No. 21 Baylor Softball Takes Down No. 4 Tennessee and Mercer

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – No. 21 Baylor Softball defeated Mercer, 5-2, Thursday morning at the Tennessee Invitational, before taking down the No. 4-ranked Lady Volunteers, 1-0, later in the afternoon.

The Bears, now 29-9 on the season, swept the Thursday twin bill and took their second win of the season over a top-5 ranked opponent.   

Baylor handed Tennessee just its fourth loss of the season and only its second loss at home, riding the arm of Dariana Orme, who picked up her 11th complete game and fourth shutout of the season.

THE RUNDOWN

The Bears had a scoreless first inning against the Mercer Bears, before the timely hits started to fall and Baylor got on the board in the second inning.

With one out, Ana Watson knocked a double to left-center field, before Ellington Whitaker recorded an infield single and moved Watson to third. With runners on the corners, Presleigh Pilon hit an RBI groundout to put Baylor up 1-0.

After RyLee Crandall notched a 1-2-3 inning in the top half of the third, Amber Toven singled and Shaylon Govan was walked to put two on with one out in the bottom of the third. Laying down a sacrifice bunt, Sydney Collazos moved the runners to second and third before Emily Hott walked to load the bases. Lacing a two-out single up the middle, Watson brought home two more runs and extended the Bears’ lead to 3-0.

Crandall worked out of a bases-loaded jam of her own in the top of the fourth, striking out a Mercer Bear to get out of the inning unscathed.

Pilon scored in the bottom half of the fourth inning, thanks to a sacrifice fly from McKenzie Wilson, pushing the Bears to a 4-0 lead.

The Bears brought their lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the sixth, after a series of Mercer errors plated Taylor Strain.

Mercer scored two in the top of the seventh, after a bases-loaded two-out single brought two runner’s home. A pop-up ended Mercers threat and secured Baylor’s 5-2 victory.

In the second-game pitcher duel, Baylor only needed a run plated in the top of the first to get a top-5 ranked win.

Wilson led off the second game with a first-pitch double to center field. She moved to third on a fly out from Govan, before a single to center field from Collazos plated the lone run of the game.

After Dariana Orme allowed a leadoff walk in the top of the first, it was lights-out from the junior for the rest of the game. She struck out two in the top of the first before a groundout stifled the Lady Vols’ threat.

Orme allowed the first hit of the game in the third inning, but back-to-back strikeouts ended that opportunity.

Tennessee had a runner get on and advance to third in the bottom of the fifth, but the Bears were able to hold the Lady Vols scoreless again.

The Bears got two runners on in the sixth and one in the seventh, but no other runs were needed as they recorded two back-to-back three-up, three-down innings to close out the game.

HIGHLIGHTS

The Bears notched their second top-5 ranked win of the season, the first time since 2015 that they have beaten two top-5 ranked opponents in the sesame season

BU hands Tennessee just its second loss at home this season, fourth loss overall

Baylor also gives Lady Vols pitcher Ashley Rogers her first loss of the season in the circle

RyLee Crandall improved to 10-4 on the season after picking up the win against Mercer

Dariana Orme is now 12-4 on the season, striking out five and only walking one batter against Tennessee

Baylor had six different batters record hits against Mercer

Amber Toven and Ana Watson were the only two Bears to record multiple hits in a game

BU recorded its 11th shutout of the season

The Bears one-hit the Lady Vols, the fourth time this season BU has allowed one or fewer hits in a game

QUOTABLE

Head Coach Glenn Moore

“This was a good day. Two wins on the road and one against a top-5 team should give us great confidence that we can play with anyone. Dari proved she can beat any lineup with our defense behind her. Tennessee is a great team and (Ashley) Rogers is as good as anyone we’ve faced in the circle.” 

WHAT’S NEXT

The Bears will play both Mercer and Tennessee again in a doubleheader on Friday, April 7, at 9 a.m and 11:30 a.m. CT at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.