By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
WACO, Texas – No. 1 nationally in double plays turned coming into Friday's Big 12 opener against No. 7 Oklahoma State, the 14^th-ranked Bears needed to turn one more to get a top-10 win before a crowd of 1,021 at Getterman Stadium.
 
Instead, the Cowgirls (19-2) scored the tying run in the top of the seventh inning on Megan Bloodworth's fielder's choice grounder and then broke it open in the eighth with Claire Timm's two-run blast over the left-field wall and an RBI single by Rosie Davis to win the series opener, 4-1, and snap Baylor's 12-game winning streak.
 
"We're inches away from knocking off a top-five team and just didn't get that double play turned," said Baylor coach Glenn Moore, whose Bears dropped to 13-4 overall and 0-1 in the league. "We found a way to push one across first and just couldn't hang on. We had a good plan, good strategy and got better tonight, but disappointing that we couldn't pull out a win."
 
Baylor struggled to get anything going against OSU starter Lexi Kilfoyle (8-2), but the Bears scratched across a run in the fifth to break up the scoreless tie.
 
Ana Watson led off with a fly ball that leftfielder Haidyn Sokoloski overran and then dropped for an error. Abi Flores followed with a bad-hop single that got past the second baseman and allowed Watson to score, giving the Bears a 1-0 lead going into the last two innings.
 
Tossing a three-hit shutout through the first five innings, Aliyah Binford (5-3) struck out eight batters in 6 1/3 innings.
 
"Unbelievable," Moore said of Binford's pitching performance. "We debated on whether to go with her, and we thought we'd go one time through the lineup and keep them off-balance and then bring Rylee (Crandall) in. She looked so good; we stayed two times through. That really set them up, but RyLee's got to come in there and pound the zone and pitch with more confidence."
 
Aided by Baylor's 14^th double play of the season, Crandall worked around Tallen's leadoff single and a one-out double by Karli Godwin in the sixth. But when she walked Davis to lead off the seventh, Binford came back on in the circle and was one out away from picking up her sixth win.
 
But on a routine fielder's choice grounder to second by Bloodworth, pinch-runner Tia Warsop slid under the tag and beat the throw home by first baseman Shaylon Govan when she scored from second to knot the game at 1-1.
 
After Kilfoyle retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh, Timm followed Edwards' one-out single with a two-run homer that easily cleared the wall in left field, OSU's 33^rd home run of the season. With runners on the corners after a walk and error, Davis drove in an insurance run with an RBI single to left to make it 4-1.
 
Taylor Strain, who had two of the Bears' four hits, beat out a one-out infield single. But Emily Hott hit into a 6-3 game-ending double play.
 
"A loss isn't going to discourage us," catcher Sydney Collazos said. "It's just going to set us up better for success. I think it's going to motivate us more than anything. I know we're going to come out with our butts on fire, ready to battle and make adjustments."
 
Saturday's game will start at 2 p.m., with the series finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.




WACO, Texas – No. 14 Baylor Softball dropped its conference opener against No. 7 Oklahoma State, 4-1, in eight innings Friday night at Getterman Stadium. 
 
In the Bears' first extra-inning game of the season, BU led for the majority of the game until the tying run came across in the top of the seventh to send it to extras.
 
THE RUNDOWN
The Bears and Cowgirls battled in a pitchers' duel for most of the game, without a single run coming across until the fifth inning. 
 
Aliyah Binford pitched lights-out in the contest, allowing a hit in the top of the first but picking up two strikeouts to keep OSU off the board. Binford followed with a 1-2-3 top of the second before allowing a second hit in the third inning but striking out three more on the way. 
 
Baylor's Taylor Strain singled to lead off the bottom of the first but was ultimately called out after a review said she left early, erasing an infield single from Emily Hott as well. With two outs and no one on, Shaylon Govan walked, but that would be it for the Bears in the first. 
 
Struggling to find an offensive rhythm against Oklahoma State's Lexi Kilfoyl, the Bears didn't record their second hit until the bottom of the fourth when Sydney Collazos singled to center field. 
 
After sitting the Cowgirls down in order again in the top of the fifth, Baylor was able to bring home the first run of the game in the bottom half of the inning. 
 
After Oklahoma State made some defensive changes in the outfield, Ana Watson popped up to left field, but an error found her standing on second base with no one out. The Bears then capitalized when Abi Flores hit a bad-hop single past the second baseman to drive in Watson for an unearned run. With the 1-0 lead, Binford reached on a fielder's choice, but that would be all for the Bears in the fifth inning. 
 
OSU tried to threaten in the top of the sixth, but a double play on a sacrifice bunt quickly cleared the bases and stifled the Cowgirls' threat. 
 
Collazos walked in the sixth but that would be the last baserunner for the Bears until extra innings were needed. 
 
After a leadoff walk in the top of the seventh, a sacrifice bunt moved the runner over before another walk had two on for the Cowgirls with only one out. The Bears then tried to turn two on a groundout to second base, but the runner at first was called safe on a fielder's choice and the runner on second came home to score to tie the game 1-1. 
 
Heading to extras after a quiet bottom of the seventh for the Bears, Binford returned to the circle to get the leadoff strikeout. But after the next batter walked, Oklahoma State's Claire Timm hit a homer over the wall in right field to give OSU the 3-1 lead. The Cowgirls' last run came around to score after a throwing error and a single to left field that gave OSU the 4-1 advantage. 
 
With Baylor down to its last chance, Strain beat out an infield single in the eighth, but OSU ended the Bears' comeback by turning a game-ending double play.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Taylor Strain, Sydney Collazos and Abi Flores accounted for the Bears' four hits
• Strain tallied the only muti-hit performance for the Bears
• Aliyah Binford pitched 6.1 innings, striking out eight and holding OSU scoreless until the seventh
• Binford now has a team-leading 60 strikeouts 
• Kaci West pitched 0.2 innings in relief, striking out two
• Shaylon Govan and Collazos each drew a walk
• The Bears turned their 14^th double play of the season
• BU only gave up three hits through the first five innings

 
QUOTABLE
Sydney Collazos on facing Oklahoma State … 
"They have a good team. The Big 12 has a lot of good teams and a lot of good pitchers. We have just as many good pitchers, too. I think she's a powerful pitcher, a dominant pitcher. We did good making adjustments, and we had some tough breaks. But we've got two more (chances) at them."
 
Head Coach Glenn Moore on the game …
"We're inches away from knocking off a top-5 team right there and just didn't get that double play turned. I'm really proud of the way the girls came out and fought. (Lexi) Kilfoyl is an unbelievable pitcher and it's hard to lift the ball. I thought we fought hard. I thought we had some weak at-bats at the same time. But we found a way to push one across first and just couldn't hang on. We had a good plan, good strategy and got better tonight, but disappointing that we couldn't pull out a win."
 
UP NEXT
The Bears will continue the series against No. 7 Oklahoma State facing the Cowgirls Saturday, March 9, at 2 p.m. CT at Getterman Stadium.