May 3, 2002
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OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. - Joni Miller tossed a one-hit shutout as No. 23 Baylor defeated Oklahoma State 4-0 here Friday in an elimination game at the seventh-annual Big 12 Conference Softball Tournament. The Lady Bears fell to No. 24 Texas A&M 5-1 in the first game of the day.
Baylor, the fourth seed in the tournament, is now 46-17 on the season after posting the first conference tournament victory in school history. The Lady Bears won play-in games in 1997 and in 1998 before going two-and-out in the double-elimination tournament. The victory over Oklahoma State also snapped a four-game losing skid for Baylor.
The Lady Bears face Texas A&M again Saturday at 1:30 p.m. in another elimination game. The Aggies dropped a 2-1 decision to top-seeded Texas in eight innings Friday night.
A first-team all-conference selection, Miller posted six strikeouts against only one walk as Baylor shutout Oklahoma State (29-23) for the second time in four meetings this season. She used just 76 pitches in the gem, using fewer than nine pitches in three different innings.
Meanwhile, Baylor improved to 16-1 this season when scoring in the first inning after plating a pair of runs in the bottom of the first frame. With one out and Stacey Hundley on first, Sarah Caudle laced a double off the fence in right to score Caudle. Kristen Lancaster then singled to left, scoring Caudle and giving the Lady Bears a 2-0 edge.
Baylor tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Danelle Arnold and Carrie Leerberg started the inning with back-to-back singles and then advanced on a double steal. OSU pitcher Lauren Bay then uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Arnold to race home. Nan Wilkins followed with a sacrifice fly, capping the scoring at 4-0.
Miller (18-7) hurled her fourth complete-game shutout of the season and the 23rd of the year for Baylor. Cami Carter (10-9) started for the Cowgirls and took the loss; she did not escape the first inning, giving way to Bay after Lancaster's RBI single.
In the first game of the day, Miller and Katie Decker were touched for nine hits as fifth-seeded Texas A&M upset the Lady Bears 5-1. That was the highest hit total allowed by Baylor pitchers since then-No. 3 Stanford tallied nine March 5.
With the score tied 1-1 in the fifth, 2002 Big 12 Player of the Year Selena Collins hit a grand slam to left-center. That was the difference in the game as the pitching duo of Lindsey Wilhelmson and Jessica Slataper worked through continuous trouble to give A&M the victory. Baylor left 11 runners on base, leaving the bases loaded three times.
