Baylor Softball Set for Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship

BAYLOR (31-19, 14-13 Big 12) at PHILLIPS 66 BIG 12 SOFTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

Thursday, May 9 • vs Iowa State • Oklahoma City, Okla. • OGE Field at Devon Park • Watch: Big 12 Now ESPN+ • Radio: 104.9 FM

STORY LINES

• The Bears are heading to the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Tournament this week as the No. 4 seed. Baylor will face No. 5 seed UCF on Thursday, May 9, at 7:30 p.m. CT at OGE Field at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Okla.

• OGE Field at Devon Park is the rebranded Hall of Fame Stadium name.

• After the No. 4 vs No. 5 seed matchup, the winner will go on to play the winner of the No.1 vs No.8/9 game. If BU wins its first game they will face either Texas, Iowa State or Texas Tech.

• The Bears are coming off a weekend series sweep over the Houston Cougars, which included two shutouts and only allowed one run all weekend.

• Baylor has now swept its last three conference opponents and has won nine of its last 10 contests.

• To kick off the Bears hot streak, they swept UCF in a low scoring series, which means the Bears now hold the 9-2 all-time record over the Knights.

• Baylor Softball has not won a game at the Big 12 Tournament since the 2018 season and are looking to break that spell this season.

• Baylor snapped a 15-game nonconference win-streak when they fell against No. 23 Texas State, 6-1, in San Marcos. They are now 17-7 in nonconference games this season after falling against Utah last week in its final nonconference game of the season.

• Sixteen of Baylor’s losses this season have come against teams ranked or receiving votes in polls at some point in the season.

• The team has a veteran squad that consists of seven seniors and 17 upperclassmen.

• After ending the 2023 campaign back in the NCAA postseason, the Bears are building on last year’s 40-win season while returning all but one senior, Josie Bower, from the roster.

• Baylor added three freshmen to the squad with pitcher Lexie Warncke and infielders, Paige King and Leah Cran.

• Baylor is still receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Softball and NFCA/USA Today polls.

• The Bears have already faced nine ranked teams this season: No. 2 Tennessee, No. 23 Louisiana, No. 25 Oregon, No. 19 UCLA, No. 13 Missouri, No. 7 Oklahoma State, No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 23 Texas State and No. 1 Texas.

• Baylor is currently ranked No. 19 in the RPI standings.

• Baylor Softball received three All-Big 12 selections among the 2024 All-Big 12 Softball postseason awards announced Wednesday morning by the conference office.

• For the second-straight season, Shaylon Govan received All-Big 12 first team honors, while Aliyah Binford and Emily Hott each received second team honors.

• RyLee Crandall has the Bears’ best record in the circle this season with a 14-7 mark., with 31 appearances and a 2.93 ERA. She surpassed 100 strikeouts on the season, compiling 101 so far.

• Crandall has also picked up the Bears’ only weekly Big 12 award so far this season, as she won Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors for BU’s win over No. 7 Oklahoma State, where she pitched a one-hit complete-game shutout. The sophomore was one hit away from a perfect game, effectively retiring 21 of 22 at bats.

• Aliyah Binford has a team-leading 132 strikeouts and holds a 11-10 record. She is currently ranked No.1 in the Big 12 in strikeouts.

• Shaylon Govan leads the Bears with a .445 average, 53 hits, eight doubles and eight home runs. Her batting average is first in the Big 12 and 9th nationally, while her on base percentage is ranks first nationally. With her .593 on base percentage, Govan is ranked 6th in the country in walks per game and has been walked 44 times so far this season.

• In the three-game series against Houston, Govan was intentionally walked in seven-straight at bats.

• Emily Hott has also been on fire offensively, totaling 53 hits, nine doubles, six triples and eight home runs. Her six triples tie a single-season record for the Bears and another one would put her in the top spot alone.

• Kaci West has three saves on the season, which ties for first in the Big 12.

• Sixteen different Bears have recorded a hit so far this season, with Govan and Hott leading the way with 53, followed by Sydney Collazos with 38. There are 13 Bears with double-digit hits on the season.

• Head coach Glenn Moore hit his 1,000th career win last season, when the Bears took down UT Arlington on March 23, 2023. He hit his 900th win at Baylor this season after taking down UTSA, 2-1, on April 9, 2024