Baylor
Sam Houston State
No. 16 SB Opens Home Slate with Getterman Classic
2/14/2019 5:27:00 PM | Softball
Tournament field includes BU, Sam Houston State, Southern Miss and UT Arlington
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BAYLOR LADY BEARS (4-2) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Glenn Moore (Northwestern St., 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
BAYLOR (4-2) at GETTERMAN CLASSIC February 15-17, 2018 Waco, Texas • Getterman Stadium (1,230) TOURNAMENT CENTRAL: Live Stats WATCH: Facebook Live Baylor Social Media:    |
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SAM HOUSTON STATE (2-3) Location: Huntsville, Texas Conference: Southland Head Coach: Garrett Valis (Texas, 2007) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Returning home to play on its new artificial turf field for the first time, the No. 16/18 Baylor softball team (4-2) will host the Getterman Classic this weekend with games beginning at 10 a.m. Friday at renovated Getterman Stadium.
Baylor played its first six games on the road, going 3-2 at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge in Mexico and then beating UTSA, 4-1, Wednesday night in San Antonio.
While they've practiced and scrimmaged on it, this will be the Lady Bears' first games on the artificial turf installed by Geo-Surfaces of Baton Rouge, La.
"We're ready to try our new field out, our new digs," said Baylor coach Glenn Moore, whose team has won 11 of the previous 16 Getterman Classics. "We went back in time in Mexico when we played down there. So, I think if there was any reason to be excited about new turf, that field down there would make us excited about coming home and having a consistent surface. We've played on enough parks with artificial surface. From my perspective, this plays better than any we've played on. The bounce is more like natural grass."
The Lady Bears were tested last weekend, beating No. 9 South Carolina, 4-1, going 10 innings to knock off North Carolina, 10-9, and beating Liberty, 6-1, while losing to BYU and No. 2/3 Washington.
"We didn't win every game that we wanted, but we were able to make some changes and see what route we wanted to go," said junior second baseman Nicky Dawson, who joined freshman left-handed pitcher Madison Lindsey on the all-tournament team. "I think we've got a lot of potential, and I think we're going to see a difference in this team. A lot of that is fight. This weekend, I think we're going to surprise some people and put up some numbers."
Sam Houston State (2-3) and UT-Arlington (2-3) kick things off with a matchup at 10 a.m. Friday, followed by UTA vs. Southern Miss (5-1) at 12:30 p.m., Baylor-Sam Houston at 3 p.m. and Baylor playing Southern Miss at 5:30.
"A tougher field, again, than we thought going in," Moore said of the tournament field. "All three of these teams have strengths that we're going to have to deal with. I've heard some great things about Sam Houston State, expected to have one of their better teams in years. Southern Miss went 5-0 on the weekend, have some big numbers on the sheets. I think we're going to be challenged in some areas where we're going to have to respond to. It's certainly not a weekend that we can go ahead and claim the Getterman Classic title."
Freshmen Ana Watson (.455) and Josie Bower (.375) lead the team with limited at-bats, with junior shortstop Taylor Ellis tops among the every-day players with a .333 average. Freshman third baseman Kassid Krupit is hitting .300 and has hit the team's only two homers.
"The brightest spot on the team," Moore said, was Lindsey. The freshman lefty is 1-0 with a 2.84 ERA and has appeared in all six games, tossing a team-high 19.0 innings.
"She's a little bulldog," Moore said. "She threw harder and more effectively than we anticipated for her debut."
With senior Gia Rodoni out for the season with an injury, sophomore transfer Sidney Holman has stepped into the role of an ace and is 2-1 with a 5.02 ERA and a team-best 17 strikeouts in 14.1 innings.
"Personally, I feel like I've done better under pressure," Holman said. "But, there's not that much pressure on me, because I have a good defense and a good offense behind me."
Moore said there are high expectations for Holman, "one of the hardest-throwing pitchers we've ever had here."
"But, she had a whole year off from her freshman year at Abilene Christian," Moore said. "You don't just throw her to a team like Washington . . . you don't throw her to those lineups and expect her to throw no-hitters and just be dominant. And she wasn't. But, she certainly had moments of brilliance. We saw things that certainly excited us about what she's capable of doing."
Rounding out pool play, Southern Miss will face Southern Miss at 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by Baylor versus UTA at 12:30 p.m. Semifinals are scheduled for 3 and 5:30 p.m., with the consolation game at 10 a.m. and championship at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
"We're so excite to be back here playing on the new field," Holman said. "Coming off some pretty big wins in Puerto Vallarta, we're ready to carry on the winning tradition here at Getterman Stadium."
All Baylor games will be streamed this weekend via Facebook Live @BaylorSoftball.
STORY LINES
• No. 16/18 Baylor softball will make its first home appearance in the 2019 season at Getterman Stadium, hosting the 17th-annual Getterman Classic this weekend, Feb. 15-17.
• The tournament field features the Lady Bears along with Sam Houston State, Southern Miss and UT Arlington.
• All Baylor games will be streamed via Facebook Live (@BaylorSoftball) this weekend.
• The Getterman Classic will mark the 17th year of the annual tournament, hosted by Baylor University in Waco.
• The tournament is named after Ted and Sue Getterman, lifelong supporters of the program and instrumental benefactors to starting the Baylor softball program and funding the world-class Getterman Stadium, also carrying their namesake.
• Baylor has won the Getterman Classic title 11 times in the tournament's 16 years.
• Baylor's record in the Getterman Classic is 70-12 all-time against the field.
• Baylor is 18-0 in home openers under 19th-year head coach Glenn Moore.
• Baylor faced two ranked opponents in the opening weekend for the first time since the 2010 season.
• Last weekend, the Lady Bears posted a 4-1 victory over then-No. 9/9 South Carolina in the season opener and most recently posted a 4-1 road win at UTSA on Wednesday night.
• Baylor returns 13 letterwinners and seven position player starters from the 2018 squad that advanced to the program's eighth consecutive NCAA Regional.
• The Lady Bears add two transfers and a strong eight-member signing class to the 2019 roster.
• The Lady Bears have the fourth-longest tenured coaching staff in the country in head coach Glenn Moore, associate head coach Mark Lumley and assistant coach Britni Sneed Newman.
• The trio has been coaching together at Baylor for 16 seasons.
• Baylor went 10-5 last season in home games.
• Baylor is 3-0 when the opponent scores two runs or less in 2019.
• Freshman Kassidy Krupit hit the team's first home run of the season against Liberty in the top of the seventh inning on Feb. 10, helping the Lady Bears top the Flames, 6-1, in Mexico.
QUICK HITS
• Baylor has five games on its schedule against teams ranked in the preseason Coaches Top 10 and 16 games vs. the Coaches Top 25.
• Baylor is 1-1 against ranked opponents in 2019, going 4-8 against ranked foes last season.
• Baylor will play 24 games against 12 programs that advanced to the 2018 NCAA Regionals, including WCWS participants Washington and Oklahoma.
• Baylor was 3-1 when scoring first in 2019.
• Baylor is 270-99 over the last 7 seasons, averaging over 38 wins per season since 2013.
• BU was picked 3rd in the Big 12 preseason coaches poll behind Oklahoma and Texas.
BAYLOR AGAINST GETTERMAN CLASSIC OPPONENTS
• Baylor is a combined 13-2 against Sam Houston State, UT Arlington and Southern Miss since 2011.
• The last loss to any team in this weekend's field was a 4-3 decision in 10 innings at Sam Houston State on March 25, 2014.
• Baylor faced Southern Miss at the Black and Gold Invite in Hattiesburg, Miss. 11th-ranked BU came away with a tight 3-2 victory after the team collected 11 hits.
• Four Lady Bears had multi-hit games vs. USM, including Goose McGlaun (2-for-4, RBI), Carlee Wallace (2-for-2, SAC, BB), Maddison Kettler (2-for-4), and Nicky Dawson (2-for-3, RBI).
• Regan Green worked the first 4.0 innings, allowing three hits and two runs, striking out one and walking two. Gia Rodoni pitched a perfect 3.0 innings to close the contest, striking out five and keeping the Golden Eagles completely shut down.
• Baylor last faced Sam Houston State on March 21, 2017 with the Lady Bears coming away with a 4-1 victory at home.
• Kelsee Selman was dominant in the circle, pitching 5.1 innings of shutout work with nine strikeouts and no walks on three hits. Goose McGlaun closed out the final 1.2 innings, earning her second career save and allowing the lone Bearkat run on a solo home run.
