April 7, 2002

Box Score

COLUMBIA, Mo. - Kourtny Westerfeld went 2-for-4 with two RBI and Joni Miller picked up her 15th victory of the season as No. 24 Baylor defeated Missouri 4-1 here Sunday to complete the Big 12 Conference softball series sweep.

Baylor (40-11, 7-3) reaches the 40-win plateau for the first time in school history with the victory. The Lady Bears have also tied the school record for Big 12 wins in a season, matching the total from 1999 and last season.

Baylor scored a run in the second on two hits and a walk in the second. With runners on the corners and two outs, Westerfeld beat out an infield single to score Danelle Arnold from third.

The Lady Bears tacked on two more in the fourth. Westerfeld had an RBI double and two batters later Kelly Levesque plated another run with a single through the left side.

In the fifth, Kristen Lancaster led off the inning with her eighth home run of the season, a line-drive shot to straightaway center. With the homer, Lancaster moves into a tie for second all-time at Baylor in home runs in a season. Bri Chambliss olds the record of 11 set in 1997.

However, Missouri did not go quietly. Morgan LeCluyse broke up Miller's shutout bid with a home run off the scoreboard in the left to lead off the bottom of the sixth. Rachel McGinnis followed with a line drive single into right that chased Miller from the game. Katie Decker came in and got a fielder's choice, a fly out and a strikeout to end the game.

Miller (15-5) tossed five innings, allowed one run on four hits and had three strikeouts with no walks. Decker pitched the final two frames, allowing two hits and striking out two for her second save of the season.

At the plate, Levesque, Carrie Leerberg and Nan Wilkins joined Westerfeld with two hits each.

Baylor returns to action Wednesday, traveling to Austin, Texas, for a 6:30 p.m. game against No. 20 Texas at Red and Charline McCombs Field. The Longhorns won the first meeting this season 2-0 in Waco two weeks ago.