Saturday, May 18
Lafayette, Louisiana
2 PM
Baylor
34-20
8
vs
0
Louisiana
43-18
1
2
3
4
5
R
H
E
Baylor
0
7
0
0
1
8
6
0
Louisiana
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
1
SB Run Rules No. 13 Seed Louisiana, 8-0
5/18/2024 7:40:00 PM | Softball
LAFAYETTE, La. – Baylor Softball took down tournament host and No. 13 national seed Louisiana, 8-0, Saturday afternoon at Lamson Park in run-rule fashion.
The Bears advance to Sunday's 1 p.m. regional final against the winner of a late game Saturday night.
THE RUNDOWN
Baylor got the bats going early as Shaylon Govan hit a two-out double in the first to get a runner on, but BU wasn't able to bring any runs home in the top half of the inning.
After a leadoff single from the Ragin' Cajuns, catcher Sydney Collazos erased the threat when the runner tried to steal second and Collazos threw her out. RyLee Crandall and the Baylor defense retired the next two batters to end the inning.
The Bears came to life in the second inning, putting up a seven-spot to take the commanding lead early. Ana Watson led off the inning with a double down the left-field line before Sydney Collazos reached after a sacrifice bunt error that found her safe at first and scored Watson. Zadie LaValley took a page from Collazos' book and laid down another sacrifice bunt that found both runners safe at first and second.
With two on and no one out, Kaci West singled through the right side to put Baylor up 2-0 in the second. Taylor Strain then laid down a bunt single and Emily Hott was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After a Louisiana pitching change, Presleigh Pilon hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field that put the Bears up 3-0.
Baylor's Govan was intentionally walked to re-load the bases in the second before Aliyah Binford hit her first-career grand slam to break the game open and give Baylor the 7-0 lead.
BU only allowed one runner for the Ragin' Cajuns through the next two innings, until they threatened in the fourth getting runners on first and second, but the Bears were able to squelch the threat.
Baylor scored its eighth run of the game off a solo shot from Govan, her 10th long ball of the season.
Crandall sat the Bears down in order to secure the run-rule in the fifth inning, closing the door and striking out the last batter of the game.
HIGHLIGHTS
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Glenn Moore on the game …
"It's not often that you can come to a press conference after playing ULL and feel as good about the way your team played and certainly have tons of respect for that team and it makes what we did today even more impressive. Really proud of the way the girls executed offensively today. Certainly, RyLee was on fire in the circle. (I've) been waiting for that RyLee to show up. We've seen her earlier, and then she had a little bit of a slump as it happens sometimes, but at the right time she came back and was on fire against a great lineup. So very happy with that. I guess probably most impressed with the short game and how we executed our short game today. We haven't had to do that a whole lot this year, and it paid off."
Aliyah Binford on the grand slam pitch …
"I know her timing. She has a great changeup and great mix of speed. So, her timing was a little off, and for Coach Moore to give me the slash, it just allowed me to be able to focus and see the timing more and to be on time on with the pitch."
RyLee Crandall on pitching after a 7-0 lead …
"As a pitcher, it's great to see, especially when it's as hot as it is. It's like yeah, let's get out of here. But they did great. And you could see that everyone's playing their role, from the bunts in the beginning to the intentional walk Shay took that it's not selfish at all. She knows that the person behind is going to get it done, and Aliyah did just that. And so, I think today was definitely a team win, one by one, each step, pitch by pitch, and we're going to continue to do that."
Sydney Collazos on talking to RyLee before the game …
"Oh yeah, whatever I can do to help her out. On top of that, when I talk to her pregame, it's got nothing to do with, 'What pitch do you want to throw, XYZ?' It's like, 'Hey, whatever is weighing on your chest, I'm going to take it from you, because yeah, I'm going to make you look good behind the plate. But I'm also going to make you feel good as a person, as a pitcher. Whatever you've got to do to get you to play your best.' I very much give myself to her. And she had a phenomenal outing."
UP NEXT
The Bears will face the winner of game 5 on Sunday, May 19, at 1 p.m. CT in the regional finale.
The Bears advance to Sunday's 1 p.m. regional final against the winner of a late game Saturday night.
THE RUNDOWN
Baylor got the bats going early as Shaylon Govan hit a two-out double in the first to get a runner on, but BU wasn't able to bring any runs home in the top half of the inning.
After a leadoff single from the Ragin' Cajuns, catcher Sydney Collazos erased the threat when the runner tried to steal second and Collazos threw her out. RyLee Crandall and the Baylor defense retired the next two batters to end the inning.
The Bears came to life in the second inning, putting up a seven-spot to take the commanding lead early. Ana Watson led off the inning with a double down the left-field line before Sydney Collazos reached after a sacrifice bunt error that found her safe at first and scored Watson. Zadie LaValley took a page from Collazos' book and laid down another sacrifice bunt that found both runners safe at first and second.
With two on and no one out, Kaci West singled through the right side to put Baylor up 2-0 in the second. Taylor Strain then laid down a bunt single and Emily Hott was hit by a pitch to load the bases. After a Louisiana pitching change, Presleigh Pilon hit a sacrifice fly to deep center field that put the Bears up 3-0.
Baylor's Govan was intentionally walked to re-load the bases in the second before Aliyah Binford hit her first-career grand slam to break the game open and give Baylor the 7-0 lead.
BU only allowed one runner for the Ragin' Cajuns through the next two innings, until they threatened in the fourth getting runners on first and second, but the Bears were able to squelch the threat.
Baylor scored its eighth run of the game off a solo shot from Govan, her 10th long ball of the season.
Crandall sat the Bears down in order to secure the run-rule in the fifth inning, closing the door and striking out the last batter of the game.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The Bears totaled six hits on the day
- Shaylon Govan went 2-for-2 with a home run
- Aliyah Binford hit her first-career grand slam
- Govan and Ana Watson each recorded doubles
- RyLee Cradnall pitched a complete-game two-hit shutout, striking out three
- Crandall is now 15-8 on the season
- Baylor secures a trip to the regional finale on Sunday
- The Bears are now 50-34 all-time in the NCAA postseason
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Glenn Moore on the game …
"It's not often that you can come to a press conference after playing ULL and feel as good about the way your team played and certainly have tons of respect for that team and it makes what we did today even more impressive. Really proud of the way the girls executed offensively today. Certainly, RyLee was on fire in the circle. (I've) been waiting for that RyLee to show up. We've seen her earlier, and then she had a little bit of a slump as it happens sometimes, but at the right time she came back and was on fire against a great lineup. So very happy with that. I guess probably most impressed with the short game and how we executed our short game today. We haven't had to do that a whole lot this year, and it paid off."
Aliyah Binford on the grand slam pitch …
"I know her timing. She has a great changeup and great mix of speed. So, her timing was a little off, and for Coach Moore to give me the slash, it just allowed me to be able to focus and see the timing more and to be on time on with the pitch."
RyLee Crandall on pitching after a 7-0 lead …
"As a pitcher, it's great to see, especially when it's as hot as it is. It's like yeah, let's get out of here. But they did great. And you could see that everyone's playing their role, from the bunts in the beginning to the intentional walk Shay took that it's not selfish at all. She knows that the person behind is going to get it done, and Aliyah did just that. And so, I think today was definitely a team win, one by one, each step, pitch by pitch, and we're going to continue to do that."
Sydney Collazos on talking to RyLee before the game …
"Oh yeah, whatever I can do to help her out. On top of that, when I talk to her pregame, it's got nothing to do with, 'What pitch do you want to throw, XYZ?' It's like, 'Hey, whatever is weighing on your chest, I'm going to take it from you, because yeah, I'm going to make you look good behind the plate. But I'm also going to make you feel good as a person, as a pitcher. Whatever you've got to do to get you to play your best.' I very much give myself to her. And she had a phenomenal outing."
UP NEXT
The Bears will face the winner of game 5 on Sunday, May 19, at 1 p.m. CT in the regional finale.
-BaylorBears.com-
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Crandall, RyLee (15-8)
L: Sam Landry (24-9)
Batting:
2B: Govan, Shaylon 1 ; Watson, Ana 1
HR: Govan, Shaylon 1 ; Binford, Aliyah 1
RBI: Pilon, Presleigh 1 ; Govan, Shaylon 1 ; Binford, Aliyah 4 ; West, Kaci 1
SH: Collazos, Sydney 1 ; LaValley, Zadie 1
SF: Pilon, Presleigh 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hott, Emily 1 ; Govan, Shaylon 2 ; Binford, Aliyah 1 ; Watson, Ana 1 ; Collazos, Sydney 1 ; West, Kaci 1 ; Strain, Taylor 1
HBP: Hott, Emily 1
Base Running:
CS: Mihyia Davis 1
HBP: Victoria Valdez 2
Game Leaders
AB
2
R
2
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
4
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P/INF
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
P
/ SoftballINF
/ Softball
UTIL
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballOF
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