Saturday, March 30
Waco, Texas
12 PM
Baylor
7
vs
4
Iowa State
No. 21 SB Takes Game Three Over Iowa State, 7-4
3/30/2024 4:02:00 PM | Softball
By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – At pitcher-friendly Getterman Stadium, Emily Hott never thinks the ball is going out, so the Baylor outfielder just puts her head down and starts running.
But in Saturday's series finale against Iowa State, Hott "sent the message that this team wanted to send" by leading off the first inning with her fourth homer in the last five games and team-best sixth of the year with a blast over the wall in center field.
Adding an RBI triple in the second, Hott was one of four Bears with two-hit days as No. 21 Baylor (19-12, 3-9) clinched the series win by beating the Cyclones, 7-4.
"When they came up and got that one run (in the top of the first), I'm going to do everything I can right here to show them what Baylor softball is all about," Hott said, "and now we're going to come back punching. So, that was awesome."
Baylor coach Glenn Moore said Hott's home run was exactly the message he was hoping the Bears would send after giving up three seventh-inning runs in a 3-2 loss to the Cyclones on Friday night that evened the series.
"It kind of accentuated the message that this team wanted to send, that we were tired of playing the kind of ball we'd played: inconsistent," Moore said. "We wanted to send a message early today, and I thought that did it."
Scoring runs in three of the first four innings and totaling 12 hits for the day, the Bears kept sending that message all day.
"It was our goal today to come out strong," said first baseman Shaylon Govan, who was 2-for-3 to raise her batting average to .463. "We usually are pretty good at coming out strong, but we wanted to stay strong throughout the game. Our mindset was just not stopping, always keeping going, even if we felt like we had the momentum, just to keep them down."
Iowa State (12-18, 3-6), which had 10 of the last 14 meetings in this series coming into the weekend, jumped out to a 1-0 lead with an unearned run off Baylor starter RyLee Crandall (9-5) in the top of first.
Three pitches into the bottom half of the inning, that early lead was gone. Consecutive singles by Presleigh Pilon and Govan plated another run to give the Bears a 2-1 lead, but Game 2 winner Jaiden Ralston (2-4) wiggled out of any additional trouble with a shallow fly ball to left by Sydney Collazos and a groundout to third by Leah Cran.
Not settling for a precarious one-run lead, Baylor tacked on two more runs in the second inning to go up 4-1. Taylor Strain led off with a double and then scored when Hott crushed a ball that hit off the wall in center field.
"I was just hoping Getterman didn't catch it and just throw it back down into that girl's glove," Hott said. "I was so happy when it got past her and hit the wall. And then, when I saw it get through her, I was like, 'All right, I'm getting to third.' I put my head down and started running. I'm not even looking to see if Coach Moore is sending me. I'm going."
Crandall seemed to wiggle out of a jam in the top of the third, when the Cyclones' Tiana Poole hit a ball in front of the plate that Collazos scooped up and threw to first base for what would have been the third out of the inning. But third-base umpire Bobby Martinez ruled it a dead ball, thinking the ball had hit Poole's bat in foul territory.
While the replay showed that the ball didn't hit the bat a second time in foul territory, it's not a reviewable play. Three pitches later, Poole hit a three-run homer to left that tied it up at 4-4.
"That's one you can't review when it's a dead ball," Moore said. "Obviously, it ended up hurt us, because that was out No. 3, and it ended up being a three-run home run."
Baylor responded in the fourth inning with a three spot, all with two outs. Pilon reached on a fielding error by the second baseman, Govan was hit by a pitch and then Shannon Vivoda and Aliyah Binford followed with back-to-back doubles to push it back out to a three-run lead, 7-4.
"That's what we need to see from this team," Moore said. "They tie it up. And rather than pity-party, you come back and throw your own punch. And we responded well with that."
Picking up her second win of the weekend, Crandall went the distance, giving up three earned runs on seven hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
After a trip down I-35 to face Texas State (29-8) at 6 p.m. Wednesday in San Marcos, the Bears will face Texas Tech in a three-game weekend series starting with Friday's 6:30 p.m. game at Getterman Stadium.
WACO, Texas – No. 21 Baylor Softball took down Iowa State, 7-4, Saturday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.
THE RUNDOWN
Baylor fell behind in the top of the first after a fielding error and a single plated one unearned run for the Cyclones.
With the quick response, Emily Hott continued her hot hitting streak as she picked up her sixth home run of the year to leadoff inning and knot the game, 1-1. After a follow-up bunt single from Presleigh Pilon, who advanced to second on a fielding error, Shaylon Govan roped a single down the left-field line to plate the Bears' second run.
After sitting Iowa State down in order in the top of the second, the Bears tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the inning. Taylor Strain led off the inning with a double to left field before a one-out triple from Hott scored the Bears' third run. Pilon then hit a sacrifice fly to center field that brought home Hott from third and made it a 4-1 ballgame.
The Bears found themselves in a tie game again in the third, when a two-out home run from Iowa State brought home three runs even the score at 4-4.
Sydney Collazos singled and stole second in the bottom half of the third but that would be all for the Bears in the inning.
Baylor capitalized in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out three-run rally. To get things started, Pilon reached on a fielding error and Govan was hit by a pitch to put two on for Shannon Vivoda. The third baseman then doubled down the right-field line to bring home a run and put the Bears back on top. Aliyah Binford followed it up with a double of her own, but a two-run shot that extended Baylor's lead to 7-4.
Iowa State threatened in the top of the fifth with a runner on second and third with no one out, but pitcher RyLee Crandall sat the next three batters down in order with three straight strikeouts.
The Bears loaded the bases in the bottom half of the fifth but weren't able to push any more runs across. That would do it for the offense in the game, as the Baylor defense secured the Bears' series victory.
HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Glenn Moore on the game …
"We were trying to remember the last time we led off with a home run, and I think it would have to be in the Ashley Monceaux days. Typically you don't have a home run hitter in that spot. So, I'm not sure we've done it since. It kind of accentuated the message that this team wanted to send, that we were tired of playing the kind of ball we'd played, inconsistent. We wanted to send a message early today, and I thought that did it."
Shaylon Govan on the offense …
"Yeah, it was our goal today to come out strong. We usually are pretty good at coming out strong, but we wanted to stay strong throughout the game. So, our mindset was just not stopping, always keep going, even if we felt like we had the momentum, just to keep them down. I think that's what we did pretty well today."
Emily Hott on winning the series …
"I'd say it's a good turning of the tides. We've gotten in trouble with ourselves as far as letting up in the sixth and seventh innings. It's just good to reiterate, just to keep it on and go in there and finish it up through pitchers, defense and hitting. So, it's really good going into this stretch where we play a lot of games with good competition. Tech's going to come in and they're going to be great. So, we've just got to get wins in the win column. So, the more the better."
UP NEXT
The Bears will face Texas State in a midweek contest Wednesday, April 3, in San Marcos, before returning home to play a three-game series against Texas Tech, March 5-7, at Getterman Stadium.
Baylor Bear Insider
WACO, Texas – At pitcher-friendly Getterman Stadium, Emily Hott never thinks the ball is going out, so the Baylor outfielder just puts her head down and starts running.
But in Saturday's series finale against Iowa State, Hott "sent the message that this team wanted to send" by leading off the first inning with her fourth homer in the last five games and team-best sixth of the year with a blast over the wall in center field.
Adding an RBI triple in the second, Hott was one of four Bears with two-hit days as No. 21 Baylor (19-12, 3-9) clinched the series win by beating the Cyclones, 7-4.
"When they came up and got that one run (in the top of the first), I'm going to do everything I can right here to show them what Baylor softball is all about," Hott said, "and now we're going to come back punching. So, that was awesome."
Baylor coach Glenn Moore said Hott's home run was exactly the message he was hoping the Bears would send after giving up three seventh-inning runs in a 3-2 loss to the Cyclones on Friday night that evened the series.
"It kind of accentuated the message that this team wanted to send, that we were tired of playing the kind of ball we'd played: inconsistent," Moore said. "We wanted to send a message early today, and I thought that did it."
Scoring runs in three of the first four innings and totaling 12 hits for the day, the Bears kept sending that message all day.
"It was our goal today to come out strong," said first baseman Shaylon Govan, who was 2-for-3 to raise her batting average to .463. "We usually are pretty good at coming out strong, but we wanted to stay strong throughout the game. Our mindset was just not stopping, always keeping going, even if we felt like we had the momentum, just to keep them down."
Iowa State (12-18, 3-6), which had 10 of the last 14 meetings in this series coming into the weekend, jumped out to a 1-0 lead with an unearned run off Baylor starter RyLee Crandall (9-5) in the top of first.
Three pitches into the bottom half of the inning, that early lead was gone. Consecutive singles by Presleigh Pilon and Govan plated another run to give the Bears a 2-1 lead, but Game 2 winner Jaiden Ralston (2-4) wiggled out of any additional trouble with a shallow fly ball to left by Sydney Collazos and a groundout to third by Leah Cran.
Not settling for a precarious one-run lead, Baylor tacked on two more runs in the second inning to go up 4-1. Taylor Strain led off with a double and then scored when Hott crushed a ball that hit off the wall in center field.
"I was just hoping Getterman didn't catch it and just throw it back down into that girl's glove," Hott said. "I was so happy when it got past her and hit the wall. And then, when I saw it get through her, I was like, 'All right, I'm getting to third.' I put my head down and started running. I'm not even looking to see if Coach Moore is sending me. I'm going."
Crandall seemed to wiggle out of a jam in the top of the third, when the Cyclones' Tiana Poole hit a ball in front of the plate that Collazos scooped up and threw to first base for what would have been the third out of the inning. But third-base umpire Bobby Martinez ruled it a dead ball, thinking the ball had hit Poole's bat in foul territory.
While the replay showed that the ball didn't hit the bat a second time in foul territory, it's not a reviewable play. Three pitches later, Poole hit a three-run homer to left that tied it up at 4-4.
"That's one you can't review when it's a dead ball," Moore said. "Obviously, it ended up hurt us, because that was out No. 3, and it ended up being a three-run home run."
Baylor responded in the fourth inning with a three spot, all with two outs. Pilon reached on a fielding error by the second baseman, Govan was hit by a pitch and then Shannon Vivoda and Aliyah Binford followed with back-to-back doubles to push it back out to a three-run lead, 7-4.
"That's what we need to see from this team," Moore said. "They tie it up. And rather than pity-party, you come back and throw your own punch. And we responded well with that."
Picking up her second win of the weekend, Crandall went the distance, giving up three earned runs on seven hits and three walks with five strikeouts.
After a trip down I-35 to face Texas State (29-8) at 6 p.m. Wednesday in San Marcos, the Bears will face Texas Tech in a three-game weekend series starting with Friday's 6:30 p.m. game at Getterman Stadium.
WACO, Texas – No. 21 Baylor Softball took down Iowa State, 7-4, Saturday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.
THE RUNDOWN
Baylor fell behind in the top of the first after a fielding error and a single plated one unearned run for the Cyclones.
With the quick response, Emily Hott continued her hot hitting streak as she picked up her sixth home run of the year to leadoff inning and knot the game, 1-1. After a follow-up bunt single from Presleigh Pilon, who advanced to second on a fielding error, Shaylon Govan roped a single down the left-field line to plate the Bears' second run.
After sitting Iowa State down in order in the top of the second, the Bears tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the inning. Taylor Strain led off the inning with a double to left field before a one-out triple from Hott scored the Bears' third run. Pilon then hit a sacrifice fly to center field that brought home Hott from third and made it a 4-1 ballgame.
The Bears found themselves in a tie game again in the third, when a two-out home run from Iowa State brought home three runs even the score at 4-4.
Sydney Collazos singled and stole second in the bottom half of the third but that would be all for the Bears in the inning.
Baylor capitalized in the bottom of the fourth with a two-out three-run rally. To get things started, Pilon reached on a fielding error and Govan was hit by a pitch to put two on for Shannon Vivoda. The third baseman then doubled down the right-field line to bring home a run and put the Bears back on top. Aliyah Binford followed it up with a double of her own, but a two-run shot that extended Baylor's lead to 7-4.
Iowa State threatened in the top of the fifth with a runner on second and third with no one out, but pitcher RyLee Crandall sat the next three batters down in order with three straight strikeouts.
The Bears loaded the bases in the bottom half of the fifth but weren't able to push any more runs across. That would do it for the offense in the game, as the Baylor defense secured the Bears' series victory.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Four different Bears had a multi-hit game
- Emily Hott hit her sixth home run of the season, with a triple and two RBIs
- Aliyah Binford went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double and two RBIs
- Taylor Strain and Shannon Vivoda also recorded doubels for the Bears
- RyLee Crandall pitched a complete game, allowing only three earned runs and striking out five
- BU totaled 12 hits on the day, off the bats of eight different Bears
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Glenn Moore on the game …
"We were trying to remember the last time we led off with a home run, and I think it would have to be in the Ashley Monceaux days. Typically you don't have a home run hitter in that spot. So, I'm not sure we've done it since. It kind of accentuated the message that this team wanted to send, that we were tired of playing the kind of ball we'd played, inconsistent. We wanted to send a message early today, and I thought that did it."
Shaylon Govan on the offense …
"Yeah, it was our goal today to come out strong. We usually are pretty good at coming out strong, but we wanted to stay strong throughout the game. So, our mindset was just not stopping, always keep going, even if we felt like we had the momentum, just to keep them down. I think that's what we did pretty well today."
Emily Hott on winning the series …
"I'd say it's a good turning of the tides. We've gotten in trouble with ourselves as far as letting up in the sixth and seventh innings. It's just good to reiterate, just to keep it on and go in there and finish it up through pitchers, defense and hitting. So, it's really good going into this stretch where we play a lot of games with good competition. Tech's going to come in and they're going to be great. So, we've just got to get wins in the win column. So, the more the better."
UP NEXT
The Bears will face Texas State in a midweek contest Wednesday, April 3, in San Marcos, before returning home to play a three-game series against Texas Tech, March 5-7, at Getterman Stadium.
-BaylorBears.com-
Players Mentioned
P/INF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UTL
/ SoftballBaylor Softball: Highlights vs. Texas Tech | May 8, 2025
Thursday, May 08
back-to-back-to-back 🫢
Thursday, May 08
Round Won 👏
Thursday, May 08
Baylor Softball: Highlights vs. Kansas | May 7, 2025
Wednesday, May 07
