No. 19 Baylor Softball Dominates Houston Christian in Midweek Matchup, 14-4

[Gilmore, Katy]

BAYLOR ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS – March 19, 2024
No. 19 Baylor Softball Dominates Houston Christian in Midweek Matchup, 14-4
Bears tie a season-high with 14 hits
For more information contact: Katy Gilmore, 254-252-2182, katy_gilmore at baylor.edu<mailto:katy_gilmore at baylor.edu>

WACO, Texas – No. 19 Baylor Softball run-ruled Houston Christian in its midweek matchup, 14-4, Tuesday night at Getterman Stadium.

THE RUNDOWN
After allowing Houston Christian to plate a run in the top of the first, the Bears quickly answered with a run of their own before plating six runs in the second inning.

To get things started for BU, Taylor Strain led off the bottom of the first with a single, before Shaylon Govan roped a single of her own into right field to score Strain from second.

With one out in the bottom of the second, Zadie LaValley doubled to deep left-center before Presleigh Pilon followed her up with another double that put the Bears ahead 2-1. After Pilon advanced to third on a wild pitch, Taylor Strain was hit by a pitch and stole second to put runners in scoring position for Emily Hott. Hott brought home another run on a single through the left side, and Govan hit her third long ball of the season over the wall in right field to put the Bears up 6-1. Leah Cran brought home the last run of the inning on a double down the line.

After a quiet inning from both teams in the third, Baylor put up another seven runs in the fourth.

With two outs, Cran and LaValley singled before Pilon brought home a run with a single up the middle. With runners on second and third, pinch-runner Ana Watson singled to bring home the Bears’ ninth run, before Pilon came home on a wild pitch to put BU up 10-1.

Keeping the scoring going, three straight walks issued to the Bears had Paige King record her first RBI of her career with a bases-loaded walk. Another wild pitch brought Hott home before singles from Aliyah Binford and Ashlyn Wachtendorf made it a 14-1 ballgame.

Houston Christian plated three runs in the top of the fifth but that would be all as Baylor would secure the 14-4 run-rule victory.

HIGHLIGHTS

  *   Nine Bears combined for 14 hits, which ties a season-high
  *   Five different Bears had a multi-hit outing
  *   Shaylon Govan had a season-high four RBIs, with a home run and two walks
  *   Four Bears recorded a double with
  *   Kaci West improved to 3-1 on the season, with a career-tying six strikeouts
  *   Ava Knoll pitched 1.0 innings in relief with a strikeout
  *   Presleigh Pilon went 2-for-3 at the plate with two RBIs and a double
  *   The Bears 14 runs are the most runs scored this season
  *   BU’s 14 hits tie a season-high


QUOTABLE
Head Coach Glenn Moore on the game …
“Yeah, and I was happy with what we did. I thought any time you see that many looks, it's hard to make adjustments. And that's probably the strategy — number one, they wanted to get some arms some work in midweek, getting ready for conference, but also to throw off our offense, which, our offense has been better than it looked on paper. We've had quality at-bats. It was nice to get some production out of them. So, I think that was somewhat of a challenge.

We saw great velocity. We saw some good pitching and then not-so-good pitching, and sometimes the not-so-good pitching is harder to adjust to than the good pitching. So, I really thought our girls did a good job of finally putting enough hits together to put some numbers on the board.”

Shaylon Govan on the game …
“Today we’re feeling great. Before this we came out, coach Moore had a meeting with us and told us to get our swings off and to put balls out and play hard. I think that’s what we did today, and coach was harping on it all game. Our girls came to play today.”

UP NEXT
The Bears will face No. 1 Oklahoma in Norman for a three-game series March 22-24.

-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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