBIs, while SFA transfer Shaylon Govan blasted a grand-slam homer against Arkansas and hit .529 with 12 RBIs.
            "I definitely feel like we're going to be powerful," Govan said. "We're a lefty-heavy lineup. A lot of right-handed pitchers have a hard time going against lefties. We have speed, we have power, we have a bunch of triple threats with Emily (Hott) and Kenzie (McKenzie Wilson) and T-Strain (Taylor Strain). I feel like a bunch of us are going to put pressure on the defense."
            Working in all five pitchers, Moore said "we got some answers in Week 1. We pitched every pitcher about the amount we had hoped going in."
            Coming back from an injury, Dariana Orme (1-1, 2.33 ERA) had two strong three-inning starts, giving up two earned runs on seven hits and two walks with five strikeouts. Freshman RyLee Crandall (1-0, 1.11) appeared in three of the five games and led the way with 10 strikeouts in 6.1 innings.
            "We didn't advance as far as we wanted pitching-wise," Moore said, "and we made some adjustments there and brought some things to their attention that we want to philosophically a little bit better. . . . Whenever you have some failure, you have an opportunity to teach. They're looking for answers, and you get the opportunity to tell them what you think will work better. That's probably the biggest spot we need to improve on."
            SFA was 3-2 in the ULL Tournament, with a pair of losses to 24^th-ranked Louisiana, and then split a doubleheader with South Dakota State.
            A sophomore first baseman, Govan missed most of the 2022 season at SFA with an injury, but hit .383 for the 'Jacks in 2021 with a program-record 15 homers and 52 RBI.
            "I'm a little nervous to go against them, I'm not going to lie," Govan said of facing her former team. "But it's going to be fun. They're going to be rooting for me and I'm going to be rooting for them, so it's going to be a good one."
            The two-time defending national champions, Oklahoma got off to a 5-0 start with ranked wins over Duke, Stanford and Washington at the Mark Campbell Invitational in Irvine, Calif. This is the second-straight year the Bears have played OU in a non-conference game, losing to the Sooners, 12-3, at last year's Rainbow Wahine Classic in Hawaii.
            "It only makes us better," Moore said. "You don't get better if you play people you're better than, so it gives the opportunity to get our weaknesses exposed early in the season. We'll work on those and get better."
            The Bears' Saturday and Sunday games will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with KCEN sports director Kurtis Quillin and former Baylor standout Kelly Levesque calling the action.

STORY LINES
• Baylor Softball is bringing back the Getterman Classic for the first time since the 2020 season. Out of the four teams coming to the tournament, Stephen F. Austin is the only team that has competed in it before. The Bears are 4-0 against the Lumberjacks in their three Getterman Classic appearances.
• The Bears are who are 78-14 in all-time Getterman Classic games, have gone undefeated in the tournament eight times, including their last appearance in 2020.
• This is the second time in two season that Baylor has faced No. 1 Oklahoma in a non-conference game. The Bears faced the Sooners last year in the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Sooners hold the all-time record over the Bears.
• BU is facing both Army and Longwood for the first time in program history.
• The Bears went 4-1 to open the season last weekend at the UNLV Rebel Kickoff. After winning their first four games, Baylor fell to No. 7 Arkansas, 11-7, after being down 8-0.
• Making an immediate impact on the team were transfers Shaylon Govan and Amber Toven, who batted .529 and .588, respectively and combined for nineteen hits. Toven led the way with a team-leading 10 hits and four doubles, while Govan led the way with 12 RBIs and a grand slam against Arkansas.
• Meanwhile, Aliyah Binford leads the team with her .643 batting average, while adding nine hits and a home run.
• The Bears out-scored opponents 41-20 in opening weekend and picked up run-rules against UNLV and Southern Utah.
• Five different pitchers saw action during opening weekend, with Dariana Orme, Kaci West, RyLee Crandall and Binford picking up starts. Crandall is leading the team in strikeouts currently, picking up 10 in three appearances.
• The return of the Getterman Classic also brings the first of three back-to-back-to-back tournaments Baylor will be hosting at Getterman Stadium. The Bears will play at home until March 8th.
• BU had 21 of 22 players see action during the first weekend of play.
• With a career record of 977-467, head coach Glenn Moore is looking for his 1,000th career win this season and is only 19 wins away from hitting the milestone.
• McKenzie Wilson who led the Bears from the batter's box last year, was the only Bear named to the Big 12 Preseason Team.
• Baylor is returning 13 from last season, and all of them were letterwinners for the Bears. They are also returning all three All-Big 12 selections from 2022, McKenzie Wilson (first team), Aliyah Binford (second team) and Dariana Orme (second team) and two who were placed on the All-Freshman team, Taylor Strain and Kaci West.

- BaylorBears.com -

SB Opens Home Slate with Getterman Classic

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Players Mentioned

Aliyah Binford

RyLee Crandall

Shaylon Govan

Dariana Orme

Taylor Strain

Amber Toven

Kaci West

McKenzie Wilson

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