No. 21 Baylor Softball Picks Up Midweek Win Over UT Arlington, 8-0

WACO, Texas – No. 21 Baylor softball took down UT Arlington Tuesday night, defeating the Mavericks, 8-0, in five innings. 

The Bears, who are now 14-1 on the season, took the early lead in the first inning after a two-RBI single from Shaylon Govan. The current Big 12 Player of the Week now has 31 RBIs on the season.

This start to the season ties the best start in program history and happened in both the 2005 and 2011 seasons.

THE RUNDOWN

McKenzie Wilson singled up the middle to lead off the game and Amber Toven walked to put two on for Govan. After a singled from Govan plated two in the first, Emily Hott followed with a single, but back-to-back groundouts ended the inning.

Hott doubled for her second hit of the game in the bottom of the third and the scored after an error from the Mavericks.

Baylor scored again in the fourth, with back-to-back doubles from Taylor Strain and Toven extending the Bears’ lead to 4-0.

The Bears plated four in the fifth to complete the run-rule victory by scoring on a wild pitch, two bases-loaded walks and a single from Strain to the pitcher.

HIGHLIGHTS

• RyLee Crandall had a two-hit performance, striking out eight and improving to a 4-0 record on the season.
• Govan’s two RBIs led Baylor, while four different Bears recorded doubles. Wilson and Hott each had a 2-for-2 performance at the plate, while Strain also added two hits.

QUOTABLE

Head Coach Glenn Moore

“It’s good to get some work out of RyLee Crandall, and she looked good. She's looking better every time she's out there. She's growing a little bit. She's a freshman and has freshmen moments, but she's pushing through it. (She’s a) highly competitive player (that) doesn't handle failure very well. So, that's probably why so many of these kids are at that level, but you’ve got to manage it to be the best and to get the most out of it. And right now, she's a work in progress in that regard, but I thought she really threw well. (UTA has) played very well this year, so she was facing hitters that have faced good pitching and seen pitchers like her.”

Pitcher RyLee Crandall

“I'm feeling really good. Having a solid defense behind me is great, and one thing I love about this team is that we're going to do it for each other and at the end we're going to give glory to God.”

WHAT’S NEXT

Baylor will host the Ode to Joy Invitational and welcome Sam Houston and Texas A&M to town on Saturday and Sunday, March 4-5.