SB Wins National Invitational Softball Championship Over UNLV, 4-0

Thursday, May 26

Fort Collins, CO

12 PM

Baylor

32-24

UNLV

43-15

Baylor

UNLV

SB Wins National Invitational Softball Championship Over UNLV, 4-0

5/26/2022 4:54:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Box Score

Bears shut out the Rebels for the championship title

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            FORT COLLINS, Colo. – If Glenn Moore asked, Aliyah Binford might even try her hand at catcher.
            Picking up the win in each of Baylor softball's four games at the National Invitational Softball Championship, the third-year sophomore was at her best in Thursday's championship game at TC Colorado Field, tossing a complete-game two-hitter with nine strikeouts to lead the Bears to a 4-0 win over UNLV.
            "She's an amazing athlete. She can do so much," Moore said of Binford, who has also played shortstop and third base. "We ask her to do a whole lot, but she's matured, whereas a couple years ago, I think she might not have been as open to doing everything she is right now. She wants the ball, she wants to bat and she can run. She certainly had a very good year and is poised to have an unbelievable junior year, I think, coming off this tournament."
            Named the tournament MVP, Binford (13-6) threw all but 4 2/3 innings in Baylor's four games and hit .364 (4-for-11) with one double, her team-leading fifth home run of the season and a .727 slugging percentage.
            "Everybody's hurting a little bit at this time of the year," Moore said, "but she's got bumps and bruises and a sore knee. And we just saw a lot of heart out of her. Her last at-bat, she took that third strike outside. I'm never comfortable with a four-run lead. At the same time, I didn't really want her on base. I wanted her in the dugout and out of the sun."
            Not starting one senior in Thursday's game, the Bears finished the impressive tournament run with their fourth-straight win and ended a disappointing season on a positive note, joining previous NISC winners Lamar (2017), Loyola Marymount (2018) and UT-Arlington (2019).
            "I think it was exactly what this young team needed," Moore said. "I've never experienced winning the last game, either, so that's kind of a cool way to go out and motivate them for 2023. That was the whole purpose of this was to get a few extra days of work in and try to get better. The competition was the exclamation point on the end of it."
            Facing just three batters over the minimum, Binford took a no-hitter into the fifth before giving up two-out singles by Samantha Diaz in the fifth and pinch-hitter Ariana Martinez in the seventh.
            The Bears wasted no time in getting on the board, scoring two runs on four hits in the top of the first inning and getting RBI singles by Emily Hott and Josie Bower. UNLV (43-15) got a combined no-hitter from Jasmine Martin and Jenny Bressler in Wednesday's 1-0 win over North Alabama.
            "I was hoping we would throw the first punch, especially after having to come back (in a 5-4 semifinal win over Kansas)," Moore said. "(UNLV is) a powerful team, 60-something home runs, and played a decent schedule, too. So, we knew what they were capable of. And the ball flies out of here. So, I wasn't comfortable with a two-run lead. But, the more I saw (Binford) throw, I was more in the mindset that they were going to have trouble with her."
            And the Rebels did, getting their first baserunner on a throwing error in the second. Binford then retired nine batters in a row before Diaz's two-out hit in the fifth.
            Baylor threatened in pretty much every inning, getting a two-out triple by Kaci West in the third and loading the bases in the fourth with a Binford double and two walks. But, it remained a 2-0 game until the fifth, when Bower delivered a two-run double off UNLV ace Bressler.
            West went 3-for-4 and scored two runs to lead Baylor's nine-hit attack, while Bower was 2-for-4 and drove in three runs. The NISC all-tournament team included West, Ana Watson and McKenzie Wilson, who was 8-for-15 in the tournament and finished her sophomore season with a .424 batting average.
            "We didn't know that we'd come out there and win this thing," Moore said. "We had intentions of doing that, but we knew Virginia was pretty good, UNLV, and we had already been beaten by Kansas. We had to figure out how to win ballgames.
"I bet there were eight to 10 games we let slip away this year that we were in control of in the fifth or sixth inning, and we couldn't close it out. I think we figured out how to do that this week, and we had fun doing it. I certainly think this accomplished everything we hoped it would."

THE RUNDOWN
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Baylor softball dominated in the final game of the National Invitational Softball Championship, shutting out UNLV, 4-0, on Thursday to take the championship title at TC Colorado Field.

The Bears started out strong, totaling four singles in the first inning and scoring two runs. McKenzie Wilson scored the first run of the game after she led off the game with a single up the middle and scored on a hit from Emily Hott. Kaci West also came around to score after Josie Bower punched one up the middle as well.

Aliyah Binford pitched a lights-out game, going a complete 7.0 innings, shutting out the Rebels and striking out nine. She only allowed three base runners the whole game on two singles and an error.

Baylor loaded the bases in the fourth inning, after Binford doubled and Zadie LaValley and Wilson drew walks. A groundout ended the threat, but the Bears were able to plate two more in the fifth inning.

After Hott walked and West singled, Bower doubled to left-center to give the Bears the 4-0 advantage.

A couple runners got on for Baylor in the sixth and seventh innings, but four runs were enough for the Bears to take home the title game in the fourth annual NISC Tournament.

The Bears also took home four tournament awards, presented after the game. Binford won tournament MVP, as Ana Watson, West and Wilson picked up All-Tournament accolades.

HIGHLIGHTS

Aliyah Binford pitched her third complete-game shutout this season. She struck out nine, only allowing two hits
Kaci West was 3-for-4, reaching base in seven of her last eight at-bats
Josie Bower recorded two hits and a team-leading three RBI
Six Bears recorded a hit
This is the Bears' 12^th shutout this season
Bears win the 4^th annual National Invitational Softball Championship
Aliyah Binford won tournament MVP
McKenzie Wilson, Ana Watson and Kaci West were named to the all-tournament team

TOP QUOTES
Glenn Moore on the game…
"I'm so proud of this team. They never wavered from their mission. All the practices were intentionally hard with heavy workloads. We were determined to compete at our highest level, and we did. We had to call on some to do some things they have not had to do, and they welcomed the challenge. The future looks bright for this team. We will miss Kendall (Cross) and Rhein (Trochim), but I can't wait for the fall."

- BaylorBears.com -