THE RUNDOWN
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Baylor softball combined for 15 runs and 17 hits on Friday as the Lady Bears began their 2020 campaign with back-to-back wins. It marked the fifth time since 2011 that Baylor has started a season 2-0.
While the offense put up four multi-run innings, the defense recorded a shutout for the first time since April 16, 2019 (Lamar, 2-0). It also marked the second season opening shutout win in the last three seasons.
Overall, the Lady Bear pitching staff combined to give up just four runs with nine strikeouts.
GAME 1: BAYLOR 8, NO. 23 AUBURN 0
Baylor kicked off its season with a shutout win for the 10
th time in program history. After the BU defense retired nine of the first 10 Auburn batters, the Lady Bears got on the board.
Kyla Walker got things started with a single.
Nicky Dawson drew a walk to put a pair of speedsters on base with no outs for the Lady Bears.
Goose McGlaun was next to step to the plate, and she blasted her first double of the day to give Baylor the lead. A few batters later,
Lou Gilbert and
Maddison Kettler each singled in a run before
Ana Watson drove in another.
Emily Hott also brought in a run when she drew a walk with the bases loaded.
Baylor built off the five-run third inning to run-rule the 23
rd-ranked Tigers in five innings. McGlaun hit her second double of the day an inning later and soon scored off a single up the middle from
Taylor Ellis.
The Lady Bears scored two more runs in the fifth inning as the Lady Bears drew back-to-back walks with the bases loaded to end the game.
Auburn had only four base runners on the afternoon. Defensively, the Lady Bears turned two double plays. The first came in the fourth inning when
Aliyah Pritchett scooped up a grounder at shortstop, threw it to
Nicky Dawson at second who fired the throw down to McGlaun at first for the double play.
The second turned out to be the final defensive play of the day against the Tigers.
Kyla Walker caught a fly ball in center field and threw a rocket to McGlaun to tag out the runner at first.
McGlaun and Ellis each went 2-for-2 on the game, and Kettler went 2-for-3.
Gia Rodoni, in her first game back after missing the entire 2019 season, held the Tigers scoreless off two hits through four innings of work with two strikeouts.
Madison Lindsey came on in the fifth and got a strikeout while not giving up a hit.
GAME 2: BAYLOR 7, LOUISVILLE 4
After falling down 2-0 in the bottom of the second inning, a home run by
Taylor Ellis helped fuel a Lady Bear comeback as Baylor topped Louisville for its second win of the season.
Ellis led off the bottom of the second with a solo shot over the left field wall that managed to stay fair.
The Cardinals would go on to plate another run in the third inning. Through the first three frames, Louisville stranded seven runners.
Then the Baylor hitters went to work once again. McGlaun drew a walk in the third inning to bring the first of three runs home in the frame. A single by Ellis scored another run before
Nicky Dawson scored off an error by Louisville.
Defensively,
Aliyah Pritchett entered the circle for the Lady Bears midway through the third inning and kept the Cardinal batters off balance. She finished her outing with one run allowed off four hits with five strikeouts.
After Louisville tied things up at four in the fourth inning, Baylor turned a major double play in the top of the sixth that sparked a big-time bottom half of the inning.
With one out and a runner on first, Louisville's Taylor Roby doubled to left field.
Ana Watson fielded the ball and hit
Emily Hott at the cutoff in the infield who threw it to
Taylor Ellis behind the plate. Ellis tagged out Carmyn Greenwood trying to score.
Instead of celebrating over the big play, Ellis kept her head up and threw the ball to
Lou Gilbert at third who tagged out Roby who was trying to get an extra base. It was the third double play of the day for the Lady Bears.
Josie Bower led things off in the bottom of the sixth with a double and later scored, along with
Emily Hott, off a single by
Kyla Walker. Walker scored a few batters later off another Louisville error to go up by three.
Rodoni came on in the top of the seventh for Baylor and shut things down with two groundouts and a strikeout.
Ellis recorded her second-straight multi-hit game as she went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Walker went 2-for-3, and Hott went 2-for-2.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Since Baylor's first season in 1979, BU has shutout its season-opening opponent 10 times.
- For the first time in program history, Baylor shutout a ranked opponent to start the season.
- Baylor has started the season against a ranked opponent six times. BU is 3-4 in season openers vs. ranked opponents.
- Goose McGlaun had a career high with two doubles vs. Auburn.
- In her first action back after missing the 2019 season, Kyla Walker combined to go 3-for-6 at the plate with an RBI and three runs scored.
- Taylor Ellis finished the day with four RBIs.
- Baylor drew 11 walks. In comparison, the BU pitching staff allowed six walks.
- Emily Hott and McGlaun led the way with three walks each on the day.
STAT OF THE GAME
7-6-2-5 – The third double play of the day that Baylor turned
TOP QUOTES
Glenn Moore on the game…
"These wins were bigger than just two W's in the win column. These wins were a statement of our expectations. While we know one day will not define the season, we knew this tournament would give us the opportunity to earn respect back. We played well in every aspect of the game with few exceptions. Now we have to get even better because we will be tested again tomorrow and the rest of the season."
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