No. 24 SB Prepares for Weekend Series Against No. 1 Texas

No. 24 BAYLOR (22-14, 5-10 Big 12) vs No. 1 TEXAS (32-6, 11-4 Big 12)

Friday, April 12 • vs Texas • Waco, Texas • Getterman Stadium • Watch: Big 12 Now ESPN+ • Radio: 104.9 FM
Saturday, April 13 • at Texas • Austin, Texas • McCombs Field • Watch: ESPN2 • Radio: 104.9 FM
Sunday, April 14 • at Texas • Austin, Texas • McCombs Field • Watch: Longhorn Network • Radio: 104.9 FM

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

You only get so many chances to go against the No. 1-ranked team in the country. Or so they say.

After getting swept in a three-game series at then-No. 1 Oklahoma last month, the No. 24 Baylor softball team (22-14, 5-10) will play top-ranked Texas (32-6, 11-4) in a split series that starts with Friday's 6:30 p.m. sold-out game at Getterman Stadium.

"Very unique," said sophomore pitcher RyLee Crandall, who is 11-5 with a 2.14 ERA and 83 strikeouts. "I don't know how often that happens, but we're ready for the opportunity. It'll be fun."

At No. 2 in the country in strength of schedule, Baylor also lost seventh-inning leads against then-No. 2 Tennessee and a top-5 Oklahoma State team and was even tied 1-1 with OU going into the fifth inning of the series opener.

"Six games against the No. 1 team in the country," Baylor coach Glenn Moore said of the series against Oklahoma and Texas. "I told the girls that you don't get excited about playing teams No. 150 in the RPI, you get excited about these opportunities. The expectations aren't extremely high, although ours are, to compete.

"A lot of parity in this sport. Even this week, there are upsets across the nation. We're going to come out and try to play better than we've been playing. You get better by playing people that are better than you."

Ranked No. 5 going into last weekend, the Longhorns ascended to the top spot by winning a pair of 2-1 games against Oklahoma at McCombs Field in Austin. Texas is second in the league with a .362 batting average and has four pitchers ranked in the top 10 in ERA.

While Baylor swept the three-game series last year, "it could have easily been 0-3," Moore said.

"They're somewhat young this year, but they're equally or more talented," Moore said. "They're in sync and playing well. It starts in the circle. They've got four or five arms that could start for anybody. They're a solid team, top to bottom. They're the full package, and I think everything is falling into place with a great team right now."

After winning the last two games to take the series last weekend against Texas Tech, the Bears knocked off UTSA, 2-1, on Tuesday to pick up Moore's school-record 900^th win.

"Man, 900 wins! What does that tell you about his loyalty to Baylor?" senior catcher Sydney Collazos said. "It's a testament to what he's done for the school and for what he's done for all of us. He got 1,000 (career wins) last year, and a bulk of them have come from his program. So, it's pretty special."

Moore said he didn't even know it was his 900^th win at Baylor until Director of Softball Operations Dani Price "tossed the ball to me after the game. I didn't know where we were Baylor-wise."

"900 is a big number, and I've been blessed to be here," said Moore, who is 900-457 in 24 seasons at Baylor and 1,039-499 in his 27^th year as a college head coach. "You've got to have people that have faith and confidence in you. From the day I walked on this campus, I told (then-Baylor athletic director) Tom Stanton at the time that he would never hold me to a higher standard than I'd hold myself to.

"The people here in the Baylor and Waco community, I want to make them proud. It's been a conviction from day one to put a product on the field that would make them proud and that they would want to support."

Moore also credited longtime assistant Mark Lumley, who died in December 2020 after a lengthy battle with cancer, current assistant coaches Britni Sneed Newman, Steve "Hoot" Johnigan and Meagan Diaz and a long line of players over a 24-year run that has included 15 NCAA regional appearances and four Women's College World Series.

"There are a lot of people that have made this possible," he said. "No. 1, Baylor allowing me to be here this long. Not many schools that you can stay at this long, long enough to (win 900 games). I'm very blessed to be a part of this great university."

Friday's game in Waco will be streamed by Big 12 Now on ESPN+. When the series switches to Austin, Saturday's 1:30 p.m. game will be televised by ESPN2, while Sunday's 1 p.m. series finale will be on the Longhorn Network.

"I hate to beat up our pitchers, because our pitchers have been pretty solid for us," Moore said, "but in order to beat a lineup like that, you've got to keep pitch counts relatively low and play good defense. . . . Make no mistake, we've got to play flawless ball to be in the game with them, because they're not ranked No. 1 by accident. They've earned that right."

STORY LINES
• Baylor Softball gets ready to face No. 1 Texas at home on Friday, April 12, before heading to Austin to finish out the series on the road Saturday-Sunday.
• Texas holds the all-time record over the Bears 38-25, with Baylor sweeping the Longhorns in a three-game series last season.
• After run-ruling Texas to begin the series last season in Austin, Baylor took down the Longhorns on Saturday before a thrilling walk-off win in the series finale Sunday.
• BU picked up its second-straight conference-series win of the season last week, taking down Texas Tech in two of the three games on the weekend.
• The Bears snapped a 15-game nonconference win-streak when they fell against No. 23 Texas State, 6-1, in San Marcos. They are now 17-4 in nonconference games this season after taking down UTSA last Tuesday on the road.
• Twelve of Baylor's losses this season have come against teams ranked or receiving votes in polls at some point in the season.
• 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 still ranked in one of the national polls No. 24 in ESPN/USA Softball, while still receiving votes in the NFCA/USA Today poll.
• The Bears have already faced eight ranked teams this season: No. 2 Tennessee, No. 23 Louisiana, No. 25 Oregon, No. 19 UCLA, No. 13 Missouri, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 23 Texas State. This weekend will mark the second time this season the Bears will be facing the No. 1 team in the country for a three-game series.
• Baylor is currently ranked No. 19 in the RPI standings.
• RyLee Crandall is leading the way in the circle this season with a 11-5 record, with 23 appearances and a 2.14 ERA. She has 83 total strikeouts and leads the conference only stats with 47 conference strikeouts.
• Crandall has also picked up the Bears' only weekly Big 12 award so far this season, as she won Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors for BU's 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.
• Aliyah Binford has a team-leading 95 strikeouts and holds a 6-8 record. She is currently ranked No.1 in the Big 12 in strikeouts.
• Shaylon Govan leads the Bears with a .455 average, 40 hits, six doubles and three home runs. Her batting average is first in the Big 12 and 14th nationally, while her on base percentage is ranks 3rd nationally. With her .586 on base percentage, Govan is ranked 19th in the country in walks per game and has been walked 27 times so far this season.
• Kaci West has three saves on the season, which is good for first in the Big 12.
• The 2024 squad has turned 18 total double plays already this season. The Bears are ranked 20th nationally in double plays turned per game (.51) with 18 turned through 35 games.
• Sixteen different Bears have recorded a hit so far this season, with Govan leading the way with 40, followed by Emily Hott with 35. There are 11 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 hit his 900th win at Baylor this season after taking down UTSA, 2-1, on April 9, 2024.

-BaylorBears.com-

No. 24 SB Prepares for Weekend Series Against No. 1 Texas

Players Mentioned

Aliyah Binford

Josie Bower

Sydney Collazos

Leah Cran

RyLee Crandall

Shaylon Govan

Emily Hott

Paige King

Lexie Warncke

Kaci West

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