Sunday, March 10
Waco, Texas
1 PM
Baylor
14-5, 0
2
vs
3
Oklahoma State
20-3, 0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
Oklahoma State
0
0
0
0
0
1
2
3
5
1
Baylor
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
2
7
0
No. 14 SB Falls Against No. 7 Oklahoma State, 3-2
3/10/2024 4:32:00 PM | Softball
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Baylor softball proved at last month's Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., that it could compete with and even beat some of the best teams in the country.
This weekend's series against seventh-ranked Oklahoma State was just affirmation.
In Sunday's rubber-match series finale at Getterman Stadium, Aliyah Binford had a one-hit shutout through the fifth and took a 2-1 lead into the seventh. But the Cowgirls rallied with a run in the sixth and two in the seventh to pull out a 3-2 win and clinch the conference-opening series with the 14th-ranked Bears.
"We played well all weekend. I'm very proud of the way the girls played," said Baylor coach Glenn Moore, whose team fell to 14-5 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12. "Played well enough, we could easily be 3-0. Just extremely proud. I know the team that walked off that Oklahoma State bus on Friday has a lot more respect for us now that we showed up and played three games. I'm very proud of the fact that we fought them."
It was the second time in three days that OSU (20-3, 2-1) had to rally in the seventh to tie or take the lead. The Cowgirls won Friday's series opener in eight innings, 4-1, before dropping Saturday's game, 2-0, behind a one-hit masterpiece from sophomore pitcher RyLee Crandall.
"I think this team knows it can be pretty good. We knew that coming out of Palm Springs," Moore said. "But we still want to prove it against the Big 12 teams. We're this close. I think we won or tied 20 of the 22 innings we played this weekend. And if you say that is one of the top-five teams in the country, and you match up pretty well, I think we can draw a lot from that going forward."
Facing OSU pitcher Ivy Rosenberry for the second time in as many days, the Bears collected five hits and a pair of walks off her in the first three innings.
After leading off the third with a double off the wall in right-center field, Taylor Strain moved up on Sydney Collazos' fly to right and scored on a hit by Ana Watson that hit the third-base bag and trickled into left field. Abi Flores followed with a single to left that would have loaded the bases, but pinch-runner Ashlyn Wachtendorf was thrown out trying to get back to third.
"We just had a plan," Shaylon Govan said of the Bears going 5-for-13 against Rosenberry. "Going up there, we were picking in and out and change, just trying to take away her best stuff. I think we did that pretty well today."
Govan, who was 2-for-2 for the day, also got a hit off OSU ace Lexi Kilfoyle (9-2). With two out in the fifth, Govan launched a solo shot to right-center field for her second home run of the season to give the Bears a 2-0 lead.
"A pitcher like her, it's hard to pick what she's going to throw," Govan said. "Fight for your life, basically, is what you have to do. It's good to see something happen. I got a changeup. I wasn't sure (if it was over the wall). I was looking at the outfielder, and she was slowly going."
Collazos helped Baylor cling on to the lead with some sterling defense at catcher. She threw out Rosie Davis trying to steal second after a leadoff walk in the fifth, tagged out Haidyn Solokowski trying to score the tying run in the sixth on a close play at the plate and then gunned down Tallen Edwards at third base when Karli Goodwin failed to get down a bunt.
The Cowgirls did get a run across in the sixth, when pinch-hitter Macy Graf walked, went to second on Jilyen Poullard's perfectly placed bunt single and scored on Edwards' fielder's choice grounder to second.
Facing just three batters over the minimum through the first six innings, Binford (5-4) took a two-hitter and a 2-1 lead into the seventh. But Caroline Wang led off the inning with a double down the left-field line, and pinch-runner Scotland David scored the tying run on a pair of groundouts.
The Cowgirls weren't done, though. Tia Warsop reached on another bunt single, stole second and scored the go-ahead run on Megan Bloodworth's RBI single to right.
Moore said the Bears had Crandall ready to go out of the bullpen, "but when you're getting groundballs and nobody's hitting her hard . . . I think the right decision was made."
"We were ready to (put Crandall in) if we needed to," he said, "I just didn't see any reason to go with her at the time."
Kilfoyl set the side down in order in the bottom of the seventh, striking out Hott to end the game.
"Aliyah pitched a World Series-type game," Moore said. "I was really proud of her. Are there things that we could do to improve a little bit? Yes. But (in) the two losses that we had, she put us in a place to win them."
Baylor will host Lamar for a doubleheader on Tuesday before going on the road next weekend for a series at Kansas (14-7-1, 1-2).
WACO, Texas – No. 14 Baylor Softball fell against No. 7 Oklahoma State, 3-2, Saturday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.
THE RUNDOWN
Baylor started out the game strong on Sunday afternoon, working five scoreless innings against the Cowgirls with Aliyah Binford in the circle.
After a 1-2-3 top of the first, Taylor Strain led off the bottom of the inning with an infield single but was thrown out trying to steal second. With two outs, Shaylon Govan singled, but that would be all for the Bears in the first.
With one out in the bottom of the second, Abi Flores walked and Kaci West reached on an error but the two runners would never advance in the second.
Continuing her hot streak, Strain opened up the bottom of the third with a double to right-center field before Govan was walked to put two on with one out. Ana Watson then roped a single to third base which bounced over the bag to bring home Strain for the Bears' first run of the game.
After allowing the Cowgirls their first hit of the game in the top of the fourth, Binford recorded an inning-ending strikeout to end the threat.
Giving the Bears the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth, Govan blasted a solo shot over the wall in right-center to double the Bears' lead.
The Cowgrls brought a run home in the top of the sixth to come within a run, but after Sydney Collazos picked a runner off at third base, a ground out ended the scoring threat.
Flores singled in the bottom half of the sixth, but OSU was able to capitalize on a couple timely hits and groundouts, to plate two runs in the top of the seventh and take the 3-2 victory.
HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTABLE
Shaylon Govan on the outlook for the team …
"It just shows this team has everything that we need to be a top team in the country. He just made sure to tell us to not hang our heads and keep working hard and keep grinding and get back to where we need to be."
Head Coach Glenn Moore on the game …
"Yeah, you're right. We played well all weekend. I'm very proud of the way the girls played. Played well enough, we could easily be a 3-0 team. Just extremely proud. I know the team that walked off that Oklahoma State bus on Friday has a lot more respect for us now that we showed up and played three games, and I'm very proud of the fact that they fought them."
UP NEXT
The Bears will host Lamar in a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 12, beginning at 4 p.m. CT.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – Baylor softball proved at last month's Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., that it could compete with and even beat some of the best teams in the country.
This weekend's series against seventh-ranked Oklahoma State was just affirmation.
In Sunday's rubber-match series finale at Getterman Stadium, Aliyah Binford had a one-hit shutout through the fifth and took a 2-1 lead into the seventh. But the Cowgirls rallied with a run in the sixth and two in the seventh to pull out a 3-2 win and clinch the conference-opening series with the 14th-ranked Bears.
"We played well all weekend. I'm very proud of the way the girls played," said Baylor coach Glenn Moore, whose team fell to 14-5 overall and 1-2 in the Big 12. "Played well enough, we could easily be 3-0. Just extremely proud. I know the team that walked off that Oklahoma State bus on Friday has a lot more respect for us now that we showed up and played three games. I'm very proud of the fact that we fought them."
It was the second time in three days that OSU (20-3, 2-1) had to rally in the seventh to tie or take the lead. The Cowgirls won Friday's series opener in eight innings, 4-1, before dropping Saturday's game, 2-0, behind a one-hit masterpiece from sophomore pitcher RyLee Crandall.
"I think this team knows it can be pretty good. We knew that coming out of Palm Springs," Moore said. "But we still want to prove it against the Big 12 teams. We're this close. I think we won or tied 20 of the 22 innings we played this weekend. And if you say that is one of the top-five teams in the country, and you match up pretty well, I think we can draw a lot from that going forward."
Facing OSU pitcher Ivy Rosenberry for the second time in as many days, the Bears collected five hits and a pair of walks off her in the first three innings.
After leading off the third with a double off the wall in right-center field, Taylor Strain moved up on Sydney Collazos' fly to right and scored on a hit by Ana Watson that hit the third-base bag and trickled into left field. Abi Flores followed with a single to left that would have loaded the bases, but pinch-runner Ashlyn Wachtendorf was thrown out trying to get back to third.
"We just had a plan," Shaylon Govan said of the Bears going 5-for-13 against Rosenberry. "Going up there, we were picking in and out and change, just trying to take away her best stuff. I think we did that pretty well today."
Govan, who was 2-for-2 for the day, also got a hit off OSU ace Lexi Kilfoyle (9-2). With two out in the fifth, Govan launched a solo shot to right-center field for her second home run of the season to give the Bears a 2-0 lead.
"A pitcher like her, it's hard to pick what she's going to throw," Govan said. "Fight for your life, basically, is what you have to do. It's good to see something happen. I got a changeup. I wasn't sure (if it was over the wall). I was looking at the outfielder, and she was slowly going."
Collazos helped Baylor cling on to the lead with some sterling defense at catcher. She threw out Rosie Davis trying to steal second after a leadoff walk in the fifth, tagged out Haidyn Solokowski trying to score the tying run in the sixth on a close play at the plate and then gunned down Tallen Edwards at third base when Karli Goodwin failed to get down a bunt.
The Cowgirls did get a run across in the sixth, when pinch-hitter Macy Graf walked, went to second on Jilyen Poullard's perfectly placed bunt single and scored on Edwards' fielder's choice grounder to second.
Facing just three batters over the minimum through the first six innings, Binford (5-4) took a two-hitter and a 2-1 lead into the seventh. But Caroline Wang led off the inning with a double down the left-field line, and pinch-runner Scotland David scored the tying run on a pair of groundouts.
The Cowgirls weren't done, though. Tia Warsop reached on another bunt single, stole second and scored the go-ahead run on Megan Bloodworth's RBI single to right.
Moore said the Bears had Crandall ready to go out of the bullpen, "but when you're getting groundballs and nobody's hitting her hard . . . I think the right decision was made."
"We were ready to (put Crandall in) if we needed to," he said, "I just didn't see any reason to go with her at the time."
Kilfoyl set the side down in order in the bottom of the seventh, striking out Hott to end the game.
"Aliyah pitched a World Series-type game," Moore said. "I was really proud of her. Are there things that we could do to improve a little bit? Yes. But (in) the two losses that we had, she put us in a place to win them."
Baylor will host Lamar for a doubleheader on Tuesday before going on the road next weekend for a series at Kansas (14-7-1, 1-2).
WACO, Texas – No. 14 Baylor Softball fell against No. 7 Oklahoma State, 3-2, Saturday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.
THE RUNDOWN
Baylor started out the game strong on Sunday afternoon, working five scoreless innings against the Cowgirls with Aliyah Binford in the circle.
After a 1-2-3 top of the first, Taylor Strain led off the bottom of the inning with an infield single but was thrown out trying to steal second. With two outs, Shaylon Govan singled, but that would be all for the Bears in the first.
With one out in the bottom of the second, Abi Flores walked and Kaci West reached on an error but the two runners would never advance in the second.
Continuing her hot streak, Strain opened up the bottom of the third with a double to right-center field before Govan was walked to put two on with one out. Ana Watson then roped a single to third base which bounced over the bag to bring home Strain for the Bears' first run of the game.
After allowing the Cowgirls their first hit of the game in the top of the fourth, Binford recorded an inning-ending strikeout to end the threat.
Giving the Bears the 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth, Govan blasted a solo shot over the wall in right-center to double the Bears' lead.
The Cowgrls brought a run home in the top of the sixth to come within a run, but after Sydney Collazos picked a runner off at third base, a ground out ended the scoring threat.
Flores singled in the bottom half of the sixth, but OSU was able to capitalize on a couple timely hits and groundouts, to plate two runs in the top of the seventh and take the 3-2 victory.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Taylor Strain went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double
- Shaylon Govan went 2-for-2 with a home run and a walk
- Abi Flores went 2-for-2 at the plate with a walk
- The Bears out-hit the Cowgirls 7-5
- Ana Watson and Govan each accounted for the Bears' two RBIs
- Aliyah Binford pitched a 7.0 inning complete game with six striekouts
QUOTABLE
Shaylon Govan on the outlook for the team …
"It just shows this team has everything that we need to be a top team in the country. He just made sure to tell us to not hang our heads and keep working hard and keep grinding and get back to where we need to be."
Head Coach Glenn Moore on the game …
"Yeah, you're right. We played well all weekend. I'm very proud of the way the girls played. Played well enough, we could easily be a 3-0 team. Just extremely proud. I know the team that walked off that Oklahoma State bus on Friday has a lot more respect for us now that we showed up and played three games, and I'm very proud of the fact that they fought them."
UP NEXT
The Bears will host Lamar in a doubleheader on Tuesday, March 12, beginning at 4 p.m. CT.
-BaylorBears.com-
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kilfoyl, Lexi (9-2)
L: Binford, Aliyah (5-4)
Batting:
2B: Wang, Caroline 1
RBI: Edwards, Tallen 1 ; Wark, Micaela 1 ; Bloodworth, Megan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: David, Scotland 1 ; Warsop, Tia 1 ; Graf, Macy 1
SB: Edwards, Tallen 1 ; Warsop, Tia 1 ; Bloodworth, Megan 1
CS: Davis, Rosie 1
PO: Edwards, Tallen 1
Batting:
2B: Strain, Taylor 1
HR: Govan, Shaylon 1
RBI: Govan, Shaylon 1 ; Watson, Ana 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Strain, Taylor 1 ; Govan, Shaylon 1
CS: Strain, Taylor 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
2
R
1
H
2
RBI
1
AB
2
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
Players Mentioned
P/INF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballUTL
/ SoftballINF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
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