No. 21 Baylor Softball Pounds No. 4 Tennessee behind Eight-Run Second

Fri Apr 7 16:33:32 CDT 2023

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – April 7, 2023

No. 21 Baylor Softball Pounds No. 4 Tennessee behind Eight-Run Second
Bears Topple Vols Twice in Weekend Tournament

For more information contact: Katy Gilmore; 254-252-2182, katy_gilmore at baylor.edu<mailto:katy_gilmore at baylor.edu>

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- No. 21 Baylor Softball knocks off No. 5 Tennessee for the second-straight day, taking down the Lady Volunteers, 8-5, Friday afternoon at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

The Bears, now 30-9 on the season, took down their second top-5 team in as many days to come out with the two-game series sweep, also earning a 5-2 win over Mercer during the two-day event.

The Bears were slated to play Mercer but morning rains in Knoxville limited Baylor to one matchup on the day, the dominating win over the Vols. BU posted a 1-0 win over the Vols on Thursday, riding a one-hitter from Dariana Orme.

Baylor handed Tennessee (30-5, 10-2 Southeastern Conference) just its fifth loss of the season and only its first back-to-back losses of the season, behind an eight-run second inning that propelled the Bears to the win.

The pair of top-five wins in Knoxville now gives the Bears three on the year, also besting No. 1 Oklahoma on Feb. 19 in Waco, 4-3. BU also earned a 5-0 win over No. 21 Maryland earlier in the year. Baylor continues to state its case for post-season, entering the Friday matchup in Knoxville with a No. 24 NCAA RPI, with the Vols sitting at No. 8.

A 30-9 record through the first 39 games of the year marks the best record for the Bears since going 33-6 to open the 2017 season, a year that ended in the College World Series with a 48-15 record and a final No. 7 national ranking.

RyLee Crandall (11-4) earned the win with five innings, allowing five hits and four runs, walking three and striking out two. Orme came on to work the final two innings, allowing three hits and one unearned run.

The Vols were limited to single tallies in the first and third, and got a three-run sixth inning for the final margin.

UT’s Karlyn Pickens (7-4) suffered the loss, allowing eight runs in one inning.

THE RUNDOWN

The Bears allowed a solo home run on the first pitch of the game but shut down the Lady Vols in the bottom half of the first, retiring the next three batters.

Baylor exploded for eight runs in the bottom half of the second, when Emily Hott reached on an error and stole second before back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Presleigh Pilon had a trick-play single to bring home a run when the ball landed in foul territory and rolled back fair for a hit.

Ana Watson then reached on a fielder’s choice and all the runners were safe after the catcher was off of home plate. McKenzie Wilson then hit an infield single to score another run before Amber Toven singled to left field, bringing the Bears lead to 4-1.

Shaylon Govan was then issued a bases-loaded walk, her first of two four-pitch walks in the game, before Wilson came home to score on a wild pitch. Sydney Collazos had an RBI ground out and Emily Hott notched a sacrifice fly to put the Bears up 8-1 in the second.

HIGHLIGHTS

Six Bears collected hits in a balanced offensive attack, including knocks from Bower, Govan, Pilon, Toven, West and Wilson.

Bower, Collazos, Hott, Govan, Pilon, Toven, Watson and Wilson each drove in runs. Rowatt and Wachtendorf notched runs.

The win for Crandall continued a stellar freshman season, with the native of Artesia, New Mexico, owning an 11-4 record with a 2.00 ERA through 80.1 innings.

Orme, who threw seven-shutout, one-hit innings in the Thursday win over the Vols, sports a 0.98 ERA and an 12-4 record, allowing only 70 hits in 114.1 innings.

WHAT’S NEXT

The Bears return to action with a brief stop in Waco to host Louisiana-Lafayette on Tuesday at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. BU will then venture to West Texas for four games, facing Abilene Christian on Thursday at 3 p.m. before opening a three-game series at Texas Tech.

- BaylorBears.com -

--
Brent Ingram | Assistant AD for Communications
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
C: 210-845-8651

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