No. 13 Baylor Softball Prepares for Midweek Tilt Against Houston Christian

Mon Mar 18 16:17:52 CDT 2024

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 18, 2024
No. 13 Baylor Softball Prepares for Midweek Tilt Against Houston Christian
Bears facing Huskies for third time in program history
For more information contact: Katy Gilmore, 254-252-2182, katy_gilmore at baylor.edu<mailto:katy_gilmore at baylor.edu>

No. 13 BAYLOR (16-8) vs HOUSTON CHRISTIAN (13-10)

Tuesday, March 19 • vs Houston Christian • Waco, Texas • Getterman Stadium • Watch: Big 12 Now ESPN+ • Radio: 101.3 FM

Story lines

• Baylor Softball is back home at Getterman Stadium Tuesday, March 19, taking on Houston Christian in a midweek matchup before continuing conference play the following weekend.

• The Bears (16-8, 1-5 Big 12) are facing HCU for the third time in program history, where BU leads the all-time record 2-0. HCU, formerly Houston Baptist is currently 13-10 on the season, only ever facing Baylor in Waco.

• BU picked up a midweek sweep over Lamar last week, March 12, defeating the Cardinals 5-1 in game one and 6-1 in game two.

• Baylor is now 16-8 on the season after falling to Kansas in three-straight games last weekend. Before the series against Kansas, BU’s five losses on the season all came against ranked teams.

• Last weekend was the first time the Bears have been swept by the Jayhawks in program history.

• The team comes back to the diamond with a veteran squad that consists of seven seniors and 17 upperclassmen.

• After ending the 2023 campaign back in the NCAA postseason, the Bears are looking to build on last year’s 40-win season while returning all but one senior, Josie Bower, from the roster.

• Baylor added three freshmen to the squad with pitcher Lexie Warncke and infielders, Paige King and Leah Cran.

• Baylor is ranked in all four national polls: No. 14 (Softball America), No. 10 (D1Softball), No. 13 (ESPN/USA Softball) and No. 19 (USA Today/NFCA). New rankings come out on Tuesday, March 19.

• The Bears have already faced six ranked teams this season: No. 2 Tennessee, No. 23 Louisiana, No. 25 Oregon, No. 19 UCLA, No. 13 Missouri and No. 7 Oklahoma State.

• The Bears are excelling in the circle this season, with a 1.97 ERA as a team. RyLee Crandall leads the way with a 7-2 record, with 14 appearances and a 1.31 ERA.

• Crandall picked up Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors for the Bears’ win over No. 7 Oklahoma State, where she pitched a one-hit complete-game shutout. The sophomore was one hit away from a perfect game, effectively retiring 21 of 22 at bats.

• Aliyah Binford has a team-leading 71 strikeouts and holds a 5-5 record. She is currently ranked No. 33 in the nation in strikeouts per seven innings and is first in the Big 12 in strikeouts.

• Sydney Collazos has been a threat behind the plate, throwing out eight runners so far this season and picking off two batters, one at first and one at third. She is ranked 15th in the country in caught stealing by records.

• Shaylon Govan leads the Bears with a .483 average, 28 hits, four doubles and two home runs. Her batting average is good for second in the Big 12 and is eighth nationally, while her on base percentage is good for second nationally. With her .620 on base percentage, Govan is ranked eighth in the country in walks per game and has been walked 21 times so far this season.

• Kaci West has three saves on the season, which is good for first in the Big 12 and ties her at 18th nationally.

• The 2024 squad has turned 15 total double plays already this season. The Bears are ranked seventh nationally in double plays turned per game (.62) with 15 turned through 24 games.

• Sixteen different Bears have recorded a hit so far this season, with Govan leading the way with 28, followed by Taylor Strain with 22. There are eight Bears with double-digit hits already on the season.
• Head coach Glenn Moore hit his 1,000th career win last season, when the Bears took down UT Arlington on March 23, 2023. He is looking for his 900th win at Baylor this season and is six wins away from that milestone.

-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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