SB Set to Close Out Regular Season at Iowa State

BAYLOR (25-24, 10-11 Big 12) at IOWA STATE (28-21, 13-8 Big 12)

Friday, May 2 • vs Iowa State • Ames, Iowa | Cyclone Sports Complex • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: ESPN+
Saturday, May 3 • vs Iowa State • Ames, Iowa | Cyclone Sports Complex • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: ESPN+
Sunday, May 4 • vs Iowa State • Ames, Iowa | Cyclone Sports Complex • Radio: 101.3 FM • Watch: ESPN+

By Jerry Hill
Baylor Bear Insider

AMES, Iowa – Potentially on the bubble for an NCAA regional berth, Baylor softball (25-24, 10-11) can boost its postseason resume with a series win this weekend at Iowa State (28-21, 13-8).

Currently sitting in seventh place in the Big 12 standings, the Bears are a long shot but could earn a first-round bye for next week's Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City with a series sweep against the Cyclones.

"I feel like we have gotten to see how good we are when we're hitting on all cylinders," said senior baseman, who's second in the Big 12 with a .400 batting average. "The past couple series, we've realized that we're that good. I feel like that's giving us the momentum to finish the season strong and hopefully go into postseason."

Buried at one point at 13-20, the Bears have won 12 of their last 16 to get above .500 and move up to No. 51 in the latest RPI rankings. That puts them in position to get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, but a series win would go a long way to improving those odds.

"We make sure they're aware of it," Baylor coach Glenn Moore said. "I don't like for them to hear that from (the media) or other fans. So, I want them to know and be educated on it and know what they have to do to get where they want to go. We usually talk about it at the beginning of the week, and then we go to work and try to improve our situation."

Part of the late-season surge has been conference series wins over UCF, Houston and BYU, taking last weekend's series with a come-for-behind 8-5 win over the Cougars behind a solid pitching effort from freshman Sadie Ross (5-6, 3.73).

"I think we're playing our best ball," Moore said, "and we've got another pitcher that has showed up. Sadie Ross is finally healthy and throwing well and giving us a chance. That takes some pressure off Lillie (Walker). Really proud of the way the team is playing right now, and I think we can gain confidence from that series win (over BYU)."

In an interesting twist, Baylor softball will make a side trip this weekend to the family farm of senior pitcher Ava Knoll in Truro, Iowa.

"I grew up in calf-cow operation in Truro, which is about 10 minutes south of Des Moines," Knoll said. "My dad kind of does it part-time, and we have Red Angus calves. It was super fun to grow up on the farm, and I'm excited to take everybody back. . . . Going to have a lot of friends, a lot of family there. Looking forward to a big crowd."

The series starts with a game at 4 p.m. Friday, followed by 1 p.m. Saturday and 12 p.m. Sunday, with all three games streamed by ESPN+.

"We still have really high hopes to make NCAAs," Govan said. "Right now, we're just taking it one pitch and one trip at a time and making sure that we're able to love on each other."

STORY LINES
• Baylor Softball is heading on the road for its last regular season clash of the season as they take on Iowa State for a three-game conference series in Ames, Iowa, Friday-Sunday, May 2-4.
• After a three-game series against BYU, BU is now 10-11 this season in conference matchups and the Bears are back over .500 on the season with a 25-24 overall record.
• The Bears hold the 45-24 all-time record over Iowa State, after taking two of three games from the Cyclones last season in Waco. BU also holds the 19-8 record over the Cyclones while competing in Ames.
• 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 23 losses on the season have come against opponents ranked in the Top 25.
• Shaylon Govan leads the Bears offensively with a .400 average this season, only missing four opening weekend games due to a class conflict. She has a team-leading six home runs, six doubles and 24 RBIs.
• Picking up the Bears' first Big 12 Player of the Week honor, Govan hit .571 in the series against Houston and pushed her on base streak to 18-straight games, a streak that ended with 19-straight.
• Lillie Walker leads the Bears in the circle with 81 strikeouts with 34 appearances. Walker currently stands in the top five of the Big 12 stats in wins, strikeouts, innings pitched, games started and complete games.
• Leading Baylor during last week's three-game series against BYU and midweek against Texas State in the circle was Walker who made four appearances, picked up two wins and totaled a 1.75 ERA while striking out eight.
• Faith Piper picked up the Big 12's Big Stick of the Week award for leading the conference with a .667 average on the week with two doubles and a triple.
• Defensively, Pilon is ranked third nationally in assists so far this season with 131, while Amber Toven follows with 109. Those two together have helped contribute to the Bears' 27 double plays so far this season which ranks them 10th nationally.
• Shaylon Govan is not Baylor's all-time leader in career walks with 139 after drawing in a walk in the first inning of the Bears' 6-0 midweek win over Texas State.
• As Baylor's unanimous First-Team All-American last season, Govan, is currently in 7th place nationally in on base percentage (.593) 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 Set to Close Out Regular Season at Iowa State

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Players Mentioned

Brooklyn Carter

Turiya Coleman

Carson Frier

Shaylon Govan

Ava Knoll

Faith Piper

Sadie Ross

Amber Toven

Lillie Walker

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