No. 21 Baylor Softball Takes Two on Final Day of Ode to Joy Invitational
WACO, Texas – No. 21 Baylor Softball took down Sam Houston, 6-1, before walking off Texas A&M, 2-1, Sunday afternoon in the final day of the Ode to Joy Invitational.
Baylor, now 17-2 on the season, went 3-1 in the Ode to Joy Invitational and recorded its second walk-off win in the last two days.
Amber Toven came up big in game two, hitting a walk-off single in the bottom of the eighth to take a win over the Aggies after falling against them on Saturday afternoon.
THE RUNDOWN
The Bears took the early lead against Sam Houston, after a scoreless first was followed by a five-run inning in the bottom of the second.
After a leadoff double from Emily Hott and a walk drawn by Josie Bower, Shannon Vivoda laid down a sacrifice bunt to put runners in scoring position. Ana Watson then came up big with a two-RBI single to left field.
McKenzie Wilson batted next, doubled to center field and advanced to third on an error as Watson scored from second. A double from Toven plated the Bears last two runs of the inning and gave Baylor the 5-0 advantage.
BU added its last run of the game in the bottom of the fourth off of a sac bunt from Presleigh Pilon.
The Bearkats scored a run in the top of the sixth off of a fielder’s choice, but Baylor was able to secure the 6-1 win.
The Bears jumped out early in game two, scoring a run after Shaylon Govan doubled to right-center in the bottom of the first.
Texas A&M was able to strike back in the top of the third inning, and then both squads went four-straight innings scoreless.
Baylor rallied in the bottom of the seventh to try to put the game away before extras. Watson led off the inning with a double to right-center and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Sydney Collazos. No one was able to bring Watson home, as back-to-back fly outs ended the inning.
After a lineout from the first Aggie, Dariana Orme picked up her sixth strikeout of the game and notched the second out of the inning. After intentionally walking the next batter, a groundout to the pitcher ended the Aggies’ threat.
BU was able to capitalize in the eighth, after Taylor Strain was placed on second and Pilon laid down a perfect bunt to put runners on the corners with one out. After Pilon stole second, Toven hit a single up the middle to walk-off the Aggies and secure the third win of the weekend for the Bears.
HIGHLIGHTS
Amber Toven was a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a double and two RBIs in game one, while Ana Watson was 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
The Bears totaled 10 hits off of the bats of seven different Bears in game one and totaled 17 on the day.
RyLee Crandall pitched five shutout innings with five strikeouts and is now 6-1 on the season.
Dariana Orme pitched an eight-inning complete-game with six strikeouts and only allowed one run.
McKenzie Wilson went 2-for-4 at the plate and Watson went 2-for-3 with two doubles.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Glenn Moore
“Yesterday wasn’t too pretty of a day. We made sure they didn’t get on too big of a high after the game that we came back and won. We’re proud that we didn’t give up, throw in the towel. But we kept it in perspective and it kept them focused, I think, for this day, which is championship day. We all came in with a 1-1 record and we could win it all if we put two games together. A&M’s a great ballclub, so it’s nice for our kids to defend their home field. I know we had some challenges there and had to find a way to win it.”
Amber Toven on her walk-off hit …
“I know that (during) the previous at-bats with Emiley (Kennedy) pitching, she was throwing me a lot of rise balls and I was chasing, so I knew that I was going to see a lot more rise balls (in) that at-bat. But I was thinking the whole time, ‘Do a job, keep it short and simple.’ And the whole time I was just doing this for Dari and the rest of the girls. I mean, we've been fighting hard this weekend and Dari’s been pitching her butt off, and I just have to be there to back her up.”
Dariana Orme of pitching …
“Yeah, I think it honestly was just as we're progressing and how many pitches, they’re allowing me to throw in a game and then seeing how quickly I'm able to recover, I think that was really good today. Especially playing the same team as we're heading into conference (play) soon, I think it's really good.”
WHAT’S NEXT
The Bears will head to Long Beach, Calif., to compete in the Long Beach/Fullerton tournament. The Bears will face five different opponents from March 8-10.