March 16, 2011

DENTON, Texas -

NO. 15 BAYLOR 6, NORTH TEXAS 1 Box Score 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E 1 3 0 0 2 0 0 6 11 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 Pitching IP H R ER BB SO W - Canion (12-2) 7.0 5 1 0 1 8 L - Kirk (5-5) 2.0 6 4 4 1 2 Batting Leaders AB R H RBI BB HR BU -Walker 4 1 1 3 0 1 UNT - Cantler 3 0 2 0 0 0 • Sic 'Em Sports Blog • Baylor Athletics Experience • Softball Media Almanac

NORTH TEXAS 9, NO. 15 BAYLOR 8 (9) Box Score 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E 0 0 0 4 1 1 1 0 1 8 11 3 0 0 4 3 0 0 0 0 2 9 10 4 Pitching IP H R ER BB SO W - Kirk (6-6) 4.0 3 2 2 1 4 L - Canion (12-3) 2.2 2 2 2 2 4 Batting Leaders AB R H RBI BB HR BU - Freeland 5 1 3 1 0 0 UNT - Bradshaw 4 1 3 2 0 0 • Sic 'Em Sports Blog • Baylor Athletics Experience • Softball Media Almanac

Kayce Walker hit her first career home run to lead No. 15 Baylor (24-4) to a 6-1 win in game one, before falling in nine innings in game two, 9-8 at North Texas (13-11) on Wednesday night. The pair of games ends a stretch of 11 games in 13 days for the Lady Bears. KJ Freeland and Clare Hosack each recorded four hits on the night.

"We had our chances in game two, they just took advantage of their opportunities," head coach Glenn Moore said. "This break comes at a good time for us because we need a rest to get rejuvenated for the second half of our season."

Game One
No. 15 Baylor 6, North Texas 1

Led by Kayce Walker's first career home run, the Lady Bears defeated North Texas, 6-1 in game one.

Whitney Canion (12-2) went the distance, allowing five hits, one unearned run, one walk and eight strikeouts.

The Lady Bears got off to a quick start with a 1-0 lead as Shelton led off with a walk and stole second to get in scoring position. After a sac bunt from Kayce Walker, Megan Turk laced a base hit through the left side to score Shelton for the RBI.

The Mean Green answered right back in the bottom of the inning, as Monica Hirsch led off the inning with a single between Canion and first base, and advanced to second on a groundout to second. Mallory Cantler then singled off Canion's reaching glove and it spun away from Wilson at second, she bobbled the ball while collecting it, allowing Hirsch to come home.

Back-to-back singles from Kelsi Kettler and Clare Hosack put runners on the corners, and with two outs, Walker put her first career home run over right field for a 4-1 lead.

Holly Holl singled and advanced to third on a double from Canion, but with no outs, the Lady Bears stranded those runners and an opportunity to score.

Baylor had another chance to up its lead in the fourth, with Hosack drawing a leadoff walk and advancing to second on a one-out single from Shelton, but the Lady Bears left runners on for the second-straight inning, keeping the score 4-1.

Canion kept the North Texas batters at bay, retiring 15-of-16 batters from the first inning until an infield single to second with one out in the sixth.

The Lady Bears finally broke through with two more runs in the fifth, with Canion drawing a walk and Jordan Vannatta getting hit by a pitch before being sacrificed over by Kelsi Kettler. With Meagan Weldon pinch running for Canion, Hosack hit a sac fly to the left field warning track that scored Weldon and advanced Vannatta to third. Freeland then singled to center for an RBI that brought Vannatta home for the 6-1 lead.

Game Two
North Texas 9, No. 15 Baylor 8 (9)

After battling back to tie the game on two separate occasions, including a lead in the ninth, Baylor surrendered a two-out, two-RBI single from Courtney Bradshaw that won the game for the Mean Green, 9-8.

Canion (12-3) took the loss despite coming on in relief to allow two hits, two runs, two walks and four strikeouts in 2.2 innings. Liz Paul started the game, allowing four unearned runs, two hits and two walks in 2.2 innings. Courtney Repka relieved Paul, giving up six hits, three runs, one walk and two strikeouts in 3.1 innings.

A grand slam with two outs by Cantler gave North Texas a 4-0 lead in the third, after a four run, two hit inning.

Baylor answered in the top of the fourth with a four-run inning of its own. With one away, Canion drew a walk and advanced to second on a Freeland single. A Kettler single loaded the bases, allowing Hosack to rip a two-RBI double followed by a Redfearn sac fly for the third run of the inning. A wild pitch led to the fourth run, crossing Hosack for the tie.

North Texas put three runs on the board in the bottom of the inning, as a pair of singles led off the inning, and after a sac bunt, Monica Hirsch delivered an RBI-single. Mariza Martinez then doubled to left center for the second and third runs of the inning, making it 7-4.

The Lady Bears answered back with a run on a single to left center from Wilson, scoring Walker, who singled to begin the inning.

BU cut the lead to just one in the sixth, with another leadoff single, this time from Kettler. Hosack then delivered a single to right that got by the right fielder and rolled to the wall to score Kettler. Baylor led the runner stranded at third, however, trailing 7-6.

Canion delivered the tying RBI in the seventh, with one out on a single to right center that scored Holl from second. Holl ripped a one-out single off the shortstop and advanced to second on a wild pitch.

Canion came in and shut down the Mean Green attack, retiring seven-straight after leading off the seventh with a walk, before a walk with one out in the ninth snapped the streak.

Freeland finally delivered an RBI-double, scoring Canion from first, after Canion reached on a fielder's choice for the 8-7 lead.

Canion got a groundout to begin the inning, before a walk and a bunt-single put runners on first and second. After a strikeout, Bradhsaw delivered a single to right center for the pair of RBI and the win.

Baylor will be off for seven days before welcoming Florida International for a doubleheader on Thursday, March 24 beginning at 4:00 p.m.