No. 14 Baylor Softball Takes Down Penn State, 4-1

WACO, Texas – No. 14 Baylor Softball defeated Penn State, 4-1, Wednesday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.

The Bears tallied their 12th-straight win as they have allowed one run or fewer in the last five contests.

THE RUNDOWN
After walking the leadoff batter, Aliyah Binford picked up her first strikeout of the game before allowing the first hit, but the Bears threw out a runner at third base to keep the Nittany Lions off the board.

Emily Hott started things off with a bang in the bottom half of the inning, when she tripled down the left-field line, the Bears’ second triple in as many games. Shaylon Govan then drew a walk, but that would be it in the top of the first after back-to-back outs got Penn State out of the jam.

Penn State threatened again in the second inning, but Govan turned in another heads-up play at first base, when she threw out a runner at the plate trying to score from second base on an infield hit.

With nothing happening for both squads in the third inning, Binford picked up her sixth strikeout of the game in the top half of the inning before the Bears got on the board in the fourth.

After Govan hit a leadoff infield single, Ana Watson was hit by a pitch and Abi Flores was walked to load the bases with two outs. Leah Cran then took a pitch to the forearm to bring home the Bears’ first run of the game. With the 1-0 lead, Presleigh Pilon then reached on an error that brought the second run home before a single from Taylor Strain plated another run and gave the Bears the 3-0 advantage.

Penn State got a run back in the fifth after a double and two singles, but Binford struck out another to minimize the threat.

The Bears weren’t satisfied yet, as Govan singled and Sydney Collazos was hit by a pitch to put two on base again. After a sacrifice bunt from Shannon Vivoda moved runners to second and third, Flores singled to centerfield to record her first RBI of the season and give BU the 4-1 lead.

Baylor took care of business in the sixth, before Binford struck out two more in the seventh, tying a career-high with 11 Ks on the day.

HIGHLIGHTS

-Shaylon Govan was 2-for-2 at the plate, scored two runs and was walked once

-Taylor Strain, Emily Hott and Abi Flores all recorded one hit apiece

-Flores recorded her first-career RBI

-Three different batters were hit by a pitch

-Aliyah Binford improves to 5-2 on the season, pitching a complete game and tying a career-high with 11 strikeouts

-The Bears have allowed one run or less in the last five games

-BU is currently on a 12-game win streak

QUOTABLE

Aliyah Binford on her performance in the circle …

“ I felt pretty strong throughout the game, knowing I also had a perfect defense behind me. Yeah, I had no problem throwing whatever my coach called every time.”

Presleigh Pilon on her performance at shortstop …

“Oh yes, I’m comfortable. I’m pretty comfortable with defense in general. But wherever Coach wants me. I had said that when I transferred in: wherever you want me, I’m ready to play. I played it (SS) back in travel ball, but it’s been a few years. A little bit at LSU when I was filling in or playing backup.”

Head Coach Glenn Moore on the game …

“I think if you can get a win against a team like Penn State, you’ve got to be happy. We did some things really well. We’re still not in sync offensively, I can’t find that right combination. Again, when you face good pitching, it’s their job to keep you off balance, and they’re doing a better job of that than pitchers were at the beginning of the year. I don’t know if that’s synergy where you’re seeing more of the holes in the swings, but we’ve got to make quicker adjustments and put more ball in play. We didn’t do a great job of that today.”

UP NEXT

The Bears will open conference play against No. 7 Oklahoma State as they host the Cowgirls for a three-game series March 8-10 at Getterman Stadium.