THE CATCH

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

LAFAYETTE, La. – Taylor Strain needed every inch of her little 5-foot-3 frame. I mean, every inch.

The Baylor senior centerfielder got a perfect read on Paige Smith's well-hit ball to left-center field, leaped up high at just the right second and went over the wall to rob the Ole Miss infielder of what would have been her sixth home run of the season.

"Honestly, off the bat, I was like, 'I'm going for this ball,''' said Strain, who was awarded the game ball from the Bears' 3-1 win over the Rebels on Friday's opening day of the Lafayette Regional. "Me and Emily (Hott) and Ana (Watson) . . . before the game, we were talking about, 'We can rob a ball out of this park.' So, we had been putting it out there. Off the bat, I knew I was going for it."

Strain's spectacular catch, coupled with homers by Hott and Shaylon Govan, backed the dominant one-hit pitching of Aliyah Binford to keep Baylor (33-20) in the winner's bracket of the double-elimination tournament. The Bears will face No. 13 national seed Louisiana (43-17) at 2 p.m. Saturday after the Ragin' Cajuns opened with an 8-0, run-rule win over Princeton.

"Who knows what happens if (Strain) doesn't bring that back, as far as momentum is concerned," Baylor coach Glenn Moore said. "She's not a big, tall, 6-foot girl, she's got to climb that wall and get it, so that's one she'll remember for a long, long time."

Strain, who was 0-for-2 at the plate, said she had to "even it out a little bit" after striking out in the bottom of the fifth on a ball that bounced in.

"I told myself after my previous at-bat, which was right before I took the field, 'For every high, there's a low. And for every low, there's a high,''' she said. "It did feel good. I think it was a huge momentum shift as well. Aliyah was pitching, and did pitch, an amazing game. I just love doing things for my teammates. I love all of them. Being able to back them up like that is awesome."

The Bears grabbed the momentum early and "made a statement" when Hott hit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first inning, her ninth of the year.

"Emily's definitely amazing," said Binford, who walked two and struck out four in her 11^th complete game of the season. "Being able to start the game off hot, like her last name, it's just awesome. Knowing that we already have a lead and we already showed them how we're in this, it gives me a lot of confidence. And then, just knowing that when I get back in the dugout, my team is still going to do the same thing."

The Rebels (31-26) did threaten in the top of the first, getting two runners on with only one out. But Binford (13-10) got dangerous hitter Aynslie Furbush on a weak fly to right and struck out Angelina DeLeon to end the threat.

After giving up that Hott homer in the first, Ole Miss pitcher Grace Sparks sat down the next nine batters in order until a single up the middle by Presleigh Pilon leading off the fourth. On the very next pitch, Govan deposited Sparks' down-ball delivery into the metal bleachers in dead center field for a 3-0 lead.

"(Sparks) has a pretty good down ball," said Govan, who matched Hott for the team lead with her ninth home run of the season. "We've seen a bunch of good down-ball hitters. So, my plan was just to get up in the box and take that away. The first time, it didn't really work out that way. But I just tried to make the adjustment, talking to (hitting coach "Hoot" Johnigan) and our team, and I made that adjustment."

Delaney Rummell ended Binford's no-hit bid with a home run in the fifth, just out of the reach of Watson in right field.

But when the Rebels tried to make it a one-run game with a blast by Smith, Strain said, "Not this time." It was the first time in her career, "in my whole entire life," that Strain had robbed a home run like that.

"Honestly, we practice (making those catches)," she said, "but (at) Getterman Stadium, our wall is so high (8-foot tall). But a fence like this, that's why we were like, 'We can actually rob a ball here. We can do it."

And she did, bringing it back with the tip of her glove.

"It was amazing," said Binford, who retired the last nine in a row, striking out Rummell to end the game. "It was showing that the energy was still on our side, and we weren't going to let ourselves just relax throughout the game. (Earlier in the season) we struggled finishing the games, but this is letting teams now that we're going to play through and through. So, it was amazing to see her get up, especially how little she is."

After the Baylor-Louisiana game at 2 p.m. Saturday, Ole Miss plays Princeton (29-17) in an elimination game at 4:30 p.m., followed by a second elimination game at 7 p.m. No time has been set for Sunday's championship game or the if-necessary game.

Players Mentioned

Aliyah Binford

Shaylon Govan

Presleigh Pilon

Taylor Strain

Footer