Baylor
Texas State
Softball Takes Two at Crowne Plaza Classic
2/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 19, 2005
HOUSTON, Texas -- The No. 11 Baylor softball team rebounded from a loss to Houston with a pair of wins on the second day of action at the Crowne Plaza Classic. The Lady Bears established season highs with 18 hits and 16 runs in a 16-2 win over Texas State (3-10) before defeating Minnesota (6-3) 7-0 in game two.
With the wins, Baylor improved to 16-2 on the season.
Baylor got off to a quick start in game one against Texas State, plating three runs in the first inning to take a 3-0 lead on the Bobcats. Tessa Lynam put the Lady Bears on the board with her two-run blast over the right field wall to score Harmony Schwethelm and give Baylor a 2-0 lead. The home run was the second of the season for Lynam and third of her career in a Baylor uniform.
The Lady Bears then extended the lead to three when April Luce singled to score Kim Wilmoth as Baylor has now scored runs in the opening inning in 11 of 17 games this season.
Texas State cut the lead to two with a run in the bottom of the first inning on a Katie Ann Trahan RBI single, however, Baylor starter Lisa Ferguson worked out of a two-out jam by forcing Heather Ackley into a fielder's choice to keep the score at 3-1.
The Lady Bears then managed to put the game away in the fourth inning with four runs. After loading the bases with nobody out, Schwethelm grounded out to score Katie Ottens and Lynam followed with her third RBI of the game with a sacrifice fly to center field to score Jordan Daniels.
Chelsi Lake then provided the key blast in the inning, a two run shot, her fourth home run of the season, over the center field wall to score Kelly Osburn and give Baylor a 7-1 lead.
Baylor then exploded for nine runs on 10 hits in the sixth as Baylor grabbed a 16-1 lead.
Kelly Osburn extended the lead to 8-1 for Baylor when she led off the sixth inning with a solo home run down the left field line for her 20th home run of her career, tying Ryan Stukel (1999-2001) at the top of BU's career list. The home run was also the fourth of the season for Osburn and was her second lead-off homer of the season.
After Schwethelm followed Osburn's homer with a single, Lynam then blasted her second home run of the game, a towering shot down the left field line as she extended the lead to 10-1. The home run marked the first time a Baylor player had two home runs in a game since Osburn hit two in a win over Tennessee on Feb. 27, 2004.
Luce, Lynam and Osburn added RBI doubles in the inning as Ottens and Daniels added RBI singles to extended the lead to 15 runs.
Ferguson closed the door on the Bobcats in the bottom of the inning as Baylor picked up a six-inning run-rule victory. The right-handed moved to 7-1 on the season, allowing two runs on eight hits in six innings of work.
Lynam led the attack for Baylor, going 3-for-4 in the win with two home runs, a double, two runs and six RBI. The ten total bases in the win for Lynam established a new school record as surpassed the previous mark of nine held by three players. Luce added three RBI and Osburn has three runs and three hits as Baylor established new season highs for hits and runs scored.
Olivia Henley took the loss for Texas State, allowing five runs on seven hits in three innings of work as she fell to 0-3 on the season.
Baylor's hot hitting continued at the start of game two as the Lady Bears jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Minnesota when Lake followed walks to Osburn and Lynam with a home run just over the center field wall. The shot was the second of the day for Lake and the fifth of the season.
With a 3-0 lead, Osburn extended the lead to four in the second with her two-out single to right field to score Stephanie Pomes to make the score 4-0 in favor of the Lady Bears.
Lynam's seventh RBI on the day gave Baylor a 5-0 lead over the Golden Gophers when she singled to right field to score Osburn in the bottom of the fifth inning.
After Lynam scored on a fielding error, Luce gave the Lady Bears a seven-run lead when she doubled home Daniels with two outs.
The offensive output was more than enough for Baylor starter Cristin Vitek, who allowed only one hit and retired 21-of-22 batters, including the last 17, as she improved to 5-1 on the season with the complete game shutout.
Baylor will conclude action at the tournament when the Lady Bears face North Carolina on Sunday, Feb. 20, at 11:00 a.m.
