No. 22 SB Heads to Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs

No. 22 BAYLOR (3-3) at MARY NUTTER CLASSIC

Thursday, Feb. 22 • vs. No. 23 Oregon • Palm Springs, Calif. • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: FloSoftball
Thursday, Feb. 22 • vs. Notre Dame • Palm Springs, Calif. • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: FloSoftball
Friday, Feb. 23 • vs. UC Riverside • Palm Springs, Calif. • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: FloSoftball
Saturday, Feb. 24 • vs. No. 19 UCLA • Palm Springs, Calif. • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: FloSoftball
Saturday, Feb. 24 • vs. No. 13 Missouri • Palm Springs, Calif. • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: FloSoftball

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

With three native Californians in the starting lineup and another one leading a deep pitching staff, 22^nd-ranked Baylor softball's trip to Palm Springs, Calif., for the Mary Nutter Classic will certainly feel like a homecoming.

"If we're going to recruit out there, we have to take these kids back home and get them to play around family and give their families an opportunity to drive and see them play," Baylor coach Glenn Moore said.

"Sometimes, it's more pressure. And sometimes, they're a little more relaxed, because it's more like what they're used to. Nonetheless, it's always fun to have family there and let them spend some time getting to see their mom and dad."

The Bears (3-3) begin a busy weekend schedule with games against 25^th-ranked Oregon (6-5) at 7 p.m. CT and Notre Dame (6-2) at 9:30 p.m. Thursday on Wrigley Field at the Big League Dreams complex.

"I've been talking about this with my family forever," said shortstop Amber Toven, who hails from Northridge, Calif. "I've actually been going to the Mary Nutter since I was 10 years old. My sister was playing there with Long Island University. It's kind of full circle to be back. I know the air is thinner, so the ball is going to fly. I'm excited to watch the whole team kind of take off."

Toven, who played her first season at Arizona in 2022, will also see some familiar faces. The Bears also face UC Riverside (3-4) at 10:30 p.m. CT Friday and 19^th-ranked UCLA (3-4) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday before wrapping up the tournament with a matchup against No. 13 Missouri (10-0) at 10 p.m. Saturday.

"It's been two years since I last played a Pac-12 school," said Toven, who's hitting .294 with two doubles. "I know a lot of girls on UCLA and a lot of girls on Oregon, so it'll be really good to see them having played against them two years ago. And then before that, we were all travel-ball teammates at one point. So, it's cool."

Also going back to Cali are junior second baseman Presleigh Pilon from Murrieta, centerfielder McKenzie Wilson from Long Beach and pitcher Dariana Orme from Vacaville. Wilson and Orme were also teammates at Fresno State.

After a slow start, Wilson comes into the weekend with a four-game hitting streak, going 6-for-11 in a 3-1 road trip that included a doubleheader sweep of No. 23 Louisiana on Sunday.

"Sometimes, you bump a kid down in the lineup, and it gives them breathing room," Moore said. "I've toyed with that a little bit with Coach (Steve "Hoot) Johnigan, and we just feel like she's on the verge of coming back. He really did, because he sees them a little more in batting practice than I do. He was an advocate for that, and sticking to it was the right decision, of course."

First baseman Shaylon Govan had three multi-hit games in the Louisiana trip, including going 4-for-4 with two RBIs in Sunday's 6-0 win over the Ragin' Cajuns. She is fifth in the Big 12 with a .550 batting average.

"It just gives us a bunch of confidence," Govan said. "We have a bunch of lefties, and then we're mixing a bunch of righties in. We're allowing everyone to see that what we're doing and the work we're putting is working. I think that gives the team a bunch of confidence."

Orme, coming back from offseason surgery, hasn't allowed an earned run in 5.1 innings over two appearances. Sophomore RyLee Crandall has been impressive through the first two weekends, going 2-0 with a 0.92 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 15.1 innings.

Including the season-opening doubleheader against then-No. 2 Tennessee, seven of the Bears' first 11 games are against ranked teams. The Lady Vols and top-ranked Oklahoma are also part of the three-day tournament.

"Anytime you have a number before your name, it puts a little more significance on it, a heightened sense of awareness," Moore said. "I think we've been kind of victim of that a little bit compared to last year, when we weren't ranked for a little while. I think we had some opportunities to sneak up on some people. Now, we have a number in front of our name."

All of this weekend's games will be streamed by FloSoftball, with the Baylor games also broadcast on 101.3 FM in Waco.

STORY LINES
• Baylor Softball continues their road swing this week with a trip back to the Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., where they will face five different opponents from Feb. 22-24.
• The Bears will be facing No. 13 Missouri, No. 19 UCLA, No. 25 Oregon, Notre Dame and UC Riverside in their trip out west.
• BU holds the all-time record against Notre Dame (2-1) and UC Riverside (2-0), while trailing in the all-time records against Missouri (32-19) and UCLA (5-3). The Bears are tied in the all-time series against Oregon (7-7).
• This is the Bears first trip back to the Mary Nutter Classic since the 2022 season, when they went 2-2 in the tournament.
• The team comes back to the diamond with a veteran squad that consists of seven seniors and 17 upperclassmen.
• After ending the 2023 campaign back in the NCAA postseason, the Bears are looking to build on last year's 40-win season while returning all but one senior, Josie Bower, from the roster.
• Baylor added three freshmen to the squad with pitcher Lexie Warncke and infielders, Paige King and Leah Cran.
• Baylor is ranked in three national polls: No. 22 (Softball America), No. 19 (D1Softball) and No. 22 (ESPN/USA Softball). The Bears are still receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA poll.
• The Bears will have faced two ranked teams already this season (No. 2 Tennessee and No. 23 Louisiana) and will continue that trend this week as they face three more ranked opponents. BU's three losses on the season are against ranked teams.
• Baylor found its offense last week, recording 32 hits as a team, led by Shaylon Govan who went 9-for-14 at the plate while hitting .643. She brought home two RBIs while recording an intentional walk and not striking out once.
• The Bears also recorded seven doubles last week, led by McKenzie Wilson and Amber Toven who each had two.
• Pitcher RyLee Crandall picked up two wins and a save last week with a 0.72 ERA. She struck out six, while only allowing one earned run through 9.2 innings of work.
• Emily Hott went 3-for-6 in the box during opening weekend, with a double and the Bears' first home run of the season. Her 1.167 slugging percentage led the Bears, as she also scored two runs and had two RBIs.
• Aliyah Binford had a team-leading 13 strikeouts last week, through 13.0 innings of work. She went 1-1 in the circle and picked up a save.
• Govan was named to the preseason All-Big 12 team as a unanimous decision.
• Senior pitcher Dariana Orme was named to the USA Softball Top 50 Player of the Year Watch List for the season. She led the Bears in the circle last season with 1.92 ERA and 126 strikeouts.
• Orme pitched 3.0 innings against Louisiana, allowing only one hit while striking out two and recording a save.
• The Bears middle infield turned 31 double plays during the 2023 season, which set a new single-season team record. The 2024 squad wanted to continue the trend and turned five during last weeks play and now totals eight for the season.
• Eleven different Bears have recorded a hit so far this season, with Govan leading the way with 11, followed by Hott and Wilson with six apiece.
• Head coach Glenn Moore hit his 1,000th career win last season, when the Bears took down UT Arlington on March 23, 2023. He is looking for his 900th win at Baylor this season and is 19 wins away from that milestone.

-BaylorBears.com-

No. 22 SB Heads to Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs

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Players Mentioned

Aliyah Binford

Josie Bower

Leah Cran

RyLee Crandall

Shaylon Govan

Emily Hott

Paige King

Dariana Orme

Presleigh Pilon

Amber Toven

Lexie Warncke

McKenzie Wilson

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