Sunday, May 7
Waco, Texas
1 PM
Baylor
39-15, 0
2
vs
1
#5 Texas
40-12-1, 0
1
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3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Texas
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
5
1
Baylor
0
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0
0
2
2
5
0
No. 20 SB Sweeps No. 5 Texas with 2-1 Walk-Off
5/7/2023 6:48:00 PM | Softball
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
After exploding for 14 runs in winning the first two games against fifth-ranked Texas, the No. 20 Baylor softball team's bats were quieted through the first six innings of Sunday's series finale at Getterman Stadium.
And when former Baylor outfielder Lou Gilbert threw out Taylor Strain at the plate, trying to score from second on an Ana Watson single down the left-field line, it looked like the Longhorns might escape with a 1-0 victory before another sellout crowd.
But then, in one of the most bizarre game-ending plays you will ever see, the Bears got a walk-off 2-1 victory when Zadie LaValley's hit down the first-base line took a bad hop and glanced off Vanessa Quiroga's glove as Amber Toven and Watson both came around to score and pandemonium erupted.
"When I hit it, I thought it was going to bounce and go foul because of the way it looked," LaValley said. "I thought, 'Oh, foul ball.' But it didn't go foul, and I was like, 'I've got to haul my butt down the line.'''
Baylor's celebration was put on hold when first-base umpire Terry Holt came sprinting in and immediately called for an unprecedented fourth video review of the inning, this time whether the ball was fair or foul. After a lengthy review, the officials came back and upheld the call, setting off another wild celebration.
"Honestly, I thought about the baseball game," Baylor coach Glenn Moore said of the baseball team's 10-9 walk-off win over Texas when the home-plate umpire initially called Caleb Bergman out at the plate but was overturned. "I remember watching the replay and seeing them come out of the dugout . . . and I said, we're going to have the same result. Not everybody in our dugout was, but I was optimistic. The longer it took, the better it was for us."
Senior Josie Bower, who started the seventh-inning rally with a one-out double to center field, said she was pacing back and forth in the dugout during the last review "because I had no clue."
"I felt like the longer it took, the better it meant for us, because they were trying to find every angle to overturn it," said Bower, who had two of the Bears' five hits. "That was, I think, the craziest game I've ever been a part of. I'm really blessed. If that was my last game at Getterman, I'll be pleased."
Bower will have a hard time ever forgetting this weekend. Honored before Sunday's game as the team's lone senior, she went 5-for-9 with two doubles and five RBIs for the series in raising her batting average from .217 to .266.
"I feel really good right now," said Bower, whose brother, Aaron, threw out the first pitch on Saturday as part of the Autism Awareness Game. "I don't know, maybe it's Senior Day, just everything coming together. And I knew it was my last Big 12 series. But yeah, I feel pretty good."
Amazingly, Baylor (39-15, 8-10) was able to sweep the Longhorns (40-12-1, 11-7) without ace pitcher Dariana Orme throwing a single pitch. After going the distance in a 9-1 run-rule win on Friday and throwing one inning of relief in Saturday's 5-2 series-clincher, freshman RyLee Crandall (15-4) held UT to just one run on five hits with no walks and three strikeouts to pick up her second win of the weekend.
"Dari is right there in the dugout, cheering all of us on every single pitch, every single inning, no matter what," Crandall said. "She has her presence, even when she's not in the circle, and it shows to the other pitchers that she believes in us."
Moore said no one, including his wife, Janice, would have believed that Baylor could sweep Texas without Orme in the circle.
"She said she would have bet a lot of money on that," Moore said. "She didn't have a lot of confidence that we would take three from the, but she knows that I believe in those young pitchers, and I know what kind of heart and how much they've grown this year. And it's nice for it to end this way at Getterman against the No. 5 team in the country."
The thing is, Baylor might not be done playing at Getterman. At No. 23 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, the Bears would have been on the outside looking in for potentially hosting a regional. But after a three-game sweep of UT, giving BU its sixth win over a top-5 team this season, "we've got to be in the conversation," Moore said.
"I thought winning this series put us back in the conversation, but I think taking the sweep has got to make us a serious contender for an opportunity to bring a regional back here to Getterman," he said. "I'm certainly more optimistic, and fairly optimistic, that they're going to be considering us heavily."
Knotted in a scoreless pitchers' duel through the first five innings, Texas took its first lead of the series in the top of the sixth when Alyssa Popelka reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on a Mia Scott double just inside the left-field line.
Reliever Citlaly Gutierrez worked a quick 1-2-3 bottom half of the sixth and had retired the four batters she faced going into the seventh. But Bower's one-out double got something started for the Bears, who had just three hits combined in the first six innings.
"I don't think you could script it much better than that," Moore said of Bower's special Senior Day performance, "unless that ball leaves the park. But it sure made for some excitement and got our crowd into it, for sure."
Bower got a curtain-call ovation from the crowd when she was replaced by Strain as a pinch-runner at second base.
"I was willing to give it up to Taylor," Bower said. "She's a little bit faster than me, so I was okay with her going out there and running for me."
That didn't work out, however, when Strain was gunned down by Gilbert at the plate following Watson's single to left. Down to their last out and their last strike, the Bears got the break they needed when Quiroga couldn't handle LaValley's bad-bounce grounder that trickled into foul territory as the tying and game-winning runs crossed the plate.
Crandall, who took over the team lead in wins with 15, said Sunday's game was for Bower.
"That's what we talked about last night," the freshman pitcher said. "Saturday night was for Aaron, and today was for Josie. It just shows how much we love her and how much we're going to miss her."
As the No. 4 seed, Baylor will face fifth-seeded Iowa State (24-29, 6-12) in the first round of the Big 12 Championship at 12 p.m. Thursday, May 11, at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The Cyclones took two of three in a series last weekend in Ames and have won 10 of the last 14 against the Bears dating back to the 2019 season.
WACO, Texas - No. 20 Baylor Softball finished off a three-game series sweep of No. 5 Texas with a 2-1 walk-off win Sunday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.
The Bears, now 39-15 on the season and 8-10 in conference play, picked up their sixth win over a top-5 team this season, three of them coming at home.
Baylor walked off its third opponent of the season, when Zadie LaValley reached on an error and brought home the game-winning runs. This marks the Bears' first sweep of the Longhorns since 2018 and their first conference sweep since facing Kansas in 2021.
THE RUNDOWN
The Bears' defense was on lock in the series finale, with RyLee Crandall going the distance and tossing six scoreless frames, which started with a three-up, three-down top of the first.
BU notched its first hit of the game in the bottom of the second inning, when senior Josie Bower recorded an infield single to second base. A sacrifice bunt from Amber Toven moved Bower to second, but that would be as far as the Bears got in the inning.
Texas got a runner on in the top of the third, but after a stolen base, catcher Zadie LaValley picked her off at second base to end the inning.
LaValley then singled to lead off the bottom half of the third inning, but that would be all for the Bears.
After a quiet fourth inning for both teams, UT singled to lead off the fifth, but a throw from McKenzie Wilson in center field caught the runner trying to take second base.
Toven singled and stole second in the bottom half of the fifth inning, but BU couldn't bring any runs home.
UT strung together two hits in the top of the sixth to take its only lead of the series, but the Bears stifled a runner at third base to keep any more runs from scoring.
Sitting the Longhorns down in order in the top of the seventh inning, Baylor was down to its last chance to win the ballgame on Senior Day when the Bears' only senior, Bower, got the rally started with a double to right-center field. Toven was then walked before Ana Watson singled to put two on for LaValley. The junior catcher then reached on an error that bounced just fair over first base and brought home two runs for the Bears' walk-off win.
HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTABLE
Head coach Glenn Moore on the game: "Just so proud of these girls. To take on the No. 5 team in the country, without your ace in the circle, and RyLee and Kaci and the defense step it up and get these wins, no one would have bet on us this weekend. But it shows what kind of heart these girls have and what kind of talent we have. We're a pretty talented team, too."
Senior Josie Bower on her senior day: "Yes. Very special. (It was) incredible. Words can't describe what that was like. That was, I think, the craziest game I've ever been a part of. So, I'm really blessed. If that was my last game at Getterman, I'll be pleased."
Freshman RyLee Crandall on the finish of the game: "I have unfortunately, but it went the other way. It's nice to play for someone like Coach Moore and Coach Newman and Coach Hoot who bring girls in who are going to represent this program in the best way possible. We pick up and support each other, and that's why you can win games like this because you play for one another and not yourself."
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will venture north to Oklahoma City, Okla., for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship. As the tournament's No. 4 seed, the Bears will face No. 5 seed Iowa State at 12 p.m. CT Thursday, May 11, at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. The Baylor-Iowa State winner advances to face No. 1 seed Oklahoma in the semifinals at 1 p.m. CT Friday, May 12.
Baylor Bear Insider
After exploding for 14 runs in winning the first two games against fifth-ranked Texas, the No. 20 Baylor softball team's bats were quieted through the first six innings of Sunday's series finale at Getterman Stadium.
And when former Baylor outfielder Lou Gilbert threw out Taylor Strain at the plate, trying to score from second on an Ana Watson single down the left-field line, it looked like the Longhorns might escape with a 1-0 victory before another sellout crowd.
But then, in one of the most bizarre game-ending plays you will ever see, the Bears got a walk-off 2-1 victory when Zadie LaValley's hit down the first-base line took a bad hop and glanced off Vanessa Quiroga's glove as Amber Toven and Watson both came around to score and pandemonium erupted.
"When I hit it, I thought it was going to bounce and go foul because of the way it looked," LaValley said. "I thought, 'Oh, foul ball.' But it didn't go foul, and I was like, 'I've got to haul my butt down the line.'''
Baylor's celebration was put on hold when first-base umpire Terry Holt came sprinting in and immediately called for an unprecedented fourth video review of the inning, this time whether the ball was fair or foul. After a lengthy review, the officials came back and upheld the call, setting off another wild celebration.
"Honestly, I thought about the baseball game," Baylor coach Glenn Moore said of the baseball team's 10-9 walk-off win over Texas when the home-plate umpire initially called Caleb Bergman out at the plate but was overturned. "I remember watching the replay and seeing them come out of the dugout . . . and I said, we're going to have the same result. Not everybody in our dugout was, but I was optimistic. The longer it took, the better it was for us."
Senior Josie Bower, who started the seventh-inning rally with a one-out double to center field, said she was pacing back and forth in the dugout during the last review "because I had no clue."
"I felt like the longer it took, the better it meant for us, because they were trying to find every angle to overturn it," said Bower, who had two of the Bears' five hits. "That was, I think, the craziest game I've ever been a part of. I'm really blessed. If that was my last game at Getterman, I'll be pleased."
Bower will have a hard time ever forgetting this weekend. Honored before Sunday's game as the team's lone senior, she went 5-for-9 with two doubles and five RBIs for the series in raising her batting average from .217 to .266.
"I feel really good right now," said Bower, whose brother, Aaron, threw out the first pitch on Saturday as part of the Autism Awareness Game. "I don't know, maybe it's Senior Day, just everything coming together. And I knew it was my last Big 12 series. But yeah, I feel pretty good."
Amazingly, Baylor (39-15, 8-10) was able to sweep the Longhorns (40-12-1, 11-7) without ace pitcher Dariana Orme throwing a single pitch. After going the distance in a 9-1 run-rule win on Friday and throwing one inning of relief in Saturday's 5-2 series-clincher, freshman RyLee Crandall (15-4) held UT to just one run on five hits with no walks and three strikeouts to pick up her second win of the weekend.
"Dari is right there in the dugout, cheering all of us on every single pitch, every single inning, no matter what," Crandall said. "She has her presence, even when she's not in the circle, and it shows to the other pitchers that she believes in us."
Moore said no one, including his wife, Janice, would have believed that Baylor could sweep Texas without Orme in the circle.
"She said she would have bet a lot of money on that," Moore said. "She didn't have a lot of confidence that we would take three from the, but she knows that I believe in those young pitchers, and I know what kind of heart and how much they've grown this year. And it's nice for it to end this way at Getterman against the No. 5 team in the country."
The thing is, Baylor might not be done playing at Getterman. At No. 23 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, the Bears would have been on the outside looking in for potentially hosting a regional. But after a three-game sweep of UT, giving BU its sixth win over a top-5 team this season, "we've got to be in the conversation," Moore said.
"I thought winning this series put us back in the conversation, but I think taking the sweep has got to make us a serious contender for an opportunity to bring a regional back here to Getterman," he said. "I'm certainly more optimistic, and fairly optimistic, that they're going to be considering us heavily."
Knotted in a scoreless pitchers' duel through the first five innings, Texas took its first lead of the series in the top of the sixth when Alyssa Popelka reached on an infield single, stole second and scored on a Mia Scott double just inside the left-field line.
Reliever Citlaly Gutierrez worked a quick 1-2-3 bottom half of the sixth and had retired the four batters she faced going into the seventh. But Bower's one-out double got something started for the Bears, who had just three hits combined in the first six innings.
"I don't think you could script it much better than that," Moore said of Bower's special Senior Day performance, "unless that ball leaves the park. But it sure made for some excitement and got our crowd into it, for sure."
Bower got a curtain-call ovation from the crowd when she was replaced by Strain as a pinch-runner at second base.
"I was willing to give it up to Taylor," Bower said. "She's a little bit faster than me, so I was okay with her going out there and running for me."
That didn't work out, however, when Strain was gunned down by Gilbert at the plate following Watson's single to left. Down to their last out and their last strike, the Bears got the break they needed when Quiroga couldn't handle LaValley's bad-bounce grounder that trickled into foul territory as the tying and game-winning runs crossed the plate.
Crandall, who took over the team lead in wins with 15, said Sunday's game was for Bower.
"That's what we talked about last night," the freshman pitcher said. "Saturday night was for Aaron, and today was for Josie. It just shows how much we love her and how much we're going to miss her."
As the No. 4 seed, Baylor will face fifth-seeded Iowa State (24-29, 6-12) in the first round of the Big 12 Championship at 12 p.m. Thursday, May 11, at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The Cyclones took two of three in a series last weekend in Ames and have won 10 of the last 14 against the Bears dating back to the 2019 season.
WACO, Texas - No. 20 Baylor Softball finished off a three-game series sweep of No. 5 Texas with a 2-1 walk-off win Sunday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.
The Bears, now 39-15 on the season and 8-10 in conference play, picked up their sixth win over a top-5 team this season, three of them coming at home.
Baylor walked off its third opponent of the season, when Zadie LaValley reached on an error and brought home the game-winning runs. This marks the Bears' first sweep of the Longhorns since 2018 and their first conference sweep since facing Kansas in 2021.
THE RUNDOWN
The Bears' defense was on lock in the series finale, with RyLee Crandall going the distance and tossing six scoreless frames, which started with a three-up, three-down top of the first.
BU notched its first hit of the game in the bottom of the second inning, when senior Josie Bower recorded an infield single to second base. A sacrifice bunt from Amber Toven moved Bower to second, but that would be as far as the Bears got in the inning.
Texas got a runner on in the top of the third, but after a stolen base, catcher Zadie LaValley picked her off at second base to end the inning.
LaValley then singled to lead off the bottom half of the third inning, but that would be all for the Bears.
After a quiet fourth inning for both teams, UT singled to lead off the fifth, but a throw from McKenzie Wilson in center field caught the runner trying to take second base.
Toven singled and stole second in the bottom half of the fifth inning, but BU couldn't bring any runs home.
UT strung together two hits in the top of the sixth to take its only lead of the series, but the Bears stifled a runner at third base to keep any more runs from scoring.
Sitting the Longhorns down in order in the top of the seventh inning, Baylor was down to its last chance to win the ballgame on Senior Day when the Bears' only senior, Bower, got the rally started with a double to right-center field. Toven was then walked before Ana Watson singled to put two on for LaValley. The junior catcher then reached on an error that bounced just fair over first base and brought home two runs for the Bears' walk-off win.
HIGHLIGHTS
- BU secures its third walk-off win of the season
- This marks the Bears' first sweep over the Longhorns since 2018
- Baylor recorded its first conference sweep since the Kansas series in 2021
- This is the first time in program history the Bears have swept a top-5 opponent
- This is the Bears' first season in Baylor history with six top-5 wins
- Josie Bower notched two hits on Senior Day, including a double
- Zadie LaValley recorded one hit, but reached on the game-ending error for the walk off
- RyLee Crandall pitched a seven-inning complete-game, striking out three and only allowing one run
- Baylor will finish the regular season as the No. 4 team in the Big 12
QUOTABLE
Head coach Glenn Moore on the game: "Just so proud of these girls. To take on the No. 5 team in the country, without your ace in the circle, and RyLee and Kaci and the defense step it up and get these wins, no one would have bet on us this weekend. But it shows what kind of heart these girls have and what kind of talent we have. We're a pretty talented team, too."
Senior Josie Bower on her senior day: "Yes. Very special. (It was) incredible. Words can't describe what that was like. That was, I think, the craziest game I've ever been a part of. So, I'm really blessed. If that was my last game at Getterman, I'll be pleased."
Freshman RyLee Crandall on the finish of the game: "I have unfortunately, but it went the other way. It's nice to play for someone like Coach Moore and Coach Newman and Coach Hoot who bring girls in who are going to represent this program in the best way possible. We pick up and support each other, and that's why you can win games like this because you play for one another and not yourself."
WHAT'S NEXT
The Bears will venture north to Oklahoma City, Okla., for the Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship. As the tournament's No. 4 seed, the Bears will face No. 5 seed Iowa State at 12 p.m. CT Thursday, May 11, at the USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium. The Baylor-Iowa State winner advances to face No. 1 seed Oklahoma in the semifinals at 1 p.m. CT Friday, May 12.
- BaylorBears.com -
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Crandall, RyLee (15-4)
L: Gutierrez, Citlaly (11-4)
Batting:
2B: Scott, Mia 1
RBI: Scott, Mia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Popelka, Alyssa 1
SB: Popelka, Alyssa 2
PO: Popelka, Alyssa 1
Batting:
2B: Bower, Josie 1
SH: Toven, Amber 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Toven, Amber 1 ; Watson, Ana 1
SB: Toven, Amber 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
1
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballC
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
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