No. 21 SB Takes Two on Final Day of Ode to Joy Invitational

Sunday, March 5

Waco, Texas

12:30 PM

Baylor

16-2

Sam Houston

8-13

Sam Houston

Baylor

No. 21 SB Takes Two on Final Day of Ode to Joy Invitational

3/5/2023 7:30:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Bears take down Sam Houston before walking-off Texas A&M

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            Glenn Moore knew he needed to test junior right-hander Dariane Orme, especially with Big 12 play just around the corner.
            Throwing over 100 pitches on back-to-back days for the first time this season, Orme (6-1) went the distance to lead No. 21 Baylor softball to a thrilling 2-1, eight-inning win over Texas A&M Sunday afternoon to close out the Ode to Joy Invitational at Getterman Stadium.
            "We've been able to give her a day's rest in these tournaments," said Baylor coach Glenn Moore, whose team went 3-1 in the two-day tournament and improved to 17-2 overall. "But we're back-to-back today, and we felt that if we had a chance to win this one, we had to test her. I don't know how long we would have gone with her, but she wasn't slowing down. She was tough to hit."
            Orme gave up just one run on five hits and two walks with six strikeouts over eight innings. And might have been at her best in the eighth. Playing the international tiebreaker rules, starting the inning with a runner on second, she retired dangerous hitter Koko Wooley on a liner to short, struck out Morgan Smith and then got cleanup hitter Grace Uribe on a comebacker to the circle.
            "I turned around to (shortstop Amber Toven), and I wanted to say something, but she took the words right out of my mouth," Orme said. "She was like, 'I'm a wall! I got you!'
             "Hearing that, in that moment, I knew that nobody was scoring. That I could pitch anything I needed to and she was going to get it, and so were the rest of the infielders and outfielders. When you play with people like that, that are confident in what they do and you trust them, it just makes your job a lot easier."
            Getting its second walk-off win in as many days, Baylor put runners on the corners with one out in the eighth on a bunt single by Presleigh Pilon before Toven battled through an eight-pitch at-bat to deliver an RBI single up the middle to score Taylor Strain.
            "I was thinking the whole time, 'Do my job, keep it short and simple,''' said Toven, who's hitting .418 with 16 RBIs. "I was just doing this for Dari and the rest of the girls. We've been fighting hard this weekend and Dari's been pitching her butt off, and I just have to be there to back her up."
            Sunday's win avenged a 3-0 loss to the Aggies on Saturday, when Emiley Kennedy tossed a no-hitter while fanning six batters with four walks.
          Back in the circle for Sunday's game, Kennedy gave up two doubles and an infield single to the first six batters she faced and left after two innings.
            In the first inning, McKenzie Wilson led off with an infield single, but was doubled off first base when Pilon popped up to third on a bunt attempt. Toven reached on a two-out error by the first baseman and scored on Shaylon Govan's RBI double to the gap in right-center field.
            The Bears threatened again in the second when the first two batters reached base on a double by Ana Watson and another error on Sydney Collazos' sacrifice bunt. Collazos then stole second to put two runners in scoring position with nobody out, but Watson was thrown out easily at home when she tried to score on Shannon Vivoda's fly ball to shallow left field.
            "I really squelched a possible good inning in the second when I made the decision, got a little overanxious there with Ana," said Moore, who's also the third-base coach. "I'll take the blame for that, but I do like to send them."
            After retiring eight of the first nine batters she faced, Orme gave up a pair of two-out infield hits in the top of the third inning. Wooley beat out a bunt single, stole second and then came all the way around to score when Smith reached on an infield single to short.
            The Aggies opened the fifth inning with a pair of hits and had runners at second and third with one out, but Collazos tagged out Allie Enright in a rundown when she tried to score on a grounder to third.
            "We got a little excited after the out was made, and no one covered home," Moore said. "And I was freaking out in the dugout. But yes, that was a great play. Shannon (Vivoda) went to her at the right time. (Collazos) did a good job in reversing her and getting her to go into the tag there."
            Watson had another leadoff double in the seventh, but was stranded at third when Emily Leavitt (3-2) induced back-to-back fly balls to send the game into extra innings. Wilson and Watson combined for four of the Bears' seven hits.
            In Baylor's first game of the day, freshman RyLee Crandall (6-1) notched her sixth win of the season, throwing five shutout innings in a 6-1 victory over Sam Houston State (8-13). The Bears belted out 10 hits off two Bearkat pitchers, with Toven going 3-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
            Back on the road after a 13-1 home stand, the Bears will face five different opponents in three days at a co-hosted tournament on Wednesday-Friday at Long Beach and Cal State Fullerton.

WACO, Texas – No. 21 Baylor Softball took down Sam Houston, 6-1, before walking off Texas A&M, 2-1, Sunday afternoon in the final day of the Ode to Joy Invitational.

Baylor, now 17-2 on the season, went 3-1 in the Ode to Joy Invitational and recorded its second walk-off win in the last two days.

Amber Toven came up big in game two, hitting a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth to take a win over the Aggies after falling against them on Saturday afternoon.

THE RUNDOWN
The Bears took the early lead against Sam Houston, after a scoreless first was followed by a five-run inning in the bottom of the second.

After a leadoff double from Emily Hott and a walk drawn by Josie Bower, Shannon Vivoda laid down a sacrifice bunt to put runners in scoring position. Ana Watson then came up big with a two-RBI single to left field.

McKenzie Wilson batted next, doubled to center field and advanced to third on an error as Watson scored from second. A double from Toven plated the Bears last two runs of the inning and gave Baylor the 5-0 advantage.

BU added its last run of the game in the bottom of the fourth off of a sac bunt from Presleigh Pilon.

The Bearkats scored a run in the top of the sixth off of a fielder's choice, but Baylor was able to secure the 6-1 win.

The Bears jumped out early in game two, scoring a run after Shaylon Govan doubled to right-center in the bottom of the first.

Texas A&M was able to strike back in the top of the third inning, and then both squads went four-straight innings scoreless.

Baylor rallied in the bottom of the seventh to try to put the game away before extras. Watson led off the inning with a double to right-center and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Sydney Collazos. No one was able to bring Watson home, as back-to-back fly outs ended the inning.

After a lineout from the first Aggie, Dariana Orme picked up her sixth strikeout of the game and notched the second out of the inning. After intentionally walking the next batter, a groundout to the pitcher ended the Aggies' threat.

BU was able to capitalize in the eighth, after Taylor Strain was placed on second and Pilon laid down a perfect bunt to put runners on the corners with one out. After Pilon stole second, Toven hit a single up the middle to walk-off the Aggies and secure the third win of the weekend for the Bears.

HIGHLIGHTS
Amber Toven was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and two RBIs in game one, while Ana Watson was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.

The Bears totaled 10 hits off of the bats of seven different Bears in game one and totaled 17 on the day.

RyLee Crandall pitched five shutout innings with five strikeouts and is now 6-1 on the season.

Dariana Orme pitched an eight-inning complete-game with six strikeouts and only allowed one run.

McKenzie Wilson went 2-for-4 at the plate and Watson went 2-for-3 with two doubles.

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Glenn Moore
"Yesterday wasn't too pretty of a day. We made sure they didn't get on too big of a high after the game that we came back and won. We're proud that we didn't give up, throw in the towel. But we kept it in perspective and it kept them focused, I think, for this day, which is championship day. We all came in with a 1-1 record and we could win it all if we put two games together. A&M's a great ballclub, so it's nice for our kids to defend their home field. I know we had some challenges there and had to find a way to win it."

Amber Toven on her walk-off hit …
"I know that (during) the previous at-bats with Emiley (Kennedy) pitching, she was throwing me a lot of rise balls and I was chasing, so I knew that I was going to see a lot more rise balls (in) that at-bat. But I was thinking the whole time, 'Do a job, keep it short and simple.' And the whole time I was just doing this for Dari and the rest of the girls. I mean, we've been fighting hard this weekend and Dari's been pitching her butt off, and I just have to be there to back her up."

Dariana Orme of pitching …
"Yeah, I think it honestly was just as we're progressing and how many pitches, they're allowing me to throw in a game and then seeing how quickly I'm able to recover, I think that was really good today. Especially playing the same team as we're heading into conference (play) soon, I think it's really good."

WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will head to Long Beach, Calif., to compete in the Long Beach/Fullerton tournament. The Bears will face five different opponents from March 8-10.

www.BaylorBears.com