No. 24/25 SB Set to Host Baylor Invitational

Softball 2/23/2017 12:00:00 AM

Feb. 23, 2017

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation

Even after capturing the Getterman Classic title for the 11th time in 16 years and notching his 800th career victory, Baylor softball coach Glenn Moore contends that his 24th-ranked Lady Bears are still very much a work in progress.

"All we're trying to do right now is get our identity, find out what we're capable of and find the right combination that works best for us," he said.

That process continues this weekend, with the Lady Bears (9-3) hosting Southern Illinois-Edwardsville (8-2), UMass (2-3) and Saint Francis (8-2) in the three-day Baylor Invitational at Getterman Stadium.

Through the first two weekends, the team's identity has centered on a short game led by sophomore outfielder Kyla Walker, who is hitting a Big 12-best .600 with two doubles, two triples, nine RBI and six stolen bases.

"She's a phenom," Moore said of Walker, who was named to the Getterman Classic all-tournament team along with junior centerfielder Jessie Scroggins, senior third baseman Lindsey Cargill and senior pitcher Kelsee Selman. "You heard it fro me first, she's probably the best hitter we've ever had. When she fails - that four out of 10 times she's failing right now - it eats her alive. Getting her out twice in a row is a big feat for any pitcher. She's unbelievable."

Baylor is hitting a conference-best .343, with Walker being just one of the four players hitting .390 or better. Cargill checks in at .429, freshman outfielder Maddison Kettler at .395 and Scroggins at .390.

"We were pleased, and overwhelmingly so, with our short game," Moore said. "And I say short game, it's power slappers. So, we have kids who are capable of hitting balls in the gaps and even power to hit balls out of the park. Our short game is as good as it's ever been here at Baylor, and we're kind of known for that, so we've had some teams with great speedsters."

It's been more of a struggle for the team's power hitters, an area that was expected to be a strength coming into the season.

Junior first baseman Shelby Friudenberg hit 29 home runs her first two seasons, but is still looking for her first in 2017. The Lady Bears had hit just three dingers through the first 11 games before freshman DP Shelby McGlaun and junior catcher Sydney Christenson both hit two-run bombs in Wednesday's 9-3 win over McNeese State.

"I was like, `Finally,''' said McGlaun, who homered on her 35th collegiate at-bat and 38th plate appearance. "I was just sitting, waiting for something hard, and that's what I got. I was just trying to score that other run that was on base."

Moore said that Friudenberg, McGlaun, Christenson and senior second baseman Ari Hawkins might be pressing a little too much.

"We talked about that after the tournament, and how we've got to realize that the pressure in those situations should be on the pitcher and not on our hitters," he said. "And maybe I have to self-reflect a little bit and find out if I'm putting the pressure on them, because our expectations of the 3, 4 and 5 hitters are really high with the table-setters we have in front of them."

Before Wednesday's doubleheader with McNeese State, Moore shuffled the lineup, moving Scroggins from the leadoff spot to the 3-hole hitter and Hawkins into the leadoff. That also moved Friudenberg out of the cleanup spot she had been in all season, maybe taking some of the pressure off of her.

"When it comes time, our big bats will show up when they need to," Scroggins said. "You have Kyla and Kettler stepping up. And at the end of the day, I know the big hitters - both Shelbys and Ari - those guys will show up when they need to."

The Baylor Invitational schedule begins Friday with SIU-Edwardsville vs. Saint Francis (Pa.) at 10 a.m., followed by Saint Francis vs. UMass at 12:30 p.m., Baylor vs. SIU-Edwardsville at 3 p.m. and Baylor-UMass at 5:30.

Two more games on Saturday will wrap up round-robin play, with bracket play starting at 3 p.m. The consolation game is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Sunday, followed by the championship at noon.

WACO, Texas - No. 25/24 Baylor softball (9-3) will host a four-team tournament field for the Baylor Invitational, welcoming in SIU-Edwardsville (8-2), UMass (2-3), and Saint Francis (PA) (8-2), with tournament play kicking off on Friday, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m. for SIUE vs. SFA.

BU plays a doubleheader in games three and four on Friday afternoon, facing SIUE at 3 p.m. and UMass at 5:30 p.m.

The Lady Bears then open Saturday's slate of games, facing SFU at 10 a.m.

The tournament then flips into a seeded, bracketed tournament, with the first and fourth seed playing at 3 p.m. and the second and third at 5:30 p.m.

The consolation game between the losers of the two seeded games will face off on Sunday morning at 9:30 a.m., with the championship game to follow at noon.

The Lady Bears are fresh off a doubleheader sweep over McNeese State, with the second of the two games notching career win No. 800 for head coach Glenn Moore.

Baylor has never faced SIUE or SFU entering the weekend tournament, but does hold a 4-0 advantage over UMass.

For these and all other home games this season, a live audio and video stream will be available for subscribers on BaylorBears.com/allaccess. Dan Ingham and former Lady Bears Kaitlyn Thumann and Jordan Strickland will handle the commentary all weekend.

Baylor fans can follow action all season long on Twitter by following @BaylorSoftball and Baylor head coach Glenn Moore @BUMoore.

GAME INFO
Friday, Feb. 24
Game 1: 10:00am SIUE vs. SFU
Game 2: 12:30pm SFU vs. UMass
Game 3: 3:00pm Baylor vs. SIUE
Game 4: 5:30pm Baylor vs. UMass
Saturday, Feb. 25
Game 5: 10:00am Baylor vs. SFU
Game 6: 12:30pm UMass vs. SIUE
Bracket Play
Game 7: 3:00pm Seed 1 vs. Seed 4
Game 8: 5:30pm Seed 2 vs. Seed 3
Sunday, Feb. 26
Consolation: 9:30am L of Game 7 vs. L of Game 8
Championship: Noon W of Game 7 vs. W of Game 8