Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider
 
WACO, Texas – With expectations and hopes as high as they've been in arguably the last decade, Glenn Moore begins his 25^th year at the helm of the Baylor softball program with a five-game schedule at the Aggie Classic at Davis Diamond in College Station.
 
There are certainly chinks in the armor, particularly with a pitching staff led by 25-year-old ace Dariana Orme, who has yet to pitch a postseason game in three years with the Bears because of injuries. But the Bears were a game away from the Women's College World Series last year and open the year ranked as high as 16^th nationally.
 
"That's fine with me if we don't have her as much at the beginning of the year if we have her at the end," Moore said, "because she's a golden arm and she's one of the best in the country. And if she gets back close to where she was, that can be big down the stretch. So, it's being patient and making sure we don't jump of a cliff if we go through a part of the season where we're struggling."
 
Starting with Thursday's 2 p.m. season opener versus ACU, Moore said the Bears will have to "use our entire bullpen" and keep the pitch counts down to get through five games in three days. They will play Purdue at 4:30 p.m. and seventh-ranked Texas A&M at 7 p.m. Friday, followed by a doubleheader on Saturday with Utah State at 11:30 a.m. and Villanova at 2 p.m.
 
"We won't have complete games this weekend and may not for several weekends," Moore said. "We've got some that are recovering from surgeries, well on their way to being back, but not sure they're 100% right now. And because of that, we've got to be very conservative with how we handle our pitchers."
 
Orme, who has a 26-22 record with a 2.62 ERA in three seasons at Baylor, made only three appearances last year before being shut down. The former Fresno State transfer was granted a seventh year of eligibility by the NCAA.
 
"I don't think words can describe what I was feeling, just living in the unknown for so long," Orme said. "Do we keep trying, or do we just hang up the cleats and call it a career? Getting that news – the coaches actually FaceTimed me when they found out . . . It was, honestly, something I was waiting and waiting for. And to hear it from all of my coaches and see how excited they were for me, that just added to the excitement I already had."
 
Redshirt freshman Lexie Warncke and true freshman Sadie Ross are also still recovering from injuries and offseason surgeries and will be limited at least early in the year. Lefthander Lillie Walker, a senior transfer who was 20-3 in three years at Duke, also joins the mix along with senior Ava Knoll.
 
"It's been a lot easier than I thought it would be, especially with bringing in Lillie, who's experienced from the left side," Orme said. "I think we complement each other well. Having Lexie back, she is a competitor . . . we have an amazing freshman who's going to be able to bring some really unique pitchers. And then Ava rounding us all off.
 
"We have fun in the bullpen. That's what's so important, because if we trust each other . . . it's going to make it that much easier as we pitch as a staff this year. And we will. If I get called out and Ava has to come in, or Sadie has to come in, I'm very confident that they will be able to get it done, and vice versa."
 
With some uncertainty in the circle, particularly early, Moore said it's crucial that Baylor has an experienced defense returning with two-time All-American first baseman Shaylon Govan, the middle infield combination of shortstop Amber Toven and Presleigh Pilon, Washington transfer Brooklyn Carter in center field and Houston transfer Turiya Coleman at either catcher or third base.
 
"The good thing about the defense that I've been applauding is that we're confident that we can make plays," Moore said. "The more we do that early on, the less they have to pitch. Have some 10, 12-pitch innings, get out of the inning, load and rest. And then, maybe we can go deeper into the game. . . . The bottom line is we've got to play defense, and we have to score runs until we get our pitching healthy."
 
Toven and Pilon formed one of the best double-play combos in the country until Toven suffered a season-ending knee injury in the seventh game. Even though Pilon turned into a phenomenal shortstop with Toven out of the lineup, Moore said he plans to go back to Toven at short and Pilon at second to start the year.
 
"We had the best middle infield combo that I've ever coached with Amber at shortstop and Presleigh at second," Moore said. "I think you could flip them . . . but to have had the best I've ever coached, we're going to give that a chance. And we've got to give Amber some time to get her game back, too. I'm going to give her some time to grow and some rest from time to time."
 
Pilon, who hit .234 last season with five doubles, one homer, nine stolen bases and 20 RBIs, said she will go wherever Moore puts her in the lineup.
 
"If he wants me with a glove in center field, that's where I'll be," she said. "I think, honestly, just preparing for anything. I put in the work behind the scenes at a lot of different places. So, wherever he feels fit and what's best for the team is probably what's going to be out on the field that you guys will see."
 
Govan will once again anchor the lineup after hitting .444 last season with 11 homers and 35 RBIs. But she has some protection around her with Coleman, a preseason All-Big 12 selection who hit .374 with eight homers and 46 RBIs last year at Houston.
 
"I feel the expectations are high, for sure," Pilon said. "But we don't want to put too much pressure on ourselves because we're just getting started. We haven't even really faced anybody to see how we're going to look with our full lineup out there. I think it's just exciting to see how everything plays out."


No. 19 BAYLOR (0-0) at AGGIE CLASSIC