No. 8/9 Baylor Softball Headlines Stacked Judi Garman Tournament
STORY LINES
• Baylor returns to the stacked Judi Garman Classic tournament field in Fullerton, Calif., for the fourth straight season, with No. 2/2 Florida, No. 18/17 Louisiana-Lafayette, and No. 25/23 Michigan as BU’s top ranked competition on the weekend.
• The full tournament field is actually comprised of 12 teams, playing a total of 30 games over four days on the primary Anderson Family Field, home of the Cal State Fullerton Titans and a secondary field that is located beyond the right field wall of AFF.
• The annual tournament is held to honor former Cal State Fullerton head softball coach, Judi Garman. Garman coached as CSUF from 1980-1999, winning a national title in 1986 and leaving CSUF as the winningest coach in collegiate softball history.
• All of the weekend’s games will be live streamed by FloSoftball through their website and mobile app. The company offers a monthly or annual membership, with prices beginning at $30 per month.
• Baylor holds a 24-23 record over the tournament field, with ULL as far and away the most familiar opponent. The Ragin Cajuns hold a 15-9 advantage in the all-time series, including a 12-7 edge in the Glenn Moore era. ULL is in its first season under head coach Gerry Glasco.
• Baylor is 5-5 against Michigan, led by 34th-year head coach Carol Hutchins, the winningest coach in NCAA softball history. The Lady Bears faced UM in the Fullerton tournament in 2017, with BU taking a 4-0 win.
• Baylor holds a 7-4 all-time advantage, winning the first six meetings between the programs. UF has seen recent success against the Lady Bears, winning four of the last five meetings and two-straight, both coming at the 2014 Women’s College World Series.
• Baylor has faced Iowa just three times, with BU winning all three previous meetings.
• Baylor will face Charlotte for the first time, led by 24th-year head coach Aimee DeVos.
• Michigan is the only Power 5 school and one of just three schools at the Division I level whose three-member coaching staff has stayed intact longer than Baylor’s. Michigan’s staff’s 20 years tops Baylor’s 15 as a three-coach unit.
• The Baylor bats were led by Shelby Friudenberg (3-for-3, 4 RBI) and Jessie Scroggins (2-for-3, 2 R), spreading out 10 hits and six runs over the seven innings.
• Baylor returns nine letter winners and seven position player starters from the 2017 squad that advanced to the program’s fourth Women’s College World Series.
• Baylor is riding a seven-game win streak, notching a three-game sweep over Northwestern State to open the season and a four-game sweep of the Southern Miss Black & Gold Invitational in Hattiesburg, Miss., last weekend.
• The USM tournament weekend included wins over No. 24 McNeese State and No. 9/10 Alabama, solidifying BU’s return to the Top 10 in the polls.
• Gia Rodoni picked up back-to-back Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honors, named the conference’s top pitcher in each of the first two weeks of the season.
• Jessie Scroggins picked up her first Big 12 Player of the Week nod after a stellar weekend at the plate, pacing the conference in batting average.