Moore Wins No. 1,000 as No. 20 Baylor Softball Rolls Over UT Arlington

ARLINGTON, Texas – For the 1,000th time in his coaching career, Baylor softball’s Glenn Moore led his team to a win, as the 20th-ranked Bears posted a 5-0 shutout at UT Arlington on Wednesday morning at Allan Saxe Field.

Moore, in his 26th season as a head coach and his 23rd at Baylor, saw his pitching staff blank the Mavs to improve to 23-5 on the year. It pushed Moore’s win total to 1,000-472, including a 861-430 record leading the Bears.

Moore is the winningest coach in Baylor Athletics history and now ranks 11th among active Division I head softball coaches to reach this milestone.

The performance from the Bears was notable beyond the historic win for Moore, as sophomore first baseman Shaylon Govan – a leading contender for national player of the year – continued a torrid offensive pace with an RBI knock. With injuries hitting the BU pitching staff, Govan stepped up in another role, moving into the circle to pitch for the first time in 2023.

A native of Katy, Texas, she worked the final two innings in the complete-game shutout, scattering one single with a pair of strikeouts. It was Govan’s first pitching performance since 2021 while at Stephen F. Austin, when she worked in six games with three starts, the only pitching outings of her career.

Govan has hit .420 (29-for-69) with four doubles, seven homers and 35 RBI on the year, drawing 21 walks and striking out just nine times.

The Bears controlled the game from the jump, plating three runs in the first inning and adding single tallies in the fourth and sixth innings.

The win extended BU’s win streak to five straight, including a series sweep over Houston last weekend.

UT Arlington (11-14) – who owns wins over No. 16 Kentucky and Texas Tech earlier in the year – saw Jessica Adams (6-7) take the loss after allowing five runs in six innings.

It marked the second shutout win for the Bears over UT Arlington, with BU also blanking UTA 8-0 on Feb. 28 in Waco.

THE RUNDOWN

The Bears struck first in the top of the first inning, getting McKenzie Wilson and Amber Toven on via error. With runners on the corners, the Bears executed a double steal to allow Wilson to score the first run of the game. Shaylon Govan then smashed an RBI single into left-centerfield and after she was pinch ran for by Caroline Rowatt, and a sacrifice bunt pushed Rowatt to third with one out, Emily Hott forced home the third run of the game with an RBI groundout.

In the fourth, Ana Watson doubled with one out into the gap, and motored to third on a passed ball. Josie Bower then grounded out up the middle to give the Bears a 4-0 lead.

The Bears made it 5-0 in the sixth, as Sydney Collazos singled into centerfield, and pinch runner Ashlyn Wachtendorf took second on a passed ball. Hott then doubled down the rightfield line, scoring Wachtendorf. 

STAT OF THE GAME

RyLee Crandall and Govan combined on the two-hit shutout, allowing only a pair of singles. Crandall (7-2) earned the win with five one-hit innings, walking one and striking out five. Govan then took over in the sixth with a four-run lead, surrendering a single with two strikeouts.

The Bears collected seven hits in the win, coming from seven different hitters. Hott drove in a pair, with Govan and Bower each notching RBI. Wilson, Toven, Collazos, Watson and Presleigh Pilon each tallied hits.

QUOTABLE

Head Coach Glenn Moore

On the win …

“A well-played game and especially well pitched by RyLee Crandall and also Shaylon Govan in relief. The first inning was big with a 3-spot setting the tone for whole game.”

On his 1,000th win …

“Although I’m blessed to be the representative of the many responsible for 1,000 wins in my career, the important victories have been in the athletes, staff and campers who have been led to Jesus Christ through this program. In the end nothing else matters.”

WHAT’S NEXT

The win was the last pre-conference tune-up for the red-hot Bears, who venture to Stillwater, Okla., to open a three-game set with No. 2 Oklahoma State on Friday, starting at 6 p.m. The series resumes on Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 12 p.m., with the final two games of the series broadcast on ESPN+.