No. 13 SB Travels to Kansas for Weekend Series

No. 13 BAYLOR (16-5) vs KANSAS (16-7-1)

Friday, March 15 • at Kansas • Lawrence, Kansas • Arrocha Ballpark • Radio: 101.3 FM
Saturday, March 16 • at Kansas • Lawrence, Kansas • Arrocha Ballpark • Radio: 101.3 FM
Sunday, March 17 • at Kansas • Lawrence, Kansas • Arrocha Ballpark • Radio: 101.3 FM

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

Glenn Moore knows he will bring these lessons "back up down the road."

After losing late leads in dropping two of three in a series against a top-five Oklahoma State team, the 13^th-ranked Baylor Bears (16-5, 1-2) go on the road to face Kansas (16-7-1, 1-2) in a weekend series that start with Friday's 5 p.m. game at Arrocha Ballpark in Lawrence, Kan.

"I don't think it was all our fault on Friday. I think they had a little help," Moore said of Friday's 4-1 loss to the Cowgirls, who scored one in the seventh and three in the eighth, "but Sunday, we allowed them to get the foot in the door. We could've been going into the Sunday game 2-0, but then you just taste blood and take care of things whenever you've got a two run lead."

Shaylon Govan's fifth-inning solo home run in Sunday's game gave the Bears a 2-0 lead, but OSU scored one in the sixth and two in the seventh to pull out a 3-2 win and clinch the series.

"We know we can compete with the best teams in the nation," said catcher Sydney Collazos, "because (OSU is) certainly one of the top teams in the country. But it also kind of lights our fire, knowing that we had it and we let it go there at the end. We know we need to finish games a little bit stronger than we start them. I think that's the attitude going into this series."

Moore said Govan's second homer of the season "might have relaxed us."

"Too big of a lead (2-0) will sometimes relax you to the point where you're walking batters and putting batters on," he said. "Those are things that you can't do against good teams. It's not always going to hurt you, but when it does, you've got to remember that. That's my job as a coach is to bring that back up down the road so that we can learn from that and make sure it doesn't happen repeatedly."

Binford took the bookend losses in the series, falling to 5-4 with a 2.68 ERA, but he ranks 31^st in the country with a Big 12-leading 66 strikeouts.

"I know we've worked a lot, and I trust my defense a lot," Binford said, "so that's what makes me confident when I'm out there. I feel like I grow every day. There's room for me to get better every single day."

Sophomore Ryan Crandall (7-0, 1.19 ERA) picked up Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors, retiring 21 of the 22 batters she faced and coming within one hit of a perfect game in Saturday's 2-0 win over OSU. For the week, she walked only three batters with six strikeouts in 11.0 innings.

In Tuesday's doubleheader sweep of Lamar, junior Kaci West (3-1) and freshman Lexie Warncke (2-0) picked up the wins, giving up just one run on seven hits in a combined 11.2 innings.

"I'm very confident in (West) and see what she's capable of," Moore said. "It was important to get her back in a game. A pitcher struggles when you give them too much time off. Warncke, we haven't seen as much as we'd like because of a sore arm. She had some nerves early, but when she settled in, she threw some really good pitches. She's one that needs to be pitched in the right situations to grow her and give her time to develop."

Collazos said the Bears will be "better off in the long run" by building the pitching depth. Despite an extremely challenging schedule that has seen Baylor play 11 games against ranked teams, it is fourth in the league with a 1.97 team ERA.

"I think that we have a very versatile bullpen this year," she said. "It's good that we're starting to get some innings in under everyone's belt."

Kansas, which lost two of three in a conference-opening series at league newcomer UCF, is hitting .294 as a team and is fifth in the Big 12 with a 2.47 ERA. Presley Limbaugh is hitting a team-best .449 with two doubles, two triples and 14 RBI.

"They've got some kids that are producing," Moore said. "They've got two pitchers that give them a chance, and you really need one in this sport. One's a hard thrower, a righty; and then a left that mixes it really well. We've seen a ton of lefties because we've got a ton of righthanded hitters in our lineup. (Kasey) Hamilton is sometimes on, sometimes off. But when she's on, she's really good. We have to be prepared for her to be at her best this weekend."

The series continues with games at 2 p.m. Saturday and 12 noon Sunday, with all three games streamed on ESPN+.

"Traveling is not the easiest thing in the world," Collazos said, "but what an opportunity, whether we're home or away, to go and play some big competition."

STORY LINES
• Baylor Softball continues Big 12 play this weekend as they head to Lawrence, Kan., to face the Jayhawks in a three-game series March 15-17 at Arrochoa Ballpark.
• The Bears (16-5, 1-2 Big 12) are facing Kansas (16-7-1, 1-2 Big 12) are facing off for the 76th time in program history. BU leads the all-time record over the Jayhawks 45-30 and the record in Lawrence, 18-11.
• BU picked up a midweek sweep over Lamar March 12, defeating the Cardinals 5-1 in game one and 6-1 in game two.
• Baylor is now 16-5 on the season with all five of the Bears' losses this season have come against ranked opponents.
• The Bears opened conference play against No. 7 Oklahoma State last week, going 1-2 on the weekend falling in the series opener and finale and shutting out the Cowgirls on Saturday.
• 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 all four national polls: No. 14 (Softball America), No. 10 (D1Softball), No. 13 (ESPN/USA Softball) and No. 19 (USA Today/NFCA).
• The Bears have already faced six ranked teams this season: No. 2 Tennessee, No. 23 Louisiana, No. 25 Oregon, No. 19 UCLA, No. 13 Missouri and No. 7 Oklahoma State.
• The Bears are excelling in the circle this season, with a 1.97 ERA as a team. RyLee Crandall leads the way with a 7-0 record, with 12 appearances and a 1.24 ERA.
• Crandall picked up Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors for the Bears' win over No. 7 Oklahoma State, where she pitched a one-hit complete-game shutout. The sophomore was one hit away from a perfect game, effectively retiring 21 of 22 at bats. She only walked three batters in her 11.0 innings pitched, while striking out six last week.
• Aliyah Binford has a team-leading 66 strikeouts and holds a 5-4 record. She is currently ranked No. 31 in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings and is first in the Big 12 in strikeouts.
• Sydney Collazos has been a threat behind the plate, throwing out eight runners so far this season and picking off two batters, one at first and one at third. She is tied for fifth in the country in caught stealing by records.
• Shaylon Govan leads the Bears with a .500 average, 26 hits, four doubles and two home runs. Her batting average is good for first in the Big 12 and ties for fourth nationally, while her on base percentage is good for third nationally. With her .623 on base percentage, Govan is ranked 20th in the country in walks per game and has been walked 17 times so far this season.
• Kaci West has three saves on the season, which is good for first in the Big 12 and ties her at 11th nationally.
• The 2024 squad has turned 15 total double plays already this season. The Bears are ranked No. 1 nationally in double plays turned per game (.71) with 15 turned through 21 games.
• Sixteen different Bears have recorded a hit so far this season, with Govan leading the way with 26, followed by Taylor Strain with 22. There are six Bears with double-digit hits already on the season.
• 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 six wins away from that milestone.

-BaylorBears.com-

No. 13 SB Travels to Kansas for Weekend Series

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Players Mentioned

Aliyah Binford

Josie Bower

Sydney Collazos

Leah Cran

RyLee Crandall

Shaylon Govan

Paige King

Taylor Strain

Lexie Warncke

Kaci West

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