THE RUNDOWN
TEMPE, Ariz. – Baylor softball got a bit of revenge on Sunday as the Lady Bears downed ninth-ranked Arizona State, 7-2, at Farrington Stadium to wrap up a 5-1 weekend in Arizona.
 
After falling to the Sun Devils, 7-4, on Thursday, the Lady Bears were poised to make some noise in the desert. Arizona State, however, was looking for the sweep as ASU jumped out to a 2-0 lead and had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the second inning when BU brought Aliyah Binford into the circle.
 
And Binford was lights out the rest of the way. The second-year freshman forced a pop fly to second before a groundout to first ended the inning.
 
The score remained 2-0 in favor of the home team until the Lady Bears got on the board in the top of the fourth. Lou Gilbert knocked a single up the middle, and Binford was plunked to put runners on first and second with one out. Zadie LaValley then stepped to the plate and ripped an RBI single up the middle.
 
Two innings later, Baylor took over. Back-to-back bunt singles by Nicky Dawson and Gilbert put two runners on with no outs for the Lady Bears. Goose McGlaun then walked to load the bases. LaValley got pegged in the elbow to bring Dawson home, and Emily Hott drew a walk to score Gilbert. Taylor Ellis followed with an RBI single to left field before Maddison Kettler cleared the bases with a double roped to center field.
 
While the offense found a groove, Binford and the Baylor defense continued to rock and roll. After retiring ASU in order in the third, Binford induced seven groundouts, including a six-four-three double play in the bottom of the seventh inning.
 
Through 5.2 innings of work, Binford shut out one of the top offenses in the country and gave up just four hits with four strikeouts.
 
Gilbert led the way for Baylor at the plate with a 2-for-4 showing and two runs scored.
 
HIGHLIGHTS

• Nicky Dawson has reached base safely in 17-straight games.
• Lou Gilbert picked up her sixth multi-hit game of the season.
• With her double in the sixth, Maddison Kettler now has a hit in six-straight games.
• For the first time since March 6, 2020, Arizona State was held without a home run.
• Aliyah Binford kept the Sun Devils off the scoreboard in 5.2 innings of work.
   

STAT OF THE DAY
373 – Number of days since Arizona State has been held to two runs.
 
TOP QUOTES
Baylor head coach Glenn Moore on the game…
"That was the win we needed. Our plan was to start Gia (Rodoni) and get through the lineup once and then throw the kitchen sink at them. Aliyah (Binford) came in and really dominated a great lineup. Offensively, we were smart with our at-bats and found a way to get to a great left-handed pitcher. This game showed us that we can compete with and beat the powerhouses."
 
UP NEXT
The Lady Bears finally return to Waco where they will host SFA at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Getterman.