No. 17 Baylor Softball Takes Two Over Morgan State in Saturday Doubleheader

[Gilmore, Katy]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 2, 2024
No. 17 Baylor Softball Takes Two Over Morgan State in Saturday Doubleheader
Bears extend their win streak to nine-straight
For more information contact: Katy Gilmore, 254-252-2182, katy_gilmore at baylor.edu<mailto:katy_gilmore at baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – No. 17 Baylor Softball shut out Morgan State in game one, 2-0, before completing the doubleheader sweep with a 4-1 victory in game two Saturday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.

THE RUNDOWN
After striking out the leadoff batter, the Bears allowed two Morgan State baserunners in the first but subsequently worked out of the jam with another strikeout and a pop up.

The Bears were able to load the bases in the bottom half of the inning, after a single from Ashlyn Wachtendorf and walks from Shaylon Govan and Shannon Vivoda, but no runs would come home to score.

Baylor had another baserunner in the bottom of the second after Abi Flores singled but wouldn’t be able to capitalize until the third inning.

With two outs, Emily Hott singled on a bunt and moved to third after stealing second and advancing on a throwing error. Vivoda then singled to third base to score Hott and give the Bears the 1-0 lead.

Starting pitcher RyLee Crandall struck out the side in the fourth inning before adding two more strikeouts to her day in the fifth. Crandall totaled nine strikeouts on the day when she was relieved by Kaci West in the sixth.

The Bears tacked on another run in the bottom of the sixth to give BU the 2-0 advantage. Hott led the inning off with a single through the left side before a sacrifice bunt from Vivoda moved her to second. Leah Cran then laced a single through the left side that scored Hott from second.

With the two-run lead, the Bears walked two Morgan State batters in the seventh, but ultimately a fielder’s choice ended the inning and gave the Bears the game one victory.

Baylor started game two strong with back-to-back 1-2-3 innings, as starting pitcher Aliyah Binford picked up three strikeouts.

The Bears also got the bats going early with Taylor Strain leading off in the bottom of the first with a single. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Binford, who recorded the RBI walk to bring home the Bears’ first run. With the bases still loaded, Ana Watson doubled to right-center, clearing the bases and giving Baylor the 4-0 advantage.

Strain doubled and Hott singled in the bottom of the second, but Strain was thrown out at home trying to make it a 5-0 ballgame.

Morgan State scored its only run of the day in the top of the third after catcher Zadie LaValley threw out a runner taking second and the runner on third came home to score.

MSU threatened again in the fourth inning, but three-straight strikeouts stopped Morgan State from scoring.

Strain laid down a bunt single in the fifth and Kaci West walked in the sixth but that would be it for the Bears as they would take game two over Morgan State, 4-1.

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   Five different Bears recorded a hit in game one
  *   Emily Hott had the only multi-hit game in game one, with two hits
  *   Shannon Vivoda and Leah Cran both recorded an RBI in game one
  *   RyLee Crandall struck out nine, picking up her fifth win of the season
  *   Kaci West picked up two saves on the day, striking out four in 2.2 innings of work
  *   Aliyah Binford picked up a win, improving to 4-2 on the season. She struck out six in 5.2 innings of work
  *   Taylor Strain went 3-for-3 in game two with a double
  *   Ana Watson recorded a double with a team-leading three RBIs on the day
  *   The Bears only struck out twice at the plate on the day
  *   The Bears’ shutout in game one is their third of the season
  *   BU is on a nine-game win streak

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Glenn Moore on the game …
“Really, neither one of them had a ton of offense. We got a big hit out of Watson that had three RBIs and hung on to get that victory there. I just have to tip my hat to Morgan State coming in here, traveling this far and competing really hard for two games. We certainly didn't play clean ball, I'm not happy with that. I'm not happy with the adjustments. Sometimes you just tip your hat to the team you're facing. They kept us off balance, changing speeds and hitting spots. They did an outstanding job of pitching to a lineup that was really swinging it well.”

Taylor Strain on what was working …
“I think just being more patient at the plate and really, all of us just gelled together really well. Honestly, just being patient. We’re going to come out tomorrow even more ready to go. We’re not really satisfied with how we played today, so tomorrow we’re going to bring it even more than we did today.”

UP NEXT
The Bears will face Morgan State for game three of the three-game series, Sunday, March 3, at 12 p.m. CT Getterman Stadium.

-BaylorBears.com-

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__________________________________

Katy Gilmore | Associate Director of Athletic Communications
Department of Athletics | Baylor University
O: 254-710-2743 | C: 254-252-2182

[cidimage002.png at 01D79F3C.9D2300D0]<http://baylorbears.com/>

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