SB Drops Contest to South Florida

Saturday, May 22

Gainesville, Fla.

3:30 PM

Baylor

27-23

South Florida

30-18

Baylor

USF

SB Drops Contest to South Florida

5/22/2021 8:17:00 PM | Softball

Box Score SB_50_USF

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A "legitimate top-25 team" at the start of the year, Baylor softball (27-23) couldn't overcome a rash of injuries and saw its season come to an end Saturday afternoon with a 5-0 loss to South Florida in the Gainesville Regional.
            Georgina Corrick (23-8) tossed her fourth no-hitter of the season, taking a perfect game into the fifth. Freshman Zadie LaValley drew a two-out walk with two out in the fifth to give the Lady Bears their first baserunner, then Josie Bower reached with one out in the sixth on an error.
            "Not many people have figured her out," Baylor coach Glenn Moore said of Corrick, who came back to toss a three-hit shutout in a 1-0 win over South Alabama to get the Bulls (31-18) into Sunday's region final against No. 4 national seed Florida (44-9).
             "We don't have the short game to combat a pitcher like that. We just had to take our cuts. We did make some adjustments to try to cut our swing down, and I thought we put the ball in play a little more. But, it certainly wasn't enough, of course."
            Aliyah Binford (5-5) struck out two in the first and induced a double-play grounder after a leadoff single by Corrick in the second. But, the Bulls got on the board a batter later when freshman Alanah Rivera blasted her first career home run with a shot over the left field wall.
            Defense kept the Lady Bears in the game, with freshman Sydney Collazos saving a run in the first with a nice play in the hole at second and turning the second-inning double play on a grounder to third. Then, second-year freshman Emily Hott made a diving catch in center field to end the third inning.
            "We took a chance there to try to add a little more offense," Moore said of moving Hott from second to center field and giving Collazos her first start at second. "We didn't get the offense, but I was certainly pleased with the way they played in those positions that they haven't been in much."
            Binford kept the Bulls off-balance with her off-speed pitches, limiting them to one run on two hits through the first four innings. But, South Florida broke it open with a four-run fifth that included two bunt singles, another infield hit, a walk, a passed ball and Kyndall Williams' two-out single to center.
            "I thought Aliyah threw really well, considering the fact that she hasn't thrown a whole lot overall," Moore said. "She did settle in. She had a little trouble locating her pitches early on, but then settled in. And we made some good defensive pays behind her as well. We were just beat by a better team than we were."
            Baylor, which made its 14^th NCAA regional appearance and ninth in the last 10 tournaments, loses a talented senior class that includes pitcher Gia Rodoni, first baseman Goose McGlaun, third baseman Taylor Ellis and centerfielder Nicky Dawson.
            "It's always tough to get to this point of the season and have to say good-bye to some kids that have been through an awful lot," Moore said. "We kept losing impact players, and they had the opportunity to throw in the towel, because it really got down to where it was tough to win. And we didn't win in the end. But, they didn't, they kept fighting. I'm proud of them for that. Those are life lessons you learn on a big stage that will carry them a long way in life."
            Moore said the key to rebuilding will be improving the pitching. The Lady Bears finished with a 4.80 team ERA.
            "We just got beat by two teams that are carried by their pitcher, and we've been in those situations before," Moore said. "You've got to solidify your circle, and we're working to do that. We've got a pitcher coming in, and we're recruiting. Certainly, we want offense, but you've got to solidify your pitching. That's been our philosophy at Baylor for 21 years, and we've won a lot of games with that. We're going to have a great fall where kids get to compete, and we'll watch the cream rise to the top."

THE RUNDOWN
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Baylor softball's season came to an end in Gainesville as the Lady Bears dropped a 5-0 contest to South Florida Saturday afternoon at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium.

Aliyah Binford got the start in the circle and held South Florida to only one run through four innings of work before the Bulls plated four in the fifth. Binford racked up four strikeouts as her offspeed pitches kept the USF bats off balance.

Binford also had some help behind her as the Baylor defense made some great plays. In the first inning, Sydney Collazos made a snag at second base and gunned the throw to first to get the final out of the frame and keep the Bulls from scoring as they had a runner on second.

An inning later, the Lady Bears turned their 11^th double play of the season as Taylor Ellis fielded a grounder at third, threw to Collazos at second who turned and fired to Goose McGlaun at first.

In the third, Emily Hott made a diving catch in center field to retire the USF batters in order.

BU advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the 14^th time in program history and ninth time in the last 10 seasons. The Lady Bears move to 47-32 all-time in the tournament.

HIGHLIGHTS

Baylor turned its 11^th double play of the season
With her walk in the fifth inning, Zadie LaValley reached base in six-straight games.
Emily Hott made her first career start in center field, while Sydney Collazos made her first career start at second.

TOP QUOTES
Baylor head coach Glenn Moore on the game…
"So, I'm very, very proud of them. Certainly, wish we could have been in better shape to compete more. The outcome we had was certainly disappointing, but at the same time I couldn't be more proud of the way the girls fought through a very difficult season. Glad we got to play this year. Just want to count our blessings and thank the good Lord for giving us a platform to represent him on."

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