No. 21 SB Splits Day One of Lone Star State Invitational

Friday, February 26

Waco, TX

3:30 PM

Baylor

UConn

No. 21 SB Splits Day One of Lone Star State Invitational

2/26/2021 9:57:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 SB_04_UConn SB_05_OleMiss

Lady Bears top UConn, fall to Ole Miss

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            More than anything, Baylor softball wants to protects its home turf.
            And when the No. 21 Lady Bears rallied to take a 4-3 lead on Ole Miss in the fourth inning Friday night, following a 5-0 shutout of UConn, it looked like they were going to do just that.
            But, the visiting Rebels (6-5) went back on top with a pinch-hit, two-run double by Aynslie Furbush with two outs in the sixth and tacked on five runs in the seventh to pull away for a 10-4 win to finish off Day 1 at the Lone Star Invitational at Getterman Stadium.
            "That initially makes our blood boil a little bit," said senior centerfielder Nicky Dawson, who had three hits on the day. "This game was tough. There were a few plays that maybe if we just execute a little better, the game's a lot closer. But, I will say our fight tonight was the best I've ever seen it. . . . We fell apart and also beat ourselves. That's the hard part. Hopefully, we remember this feeling and use it to motivate us for the rest of the year."
            Game 1 could not have gone much better. Sidney Holman-Mansell (1-0) combined with freshman Maren Judisch on a three-hit shutout of UConn, allowing just one hit and two walks with six strikeouts over the first five innings.
            Making her first home start since Feb. 23, 2020, Holman-Mansell was actually throwing too hard, regularly throwing over 70 mph.
            "But, how do you fault somebody that's at home and hadn't played in forever, and they're really juiced up to get out there and pitch?" Baylor coach Glenn Moore said. "She just couldn't really control that adrenaline enough to keep her speeds down. She'll do better, but I thought she pitched extremely well in spite of that."
            Dawson got it started for the Lady Bears in the first inning when she battled through a 10-pitch at-bat and hit a leadoff single to center. After moving to third on a pair of wild pitches, she scored on Aliyah Binford's RBI single to center.
            Josie Bower kept her hot bat going with a two-out, two-run double to right in the third, stretching the lead to 3-0. In the fifth, Dawson ripped her eighth career triple to score Emily Hott and then came home on Lou Gilbert's single through the right side.
            "(UConn pitcher Meghan O'Neil) was a lefty and she was starting first pitch in on us and then working away," Dawson said. "I was kind of waiting on it again, because I missed it my first at-bat. I just wanted to hit it, I wasn't thinking a triple. But, I'll take it."
            In the nightcap, Ole Miss scored single runs in the second, third and fourth innings off starter Gia Rodon to jump out to the 3-0 lead. Held to one hit through the first three frames, Baylor broke through with four runs on four hits in the bottom of the fourth and took the lead on Hannah Thompson's pinch-hit two run-single through the left side.
            Binford worked out of a jam in the fifth, after Rodoni walked back-to-back hitters, but the Rebels rallied in the sixth with a pair of walks and the two-run double by Furbush.
            Hoping to keep it at a one-run deficit and give her team a chance to come back, Judisch gave up back-to-back home runs to open the seventh. The wheels came off as Ole Miss scored three more off Holman-Mansell on a couple of misplayed balls and flare hits.
            "It was frustrating to see the end," Moore said. "I was probably most frustrated not that we lost, but how we fell apart there the last inning. Apart from that, we've just got to mature from it and tip our hat to a team that came in here and really played well tonight."
            Baylor will face Lamar (2-10) at 2:30 and UConn (3-4) at 5 p.m. Saturday, then wrap up the three-day tournament with a matchup against No. 25 Mississippi State (7-2) at 11 a.m. Sunday. Lamar dropped a pair of games to Texas and Sam Houston State in Austin, while Mississippi State split a doubleheader at Texas State.
            "The beauty of this game is . . . you have an opportunity for redemption," Moore said. "We get to turn around with less than 24 hours and have an opportunity to swing the bat again and pitch again and get better."

THE RUNDOWN
WACO, Texas – No. 21 Baylor softball opened the Lone Star State Invitational going 1-1 on Friday. The Lady Bears started things off with a 5-0 win over UConn before dropping a hard-fought 10-4 contest to Ole Miss.

GAME 1 – BAYLOR 5, UCONN 0
Nicky Dawson got things started for the Lady Bears as she battled through a 10-pitch at-bat before hitting a single up the middle. The speedy center fielder advanced to third base off back-to-back wild pitches and then came home off an RBI single by Aliyah Binford.

Baylor added to its lead in the third inning when Josie Bower delivered once again. For the third-straight game, Bower hit a double, the 11^th of her career, and scored Lou Gilbert and Binford.

The Lady Bears kept the party going in the fourth inning as Nicky Dawson roped a triple into deep center field and scored Emily Hott from first. It marked Dawson's eighth career triple, making her one shy of tying for the program record.

Sidney Holman-Mansell got the start for the Lady Bears and held the Huskies scoreless off one hit with six strikeouts through five innings of work. Maren Judisch came on in relief and showed off her offspeed work in the seventh inning with three-straight swinging strikeouts to end the game.

GAME 2 – OLE MISS 10, BAYLOR 4
Down 3-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth, the Lady Bears went to work. Dawson and Binford got on with singles and moved into scoring position thanks to a wild pitch. With two runners on and two outs, Ole Miss decided to intentionally walk Bower. That brought up Ana Watson who singled through the right side to score two.

The Lady Bears weren't done. Zadie LaValley battled through a deep pitch count before drawing a walk to put two runners on for pinch hitter Hannah Thompson who delivered a single through the left side to score two more runs and give Baylor the lead.

Ole Miss came back in the top of the sixth to retake the lead before adding on a few more runs in the seventh.

Gia Rodoni went 4.1 innings and gave up three runs off five hits before Binford entered and took the loss, giving up two runs off one hits in 1.2 innings.

HIGHLIGHTS

Nicky Dawson now has eight career triples, one shy of tying for the program high alongside Kim Wilmoth (2002-05), Carrie Leerberg (2002-05), Harmony Schwethelm (2003-06) and Kyla Walker (2016-20).
Dawson went 2-for-4 at the plate vs. UConn which marked her 27^th career multi-hit game.
Josie Bower recorded a double in three-straight games. She now has 11 doubles in her career.
Sidney Holman-Mansell struck out a third of the batters she faced against the Huskies (six strikeouts, 18 batters faced).
Lou Gilbert started the day 2-for-2 vs. UConn, her 15^th career multi-hit game.
Hannah Thompson delivered as the pinch hitter for the second time this season with her two-RBI single in the fourth inning. She finished the night 2-for-3 at the plate.

STAT OF THE GAME
8 – career triples for Nicky Dawson, putting her one shy of the program record

TOP QUOTES
Baylor head coach Glenn Moore on the day…
"We're not a young team. We as a coaching staff challenged them with bouncing back after the last game today. The comeback in the fourth inning against Ole Miss showed we have the fight and we take a lot of pride playing at our home field. We played a team that brought it and kept bringing it throughout the game. The beauty of this game is that throughout the season you have an opportunity for redemption. We have an opportunity to turn it around in less than 24 hours."

UP NEXT
The Lady Bears return to Getterman Stadium for Day 2 of the Lone Star State Invitational. Baylor is set to face Lamar at 2:30 p.m. and UConn at 5 p.m. Both games will be on 101.3 FM as well as Big 12 Now on ESPN+.

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