Baylor
Oklahoma State
SB Opens Big 12 Play at Home vs. No. 21 Oklahoma State
3/21/2019 12:03:00 PM | Softball
Lady Bears are 17-13 vs. the Cowgirls the last 10 years
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BAYLOR LADY BEARS (13-12) Location: Waco, Texas Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Glenn Moore (Northwestern St., 1993) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
BAYLOR (13-12) vs. 21/18 OKLAHOMA STATE (21-8) March 22-24, 2019 Waco, Texas • Getterman Stadium Baylor Social Media:    |
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OKLAHOMA STATE (21-8) Location: Stillwater, Okla. Conference: Big 12 Head Coach: Kenny Gajewski (Oklahoma, 1995) Roster | Stats | Game Notes |
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By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
Dealing with three season-ending injuries already and two other players being out for up to four more weeks, Glenn Moore is trying hard to "stay positive and find some glimmer of hope" as Baylor softball (13-12) opens Big 12 play with a weekend series against No. 21 Oklahoma State (21-8).
"We are still optimistic that we're going to turn this thing around with what we have," Moore said. "Unusual to be in this circumstance for us, but we have reason to believe that we're still a pretty good ball team and right now we're undefeated in Big 12 play. You have to be a realist and celebrate the small victories and try to grow your team there rather than just beating them up all the time and saying, 'Hey, this isn't Baylor softball.'''
The conference-opening series against the Cowgirls begins with Friday's 6:30 p.m. game at Getterman Stadium, followed by 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday in an ESPN2 telecast.
"When conference starts, it's kind of a new season for us," said junior first baseman Goose McGlaun, who is hitting .389 with three homers and 11 RBI. "We're just focusing on this new season that's upon us, because we can't control what's happened already. We're just trying to help the freshmen stay focused and relaying to them that this isn't Baylor softball, this isn't the normal for us."
After winning their last two games on a Louisiana road trip, sweeping a doubleheader from McNeese State, the Lady Bears got swept by Houston in a doubleheader on Tuesday and then fell 8-5 to Central Arkansas on Wednesday.
"Fifteen years ago, I would have said I'm on the edge about to jump off," Moore said of the team's struggles. "But, as I've grown wiser in my older age, the approach that we're taking is let's control the controllables and this is what we're given. Let's see how we can lead these young women to not only endure this but find a way to be successful in spite of the adversity and benefit from that later on in life, somehow. . . . If you give the effort, the scoreboard will take care of itself."
At No. 43 in the RPI rankings going into the week, Baylor has a daunting schedule the rest of the way with 15 of its last 25 games against teams currently ranked in the top 15. Other than the weekend series against OSU (13thin RPI rankings), the Lady Bears still have three games left against No. 4 Oklahoma (26-2), No. 5 Texas (26-6), No. 6 LSU (25-6) and No. 14 Texas Tech (27-2).
"That's a positive in the sense that if you win enough of the remaining games, you're going to strengthen your situation for postseason," Moore said. "It's not like we're playing teams that will help us just finish above .500. We have to play and win against very, very good teams. We're not forgetting about the big picture, but we've got to put that way ahead of us and just focus on the now."
With senior Regan Green (2-4, 3.28 ERA) out with a fractured rib, and freshmen Madison Lindsey (3-3, 2.88) and Kassidy Krupit both struggling in the circle, Moore said he will have to lean more on sophomore right-hander Sidney Holman (8-5, 2.68). She threw six shutout innings in Wednesday's game against Central Arkansas and has already posted top-10 wins over South Carolina and Louisiana.
"Sidney's been throwing pretty well and we're just looking for a strong arm to come through to back her up and give her some rest," said McGlaun, who pitched for the first time this season on Wednesday.
Moore said he feels Lindsey has "bottomed out, and she'll be back on her way back soon." The freshman lefthander has dropped her last three decisions and hasn't won since throwing 2 1/3 shutout innings in a 4-3 win over Southern Miss on Feb. 17.
"We need to get her there as quickly as possible, and she'll be a solid No. 2 when she is," Moore said of Lindsey. "We've seen her pitch against good lineups. I'm very happy with what she's able to do against good hitters when she's at her best. She's just not at her best right now."
Oklahoma State swept a three-game series at then-No. 24 Oregon, but the Cowgirls have lost three of their last four games. An explosive lineup is led by Chyenne Factor (.404, five homers, 18 RBI), Madi Sue Montgomery (.341, four homers, 27 RBI) and Samantha Show (.330, eight homers, 27 RBI).
"I've been on a World Series team, I know what that looks like, I know how to get back there," said junior shortstop/catcher Taylor Ellis, who is hitting .329 with two homers and eight RBI. "I think we're starting to get there. It may not look like it on the field, but as a team I can see it within us and just waiting for it to break open."
STORY LINES
• After playing a total of three games earlier in the week, Baylor returns to Getterman Stadium to host its Big 12 opener against No. 21/18 Oklahoma State.
• Goose McGlaun hit her first home run of the season at Getterman Stadium and third of 2019 in Wednesday's contest vs. Central Arkansas. McGlaun, with 28 career home runs, is now tied for sixth all-time in program history alongside Ashley Monceaux (2006-07).
• McGlaun has at least two hits in each of the last five games.
• Since hitting her first home run of the season at Louisiana on March 11, McGlaun is hitting .632 with three home runs, a double, five RBIs and four runs scored.
• Baylor has had six freshmen in the starting lineup the last two games. On the season, the Lady Bears have started at least four freshmen in 19 of their 25 games.
• Regan Green was named the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week March 5, marking her first career Big 12 weekly award. It is also Baylor's first weekly award of the season. Green pitched a complete game in the win over Southern Utah and matched her career high with 11 strikeouts. She struck out 50 percent of the batters she faced (22). It also marked her fourth career double-digit strikeout game.
• McGlaun leads Baylor at the plate with a .389 batting average.
• Nicky Dawson has reached base safely in every game this season, making her 25-game streak a new career-high. She's also scored a team-high 17 runs.
• Kassidy Krupit is the team leader with 19 RBIs. She also leads the team, and is tied for sixth in the Big 12, with six home runs.
• Sidney Holman has been stellar in the circle for BU. She's pitched 81 innings and has allowed 37 runs off 83 hits. Her 78 strikeouts this season ranks eighth in the Big 12.
• Baylor is 9-3 when scoring first in 2019.
• The Lady Bears are 10-2 when the opponent scores two runs or less this season.
QUICK HITS
• Baylor will play 24 games against 12 programs that advanced to the 2018 NCAA Regionals, including WCWS participants Washington and Oklahoma.
• 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.
A LOOK AT OKLAHOMA STATE
• BU is 31-37 against the Cowgirls and 17-13 in the last 10 years.
• Oklahoma State swept the conference series last year. However, Baylor topped the Cowgirls, 7-1, in the Big 12 Tournament.
• Oklahoma State has a total of five freshmen on the roster. Kiley Naomi and Chyenne Factor have started in 29 and 14 games respectively.
• OSU has 41 home runs this season, led by Samantha Show with eight and Sydney Pennington with seven.
• The Cowgirls are 5-3 against top-25 opponents, including their three-game sweep at Oregon March 8-9.
