Feb. 26, 2017 Box Score
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Foundation Baylor softball's getting the hang of this whole walk-off thing.
For the second consecutive weekend, the No. 24/25 Lady Bears (14-3) clinched a tournament title in walk-off fashion.
After Baylor battled back from a two-run deficit to tie it up in the fifth inning of Sunday's Baylor Invitational championship game, Ari Hawkins led off the bottom of the seventh with a double to right-center field and scored easily on Shelby Friudenberg's shot just inside the third-base bag as the Lady Bears defeated Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, 3-2, and extended their winning streak to eight with their third walk-off in that stretch.
"Being 0-for-3 was kind of in my head going into the last at-bat," said Friudenberg, who had popped up on two of her first three plate appearances. "I thought Ari's hit was going over, but the wind kind of caught it. I was just glad to do that for the team."
Hawkins also scored a walk-off run in last Sunday's 7-6, Getterman Classic-clinching win over UTSA and drove in the winning run in a walk-off 6-5 victory over McNeese State in the first game of Wednesday's doubleheader sweep that gave coach Glenn Moore his 800th career victory.
Just like those two games, the Lady Bears had to battle from behind in Sunday's championship game, falling behind 2-0 in the fourth inning.
Baylor starter Gia Rodoni retired the first 10 batters she faced, striking out six and taking a perfect game into the fourth. But, things changed in a hurry.
After the Cougars (11-4) loaded the bases with three straight one-out singles, Allison Smiley ripped a single by Cargill at third base, plating the game's first two runs. Summoned from the pen, Kelsee Selman (7-2) finished the game the way Rodoni started it, sitting down 10 in a row and getting out of that fourth when catcher Sydney Christenson threw out pinch-runner Talisa Morton trying to steal third.
"This was a big game definitely one we didn't want to lose," said Selman, who picked up three of the team's five victories over the weekend. "I came in and threw strikes and let the defense work."
The Lady Bears got a run back in the bottom half of the inning after loading the bases with singles by Cargill and Selman and a walk by Caitlin Charlton. Relief pitcher Hailey Chambers-Book appeared to end the inning when she struck out Jessie Scroggins, but the ball got by catcher Amy Hunt and allowed Cargill to score from third.
In the fifth, Hawkins led off with a bunt single and scored on a Cargill hit just over the first-base bag that went all the way into the right-field corner for her second triple of the year. After Maddison Kettler walked, Baylor had runners on the corners with one out, but Shelby McGlaun popped out to second and Selman grounded out to third.
SIU-Edwardsville's best chance off Selman came in the sixth, when Chambers-Book ripped a first-pitch delivery to the deepest part of the park. Scroggins looked like she got a late jump on the ball, but tracked it down and made a diving catch at the warning track.
"The defense helped out a lot," Selman said. "Jessie came up with a big one. I was watching to make sure she got it, and I'm glad she did."
Selman breezed through the last four batters, getting three pop-ups and a line-out to short.
"They were putting the bat on the ball, so we had McGlaun warmed and ready to go," Moore said. "We had a short leash. . . . We're going to have somebody ready when we feel the momentum is going against us. But, that's a team that's hard to stop when they get a hit or two."
Selman was named to a Baylor-dominated all-tournament team that included Friudenberg, Hawkins, Cargill, Kettler, Rodoni and Kyla Walker.
After winning 11 games in the 12-game home stand, Baylor will travel to Fullerton, Calif., next weekend for the Judi Garman Classic. The Lady Bears open the three-day tournament against No. 21 Arizona State at noon CDT Friday and will also face No. 6 UCLA, eighth-ranked Washington, No. 14 Michigan and Cal State Fullerton.
"It's going to be a murderer's row out there, and we know that," Moore said. "I think we're in a position we hoped to be, but we'll be really tested to see how good we are."
THE RUNDOWN WACO, Texas - No. 24/25 Baylor softball (14-3) won its eighth-consecutive game and second-straight tournament championship, taking a 3-2 walk-off win over SIU-Edwardsville (11-4) to clinch the Baylor Invitational title on Sunday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.
BU finished the weekend tournament with an unblemished 5-0 record, defeating UMass and SIUE twice and Saint Francis (PA) once.
Gia Rodoni took the start in the circle, working 3.1 frames and striking out six Cougar hitters while allowing two runs on four hits.
Kelsee Selman (7-2) took the win in relief, working a perfect final 3.2 innings, retiring all 10 SIUE batters she faced.
After the two teams stayed locked in a scoreless tie through three innings, it was SIUE that broke through first, with a one-out rally in the top of the fourth.
Four-straight singles brought in two runs, giving the Cougars a 2-0 lead.
The Lady Bears attacked back in the bottom of the fourth, with Lindsey Cargill leading off with a single. After two pop ups, the rally started with Selman pinch hitting and helping her own cause, drilling a single into right field and advancing to second after Cargill beat the throw to third.
A four pitch walk to Caitlin Charlton loaded the bases, with BU taking advantage of a passed ball on a swinging strikeout by Jessie Scroggins, scoring Cargill to tie the game at 2-2.
Entering the bottom of the seventh, still locked in the tie ballgame, Ari Hawkins led off with a double launched deep into the gap in right center.
Just a pitch later, Hawkins would be driven in on a walk-off RBI single, roped past the SIUE third baseman, down the left field line by Shelby Friudenberg, clinching the 3-2 win for BU.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Shelby Friudenberg, Ari Hawkins, Lindsey Cargill, Maddison Kettler, Kyla Walker, Kelsee Selman, and Gia Rodoni were all named to the 10-member Baylor Invitational All-Tournament team, joined by Alyssa Heren from SIUE and Sierra McKee from SFU.
- BU had three batters finish the weekend at or above .500 at the plate, with Ari Hawkins (.538), Shelby Friudenberg (.500), and Lindsey Cargill (.500) leading the Lady Bear offense.
- Friudenberg led the power attack, drilling three home runs, eight RBI, and 17 total bases, good for a 1.063 slugging percentage. With a 14-game active streak, the junior also matched her career-high reached base streak.
- Selman led the BU pitching staff, going 3-0 and posting a 0.42 ERA on the weekend, adding 12 strikeouts with only one walk and one earned run.
- The pitching staff finished the weekend with a 1.44 ERA, working 35 strikeouts to only three walks and giving up seven earned runs in 34.0 innings of work.
TOP QUOTES
"You want competition to make you better, and you want to end up with a win, and that's what happened. I tip my hat to SIUE. They're a scrappy, well-coached team, and they compete. I've watched them all weekend get down and come back. They led most of the game, so we had to scrap and play from behind. We were able to pull it out with two big hits at the end. I thought we got a great start out of Gia, then they put some hits together. We brought Kelsee in, and I don't think she gave up a hit, thanks to a great play in the outfield by Scroggins. Over the course of the weekend, I thought we tried some things. I probably took us out of some opportunities to stay more consistent, moving some people around and doing things to try to figure out what's the best combination. We were able to do that and still win, so it was a successful weekend in that regard." - Baylor head coach Glenn Moore, on the weekend's success and growth of the team
"We just try to stay relaxed in the game. We've got to be in the game at all times, and kind of learn from what they're doing at the same time we're learning from our at bats. So we just worked on that throughout the game and learned what the pitcher was doing. We were finally able to attack her." - Baylor infielder Shelby Friudenberg, on staging another late comeback
"A lot of that goes to the defense, I mean there were definitely balls where they easily could've dropped. So the defense helped out a lot - Jessie helped out a lot. She makes plays like that all the time." - Baylor pitcher Kelsee Selman, on working a perfect finish to the game
WHAT'S NEXT
The Lady Bears head west, taking part in one of the nation's most premier tournaments, the Judi Garman Classic, hosted by Cal State Fullerton in Fullerton, Calif., March 3-5.
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