Baylor Softball Defeats UCF in Quarterfinals of the Big 12 Championship, 3-2

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Baylor Softball took down UCF, 3-2, Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship at OGE Field at Devon Park.

The Bears (32-19) defeated the Knights for the fourth time this season to win their first Big 12 Championship game since 2018 and advance to the semifinals on Friday night.

THE RUNDOWN

Aliyah Binford started hot in the circle for the Bears retiring the Knights in order through the first two innings while picking up four strikeouts.

Getting it done on both sides of the plate, Binford helped her own cause in the bottom of the second with a solo shot over the wall in right field, her first long ball of the season, to put the Bears up 1-0.

Sydney Collazos followed Binford’s homer with a double to left-center field, but no one was able to bring her home as the Bears carried the 1-0 lead through four complete innings.

After a double play ended the top of the fifth, Collazos got things going again for the Bears in the bottom half of the inning with a leadoff single. After advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt and a groundout, Taylor Stain hit an infield single to bring Collazos home from third and make it a 2-0 ballgame.

With one runner on for UCF in the top of the sixth, a two-run bomb from S Halajian knotted the game at 2-2 to put the pressure back on the Bears.

Baylor responded in the bottom half of the sixth after Hott drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a groundout and passed ball to put a runner in scoring position with one out. Shaylon Govan capitalized on the opportunity with a single up the middle that gave Baylor the 3-2 lead.

Down to the last three outs in the top of the seventh, Binford and the Baylor defense retired two before closing the door on the Knights with a strikeout looking to end the game.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Bears picked up their first Big 12 Championship win since 2018
• Aliyah Binford pitched a complete game with 10 strikeouts and only one walk
• Binford went 1-for-2 in the circle with her first home run of the season
• Shaylon Govan went 2-for-3 at the plate with the game winning RBI
• Sydney Collazos went 2-for-2 with a double
• Emily Hott drew the only walk for the Bears
• Taylor Strain hit an infield single to add and RBI to her total
• BU totaled six hits
• Baylor has now defeated UCF four times this season
• The Bears have now won 10 of their last 11 contests and are on a seven-game win streak

QUOTABLE

Head Coach Glenn Moore on the tournament win …

“Yeah, well, that's disappointing, but when it’s single elimination that can happen, obviously. That was a big challenge for these girls to overcome that. Had the COVID year in there, of course, so I don’t want to make it sound worse than it was, but these girls were determined to change course. And it wasn't easy. We knew it wouldn't be because we scored four runs against this team in three games. So, Willis is really good. And as Coach Hoot said, I'm glad we don't have to see her anymore. So, I’m very proud of what they did and I'm glad we turned things around up here at the Big 12 tournament.”

Aliyah Binford on being able to finish the game strong …

“Yeah, it's great. We're constantly talking about finishing as a team, going all out no matter what, no matter where we're at. We see the score’s 0-0 constantly (through our lens). So, just being able to finish it all the way through is great for us.”

Shaylon Govan on rebounding through rough patches …

“Yeah, I feel like one — that's a testament to the girls that we have on the team, knowing that we're not going to give up and a testament to Coach Moore. And lastly, that is a test to God, especially if you see us walking around with these ‘And One’ shirts on, that's our motto this year. And it's like, ‘If God is for us, who's against us?’ And I feel like that's something that we've taken in, and (we’ve) used that as confidence and help us stay bold in our faith and just put it all on the field and play for one another and this team and this university.”

UP NEXT

The Bears will face No. 1 seed Texas in the semifinal round of the 2024 Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship Friday, May 10, at 7:30 p.m. CT.