Baylor Softball Falls to Cal, 8-5 in Extra Innings
HONOLULU, Hawaii – Baylor Softball fell to the Golden Bears of California, 8-5, in the eighth inning Friday afternoon, as they closed out the Rainbow Wahine Classic.
After a 1-2-3 inning for both teams in the first, Cal and Baylor each had runners on but none came around to score as the game remained scoreless through two.
Cal plated a run in the top of the third on a sacrifice fly before the Bears went down in order. Another perfect inning for both sides in the fourth gave Cal the 1-0 advantage.
A three-run home run in the top of the fifth pushed the Golden Bears’ lead to 4-0 before Baylor rallied back in the bottom half of the inning.
Another two-out rally for the Bears allowed them to plate four runs in the bottom of the fifth and tie things up. Zadie LaValley started things off with a double to right field, followed by a single from Rhein Trochim to put two on for Ana Watson. An infield single by Watson allowed Trochim and pinch-runner Ashlyn Wachtendorf to score on an error by Cal.
Continuing the scoring, McKenzie Wilson drew a walk before Taylor Strain singled up the middle to score Watson. After the runners advanced a base on a wild pitch, Emily Hott drove in the tying run with a single to right field, but Strain was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
With the score knotted at four, the game headed to extra innings after neither team scored in the sixth or seventh.
The Golden Bears plated four runs on four hits in the top of the eighth, giving them the 8-4 lead going into the bottom of the eighth.
With Strain placed on second to begin the eighth, per international tie-breaker rules, Emily Hott doubled to right center to score Strain. With the next three plays being outs, Baylor fell to Cal, 8-5.
The Bears ended their spring break trip to Hawaii with a disappointing 1-3 record. A win over Oklahoma was never really expected, but dropping both close games to California will sting a bit for Baylor.
The green and gold are now 12-9 on the year and just 1-7 against Power 5 conference opponents.
HIGHLIGHTS
Hott went 2-for-4 at the plate with a double
Trohim had a career-high 7 putouts
Collazos and Hott each had 3 assists
The Bears recorded 8 hits
LaValley hit her first double of the season
TOP QUOTES
Glenn Moore on the game…
“Tough outcomes this weekend. When you are where we are, things rarely go your way but you are so close in game after game. You have to hang on to how close you are and know when you get a little better you will flip the scores. We have to stay motivated at what small improvements will do for us.”