SB Readies for Conference Series Against UCF

BAYLOR (13-20, 2-7 Big 12) vs UCF (24-14-1, 3-6 Big 12)

Friday, March 28 • vs UCF • Waco, Texas | Getterman Stadium • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: ESPN+
Saturday, March 29 • vs UCF • Waco, Texas | Getterman Stadium • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: ESPN+
Sunday, March 30 • vs UCF • Waco, Texas | Getterman Stadium • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: ESPN+

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

WACO, Texas – Glenn Moore has pushed so many buttons with his Baylor softball team that his index finger is probably worn out. But he's not done.

"We haven't, this whole year, been able to find the right combination to produce the runs we feel we're capable of," said Moore, whose Bears (13-20, 2-7) will host UCF (21-14-1, 3-6) in a weekend series that begins with Friday's 6:30 p.m. game at Getterman Stadium. "So, you'll some adjustments continue throughout the rest of the season."

While the results haven't shown it – the Bears have dropped seven of their last eight games – Moore continues to insist that the "talent is there."

"The kids are giving us everything they've got, we're just not making it happen," Moore said. "We just have to make sure that they're in a position mentally to go out and be in their happy place and be able to play without pressing. I think that's a big part of our struggles is trying to feel like you've got to do more than you're maybe capable of at times. I'll always make adjustments, and you'll see some adjustments to our lineups this weekend."

One of the adjustments has been filling in for sophomore Leah Crain, who has missed the last four games and is "still nursing a bone bruise," Moore said. She is second on the team with a .382 batting average with three doubles, two homers and eight RBIs.

"She's gone quite a while without being able to swing the bat and grip it well enough to swing the bat," Moore said. "And we're hopeful that maybe even over the course of the weekend, that we can have her in some capacity. That was a big blow. She was a kid that was as hot as anybody in our lineup to lose her to kind of a freakish accident. Fortunate that it's not broken, but it will still take her a little time to get back."

Baylor is hitting a Big 12-low .258, but the biggest issue has been getting timely hits. Over the last seven games, the Bears are hitting .167 (13-for-78) with runners on base.

"I just think we need to continue to trust our process and trust our training, the things that we've learned up to this point," said Houston transfer Turiya Coleman, who is hitting .365 with eight doubles, one homer and 12 RBIs. "We just need to watch the pitches we're facing and watch our bats and just pick at the things that we need to work on and work on those things."

One of the most encouraging things to come out of a weekend series on the road against 13^th-ranked Oklahoma State was the pitching of Duke transfer Lillie Walker (3-6, 3.09 ERA). She threw a complete-game, five-hit shutout in a 1-0 win on Friday, then went the distance in a 2-1, 10-inning loss on Sunday.

Walker, who had not thrown a complete game in three years at Duke, has had three complete games in her last four outings.

"It hyped me up, especially being right there behind her," junior shortstop Amber Toven said. "I'm constantly talking in her ear as much as I can, just giving her that extra push that she needs for each pitch that she throws. It was electrifying to watch her get in there and seeing her hyped up after every inning, talking back to us, saying, 'I've got your back. I'm here.' I think the leadership she has provided to the team has been very crucial."

The Bears are facing a UCF team that is fourth in the league with a 2.49 ERA and fifth in batting average against at .234. Swept over the weekend by Iowa State in a three-game series decided by a total of four runs, the Knights bounced back with a 4-0 win over No. 3 Florida behind the pitching of redshirt freshman Isabella Vega (6-2, 1.23 ERA).

"If that team that showed up last night shows up this weekend, they're going to be extremely tough to beat," Moore said. "We know what they're capable of. They've certainly got a deeper bullpen than we do. Who doesn't? And they've got a lot more options. Coach (Cindy Ball) Malone is a very competitive All-American pitcher (at Pacific). And I know she'll have them ready. So, we've got to focus on Baylor."

The series continues with games at 2 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. Sunday, with all three games streamed by ESPN+.

STORY LINES
• Baylor Softball is preparing for a three-game conference series against UCF, for its fourth conference series of the season.
• There is a full slate of activities at Getterman Stadium this weekend, starting Friday with Getterman After Dark, Saturday with the first ever Dogs at the Diamond and Sunday with the annual Mug Day sponsored by Dutch Bros.
• The Bears lead the all-time record over the Knights, 10-2, including the 6-0 record in Waco. Baylor faced UCF last season at the Big 12 Softball Tournament when it took down the Knights, 3-2. The Bears also faced UCF for a three-game conference series where they swept the Knights.
• BU is coming off of a midweek contest against UT Arlington where they fell against the Mavericks, 6-2. Before the game against UTA, the Bears faced No. 13 Oklahoma State when they took down the Cowgirls in game one before falling in the next two contests.
• During the 2025 season, the team is competing with a veteran squad that consists of 12 seniors and 15 upperclassmen.
• After ending the 2024 campaign back in a Super Regional for the first time since 2017, the Bears returned 15 off of the 2024 squad, while adding four transfers and seven freshmen.
• The Bears four transfers include Brooklyn Carter (Washington), Turiya Coleman (Houston), Carson Frier (UCF) and Lillie Walker (Duke). Coleman and Frier add depth to the Bears infield/catching position, while Carter adds speed to the outfield and Walker tosses left-handed in the circle.
• The Bears faced nine opponents so far this season who were either ranked or receiving votes in the preseason/weekly ESPN poll for a total of 14 games. Those teams include: No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 6 UCLA, No. 7 Texas A&M, No. 13 Arkansas, No. 15 Missouri, No. 16 Nebraska, No. 1 Texas, No. 12 Texas Tech and No. 13 Oklahoma State. Thirteen of Baylor's 19 losses on the season have come against opponents ranked in the Top 25.
• Shaylon Govan leads the Bears offensively with a .394 average so far this season, only missing four opening weekend games due to a class conflict. She has a team-leading five home runs, five doubles and 14 RBIs.
• Karynton Dawson is leading the Bears with 16 RBIs, closely followed by Govan (14), and Abi Flores (13).
• Lillie Walker leads the Bears in the circle with 49 strikeouts with 22 appearances.
• Walked tossed 15.1 scoreless innings against No. 13 Oklahoma State in Stillwater last week. She picked up her first-career complete game shutout over the Cowgirls on Friday in the Bears' win, before turning around and tossing a career high 8.2 innings in the Bears nine inning game against the Cowgirls. She only allowed one earned run during her 15.2 innings of work and only walked one batter through both complete games.
• Defensively, Presleigh Pilon is ranked third nationally in assists so far this season with 88. Amber Toven is tied for ninth in assists with 82. Those two together have helped contribute to the Bears' 19 double plays so far this season which ranks them tied for seventh nationally.
• Shaylon Govan now holds the second-place spot in career walks at Baylor. She currently has 122 and is 11 walks away from tying the career record.
• As Baylor's unanimous First-Team All-American last season, Govan, is currently in 12th place nationally in on base percentage (.585) after leading the nation in that category last season.
• Head coach Glenn Moore is in his 25th season at the helm of the Baylor Softball program. In a quarter of a century, Moore is Baylor Athletics' active all-time wins leader across all sports. He has progressed up the active NCAA coaching ranks, now ranking No. 17 in total victories among active Division I head coaches.

- BaylorBears.com -

SB Readies for Conference Series Against UCF

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Players Mentioned

Brooklyn Carter

Turiya Coleman

Karynton Dawson

Abi Flores

Carson Frier

Shaylon Govan

Presleigh Pilon

Amber Toven

Lillie Walker

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