Box Score

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

It took them three days, but the 18th-ranked Baylor Lady Bears finally got to Oklahoma pitcher Paige Parker, pounding out 11 hits in Sunday's series finale at Getterman Stadium.

But for the third straight day, pitcher Heather Stearns got burned by the long ball.

Nine-hole hitter Nicole Pendley belted a two-out, three-run homer in the fifth to lift the 12th-ranked Sooners to a 7-4 victory, completing the three-game sweep before a season-high crowd of 1,528.

"We fought today. That's what I asked our girls to do, to come out and fight and give us a chance to win," said Baylor coach Glenn Moore, whose team fell to 32-10 overall and 5-3 in the Big 12. "We fought, we had a chance to win. It was a good softball game, one we needed to win, and we didn't come out on top."

Oklahoma (30-7, 6-1) scored a run in the first off Baylor starter Kelsee Selman in the first and added an unearned run off reliever Kendall Potts in the third.

But after managing just nine hits combined off Parker (17-3) and getting shut out the two previous games, the Lady Bears finally broke out the bats, plating a pair of runs in the bottom of the third.

After singles by Lindsey Cargill and Jessie Scroggins, Shelby Friudenberg delivered a two-run single down the left-field line to tie it up at 2-2.

"We changed our system and the way we batted," said Cargill, who was 2-for-3. "We started to do slash-hitting, and I feel like that really helped us focus in on the ball and see it and drive it."

The Lady Bears took their first lead of the series in the fourth, when Sarah Smith doubled to the wall in right-center and scored on Ari Hawkins' RBI single to left, barely beating the throw home. Caitlin Charlton moved Hawkins into scoring position with a sac bunt, but Parker struck out pinch-hitter Sydney Christenson and got Cargill to fly out to right.

OU answered back in the top of the fifth, regaining the lead on Pendley's three-run homer after Stearns (15-5) gave up a one-out single to Caleigh Clifton and plunked pinch-hitter Paige Townsend.

In the sixth, Hawkins led off with a walk and went to second when left fielder Kady Self overthrew first base after a line out by Charlton. Hawkins then stole third and scored on catcher Lea Wodach's throwing error to make it 5-4.

The Sooners tacked on a couple insurance runs off Stearns in the seventh on an RBI double by Fale Aviu and a two-out single by Pendley. Baylor brought the tying run to the plate with one out in the bottom of the seventh after singles by Kyla Walker and Linsey Hays, but Smith lined out to center and Hawkins popped out to first on a 3-1 pitch.

"It was frustrating. We knew it was going to be tough with them, it always is with Oklahoma," said Walker, who went 2-for-3 and is hitting .500 in conference play. "We didn't show it this weekend, but I still think we are (the better team). Their pitcher did a good job keeping us guessing. But we're going to bounce back, no matter what."

The Lady Bears will go on the road for their next five, playing a doubleheader at Houston (18-21) on Tuesday and a three-game series at Oklahoma State (20-17, 3-4) next weekend in Stillwater.

"We've got plenty to fight for," Moore said. "They're capable of doing this to many teams, and they have done it. We've got to play better ball than we played to beat them. I thought we matched up better against them than we apparently did, because they outplayed us all three games this weekend. Having said that, the girls responded well today and fought really hard. And for that, I'm happy."

WACO, Texas - No. 18 Baylor softball (32-10, 5-3) pushed back, but could not finish off No. 12 Oklahoma (30-7, 6-1), falling 7-4 on Sunday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.

Heather Stearns (15-5) came on in relief with a 2-2 tie game, but her weekend struggles against the OU lineup continued, giving up five runs and six hits over the final 4.0 frames.

For Oklahoma, Paige Parker (17-3) made her third straight start against the Baylor lineup, with the Lady Bears able to pile up 11 hits and four runs, outhitting the Sooners, 11-10.

After OU took an early lead 2-0 lead, with Kelsee Selman starting and Kendall Potts working in relief, the Baylor bats scored the first BU runs of the weekend in the home half of the third.

Back-to-back singles by Lindsey Cargill and Jessie Scroggins put runners on second and third with one out.

Shelby Friudenberg drilled a single down the left-field line, scoring both runners to tie the ballgame.

Back in the bottom of the fourth, the bats were back again, with Sarah Smith roping a double to the fence in right-center, scoring on an RBI single into the left-field corner by Ari Hawkins, giving Baylor its first lead of the weekend.

OU would take the lead right back, with a three-run home run in the top of the fifth, putting the Sooners ahead, 5-3.

The Lady Bears were able to cut back into the lead, taking a run back in the bottom of the sixth after Ari Hawkins led off with a walk, coming around to score on two OU errors and a stolen base to cut the lead to one.

The Sooners dropped two more runs across in the seventh, pushing the lead to three, with Baylor unable to rally back in the bottom of the seventh.

QUOTES
Baylor Head Coach Glenn Moore
On the effort today...
"We fought today. We gave ourselves a chance to win. They answered. So again, I tip my hat to them each game, I'll do it again. They're a good team. We fought today. That's what I asked our girls to do, come out and fight and give us a chance to win. We fought, we had a chance to win. It was a good softball game, one we needed to win, and we didn't come out on top."

On the Big 12 race...
"They came here and won three games from the team that was leading. We've got plenty to fight for, and we didn't get it done. Simple as that, we didn't get it done. They're a good team, they're capable of doing this to many teams, and they have done it. We've got to play better ball than we played to beat them. I thought we matched up better against them than we apparently did, because they outplayed us all three games this weekend. But having said that, the girls responded well today and they fought really hard."

Junior Lindsey Cargill
On getting to OU's Parker today...
"We changed our system and the way we batted. We started to do slash-hitting, and I feel like that really helped us focus in on the ball and see it and drive it."

On bouncing back...
"We're going to bounce back, no matter what. No matter if it's Oklahoma, no matter if it's Texas, anybody, because that's the type of team we are."

Freshman Kyla Walker
On frustrations after losing another close game...
"It was frustrating. We knew it was going to be tough with them, it always is with Oklahoma. We thought we were the better team, which we didn't show it this weekend, but I still think we are. The pitching, the pitch-calling, [Parker] did a good job of keeping us guessing. We're going to bounce back no matter what."

On moving forward after the sweep...
"We just forget about it. That's how you have to play the game, you have to move on, next at-bat, next pitch, next game. You have to move on. You can't sit here and dwell on it, it's done."

STAT OF THE GAME #1
16 - the on-base streak for Sarah Smith, setting a new team season-high

STAT OF THE GAME #2
.500 - the batting average for both Sarah Smith and Kyla Walker in conference play, tied for the highest in the Big 12

STAT OF THE GAME #3
11 - the number of hits by the Baylor offense, the most allowed by OU's Parker in her career and just the second double-digit hit game allowed in her two seasons in the circle

WHAT'S NEXT
The Lady Bears hit the road for five straight road games, playing a Tuesday doubleheader at Houston and then a weekend series in Stillwater against Oklahoma State.

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