Friday, March 25 • vs. Oklahoma • Norman, Oklahoma | Marita Hynes Field • Radio: 101.3 FM • TV: Bally Sports Oklahoma
Saturday, March 26 • vs. Oklahoma • Norman, Oklahoma | Marita Hynes Field • Radio: 101.3 FM • TV: Bally Sports Oklahoma
Sunday, March 27 • vs. Oklahoma • Norman, Oklahoma | Marita Hynes Field • Radio: 101.3 FM • TV: Bally Sports Oklahoma
 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            David had a slingshot and five stones when he faced off against Goliath. Baylor softball has two freshmen and four sophomores in its lineup for a three-game series against top-ranked Oklahoma at Marita Hynes Field in Norman, Okla. 
            Defending national champion Oklahoma (26-0) has been ranked No. 1 all year and leads the nation in batting average (.390), ERA (0.73) and home runs (70). Jocelyn Alo broke the all-time NCAA Division I record for career home runs earlier this month in her home state of Hawaii and now has 102. 
            "Undefeated, No. 1 in the country, no weaknesses in their lineup that we've been able to find," Baylor coach Glenn Moore said. "No one in the world is expecting us to have a chance. . . . So, we have an opportunity to go up there and shock the world, if you will, and do something that will turn a lot of heads. And we've got three chances to do that."
            The Bears' first chance to "shock the world" will come in Game 1 at 6:30 p.m. Friday, followed by 2 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday in both teams' conference-opening series. 
            "We're a scrappy team and, obviously, we're not projected to come out on top," said freshman leftfielder Taylor Strain, who is hitting .326. "But, I wouldn't doubt our team. We're fighters, and we know we can hit against them. We can get the job done, I know we can."
            Although this is Baylor's conference opener, this is actually the second meeting between the Bears (17-10) and Sooners. At the Rainbow Wahine Classic, where Alo set the home run record, OU scored eight second-inning runs in a 12-3 victory in the tournament opener. 
            "I guess small moral victories. We scored on them, scored three runs, which is something not many people were doing at the time," Moore said. "Being the young team that we are, we grew up a lot from that. I don't think this team will back down.
            "A goal of mine as a coach is to make them play their best ball to be able to beat you. And if they don't show up, then we need to be able to surprise them. If we come prepared and not intimidated, then I think we'll have our best shot at doing that."
            Sophomore pitcher Dariana Orme (6-6, 3.38 ERA) has the challenge of facing a potent OU lineup that features eight of the Big 12's top 10 in slugging percentage. Alo (.540, 14 homers, 36 RBI) is one of five players hitting above .400, joined by Taylon Snow (.500), Kinzie Hansen (.429), Grace Lyons (.420) and Tiare Jennings (.400, 10 homers). 
            "It's a new game every single game," said freshman pitcher/second baseman Kaci West, who is 4-1 with a 2.17 ERA. "We step out there, we've still got to throw the same ball, they've still got to make a really good hit and we've got to make a really good pitch. Just brings a challenge to it."
            Along with Strain, West has been an impact freshman, filling in at second base while Emily Hott's been out and also throwing the first perfect game in program history. 
            "We're asking her to come in and play an infield position she wasn't even recruited to play, and she's doing a very good job there as well," Moore said. "From a pitching standpoint, she's been very efficient. She's really developed her off-speed to where it's keeping offenses off-balance enough. I think Kaci is further along pitching-wise than we expected her to be."
            The Bears have built some momentum going into the weekend series, winning five of its last six, including a doubleheader sweep of Tarleton State on Tuesday. 
            "I think we've solidified some defensive positions, we're playing more sound defensively and we're getting more efficient pitching," Moore said. "But, it's not that level of competition where you have no breaks. I was asked today at our Diamond Club's luncheon if we pitch around Alo. You don't pitch around anybody in that lineup, because there's somebody else behind them. She may be the strongest, but you don't fall back very much at any position."
            All three games will be broadcast by Bally Sports Oklahoma and also on 101.3 FM, with Dan Ingham calling the action. 


STORY LINES
• Baylor Softball will head on the road this week to take on No. 1 Oklahoma to open conference play.
• With OU leading the all-time series, the Bears will look to be the first team to defeat the Sooners this season as they are 26-0 to start the season.
• BU has already faced the top ranked team this season in a non-conference matchup during the Rainbow Wahine Classic. The Bears fell in the contest, 12-3, but put up the third most allowed runs by the sooners this season, as the Sooners have already shutout 15 opponents.
• The Bears (17-10) are coming off of a midweek sweep of Tarleton where they defeated the Texans 5-1 and 7-1 in respective games. 
• McKenzie Wilson still ranks first in the Big 12 with five triples on the season. Wilson is also fourth in the nation in 0.20 triples per game. Her .432 season batting average still leads the Bears as well as her 20 RBI.
• Over the weekend, Ana Watson recorded her fourth multi-hit game of the season as she had two doubles in the series opener against the Cowgirls.
• BU picked up their fifth and sixth shutouts this past week marking the first season since 2018 that the Bears had had six or more shutouts in a season.
• With two outs, the Bears are hitting .322 this season providing key hits at the right moments to get wins. Head Coach Glenn Moore said this could be one of the best situational hitting teams he has ever had.
•The Bears are currently sitting at 44 in the NCAA RPI rankings. This is good for fourth best in the Big 12, as all conference schools rank in the top 100.
 
BEARS IN THE BIG 12 RANKINGS
• Three Bears are top eight in the Big 12 with batting average with three outs; Taylor Strain is 2nd (.478) and Emily Hott is 3rd (.467).
• Maren Judisch is tied for first in saves with two
• McKenzie Wilson is 2nd in percentage reached as a leadoff batter with .706, while Josie Bower is batting 1.000 with the bases loaded.
• Aliyah Binford is sitting at 3rd in assists with 53 on the season. Binford also leads in batters struck out looking with 31.
  OKLAHOMA LEADS 67-13
Waco:  Oklahoma leads 20-8
Norman, Okla.:  Oklahoma leads 26-7
Neutral:  Oklahoma leads 18-1