Friday, April 21 • vs. Oklahoma • Waco, Texas |Getterman Stadium • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: Big 12 Now ESPN+
Saturday, April 22 • vs. Oklahoma • Waco, Texas |Getterman Stadium • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: Big 12 Now ESPN+
Sunday, April 23 • vs. Oklahoma • Waco, Texas |Getterman Stadium • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: Big 12 Now ESPN+
 
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
            No. 16 Baylor Softball has a notch on its belt that few teams in the country have had over the last three years.
            Shaylon Govan's three-run homer lifted the Bears (34-10, 4-5) to a 4-3 win over top-ranked Oklahoma two months ago in the Getterman Classic. The Sooners (39-1, 9-0) have won 31-straight since then, and the two-time defending national champions have lost a combined eight games over the last three seasons (154-8) going into a weekend series in Waco.
            "They're No. 1, and there's a pretty big gap between No. 1 and No. 2," said Baylor coach Glenn Moore. Seven days after its only loss of the season, OU blasted a very temporary No. 1 UCLA, 14-0, in five innings at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
            "They're capable of doing that. They're a strong team. But we're going to focus on what we do and not what they do, because we can't control what they do. We can only be prepared to play our best ball. If the opportunities present themselves, we need to be in a position to take advantage of that. So, that's where our focus is going to lie."
            Already sold out for all three games, the series begins with Friday's 6:30 p.m. game at Getterman Stadium, followed by 2 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday as part of a busy Green & Gold Weekend that includes the Michael Johnson Invitational track meet and the football team's annual Green & Gold Game at McLane Stadium.
            "I think it'll be a regional atmosphere," Moore said. "And I'm going to talk to the team about that today, because I want them to embrace that atmosphere. It's going to be predominantly a Baylor crowd, and we've got to feed off of that and treat as if we're playing well enough at the end that the (NCAA selection) committee sees fit to give us a host site.
            "We're hoping for that, and if we do, we're going to have an atmosphere identical to what we're going to see this weekend."
            Dariana Orme (14-5, 1.49 ERA), having an All-American-worthy season, gave up no earned runs in four innings to pick up the win against the Sooners. But Aaliyah Binford, who closed it out with three innings of relief and retired the last five batters, has missed most of the season with a knee injury.
            "Obviously, we had Aaliyah Binford in our lineup, which she was a key member of our pitching staff and obviously offensively as well. But we've grown from that. Anytime you have a sucker punch like that right away, it's going to take a while to adjust. But I think this team has accepted, this is who we are and who we're going to be right now. Let's move forward. And we've had some big wins since then."
            The Bears defeated Maryland and Minnesota the following weekend in the Baylor Invitational, split a pair of games with Texas A&M in the Ode to Joy Invitational and took a pair of games from then-No. 4 Tennessee earlier this month in Knoxville. Since getting swept at No. 2 Oklahoma State, Baylor has won 11 of its last 13 games.
            "Even the first game in Stillwater (against OSU), we had two runs taken off the board that would have given us the win. . . . I think the girls came out of that weekend feeling like we had just knocked off the No. 2 team in the country," Moore said. "I just think this team is very focused on doing what they can do and not as much on the opponent. Each week, they choose to go out and play their style and live up to the standards they've set for themselves."
            After starting last week with a top-25 win over Louisiana, the Bears won three of four on a West Texas trip, combining for 47 runs against ACU and Texas Tech. Junior outfielder/DP Ana Watson was named the Big 12 Player of the Week, hitting .438 with three homers and 12 RBIs, crushing a grand slam in a 16-11 win over Tech.
            "What got me going and what continues to get me going is my team and my family and the support from them, as well as God. He gave me the power and the strength, and through the wind I was able to produce for my team."
            While Baylor's offensive numbers continued to rise – the Bears are hitting .305 with 24 homers and averaging 5.6 runs per game – the pitching staff's ERA took a serious hit. After giving up 26 runs in three games versus Tech, Baylor is fourth in the Big 12 with a 2.21 ERA.
            "What's so great about our pitching staff is what great composure they have," said catcher Sydney Collazos, who's hitting a team-best .402 with two home runs, four doubles and 19 RBIs. "I haven't even had to tell them, 'Oh, just shake it off.'''
            The Bears are facing an Oklahoma pitching staff that has the best ERA in the country. Nicole May (12-0, 0.51 ERA), Alex Storako (13-0, 0.80) and Jordy Bahl (12-1, 1.27) are ranked 1, 2 and 3 in the conference, with Baylor accounting for one of Bahl's two career losses and four of the 15 earned runs she's allowed this season.
            "It's nice that we're the only team that's taken them down," Collazos said, "but I'm not concerned about giving them another 'L' over giving us another 'W.' I think we're all kind of locked into our own record and making ours look a little better."
            All three games will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+, with "Voice of the Bears" John Morris, KWTX news anchor Pete Sousa and former Baylor softball standout Kelly Levesque calling the action.


STORY LINES
• Baylor Softball is getting ready to Host No. 1 Oklahoma for a three-game home conference series at Getterman Stadium. 
• It is Green & Gold Weekend in Baylor Athletics with the football spring game going on and track hosting the Michael Johnson Invitational. Friday night's game at Getterman Stadium will be student night and Sunday afternoon's game will be the Bears annual mug giveaway. All three games this weekend are sold out. 
• BU also leads the all-time record against Texas Tech, 58-20. The Bears record in Lubbock is, 27-4.
• The three sellouts will mark BU's fourth, fifth and sixth sellouts of the season. 
• Baylor is facing Oklahoma for second time this season, after defeating the top-ranked team, 4-3, at the Getterman Classic back in February. That is the Sooners only loss this season. 
• OU holds the all-time record over the Bears, 70-14. 
• A 34-10 record through the first 44 games of the year marks the best record for the Bears since going 36-8 to open the 2017 season, a year that ended in the College World Series with a 48-15 record and a final No. 7 national ranking.
• Baylor is now ranked No. 15 in the D1Softball poll, jumping nine spots after the Bears performance in Knoxville. They are 19 in the ESPN/USA Today poll, 16 in the Softball America poll and 16 in the NFCA coaches' poll.
• BU is currently sitting at 18 in the NCAA Softball RPI standings moving up one spot after defeating higher-RPI ranked Louisiana in the midweek tilt last week.
• Baylor has turned the most double plays in a season (20), since the 2007 season when the Bears set a season-high with 28 double plays turned. BU has only turned 20 or more double plays in a season three times in Baylor softball history. 
• Baylor is 3-1 in extra-inning games on the season, with their one loss in extras coming against No. 2 Oklahoma State in an 11-inning showdown with to open conference play. The Bears also have 11 shutouts on the season. 
• Ana Watson won Big 12 Player of the Week last week, helping lift Baylor to a 4-1 week. The junior hit .438 on the week, blasting her first three home runs of the season, which were all multi-run shots. She picked up a league-leading 12 RBIs on the week, while producing a 1.063 slugging percentage.
• BU also leads the Big 12 in sacrifice bunts (30), sacrifice fly's (18) and stolen bases (71).
• McKenzie Wilson moved to third place in consecutive reached base streaks earlier this season with a 35 game-record and is currently on an 11-game streak. 
• Josie Bower is now tied for second all-time in Baylor softball history in hit by pitches (25), tying Kelley Levesque.
• Sydney Collazos led the Bears in the batter's box last week, hitting .611 with 11 hits, two doubles and four RBIs, while not striking out once. 
• Shaylon Govan leads the Bears with nine home runs and 43 RBIs.
• Govan is one of nine Bears to have double digit RBIs already on the season. Amber Toven follows her with 28, Emily Hott has 27, Ana Watson has 26, McKenzie Wilson and Sydney Collazos have 19, Presleigh Pilon has 18, Taylor Strain has 14 and Josie Bower has 12.
• Dariana Orme leads the Bears with 119 strikeouts and leads the conference in innings pitched (131.2). 
• The Bears have already recorded 71 stolen bases on the season, four away from last year's season total of 75. 
• Head coach Glenn Moore picked up his 1,000th career win against UT Arlington on March 22. He is the winningest coach in Baylor Athletics history and now ranks 11th among active Division I head softball coaches to reach this milestone. 861 of his 1,000 career wins have come at Baylor University.