No. 21 SB Shows off Power in 6-1 Win over UTA

WACO, Texas – No. 21 Baylor softball displayed plenty of power from the first pitch as the Lady Bears topped UT Arlington, 6-1, Wednesday night at Getterman Stadium.

After retiring the Mavericks in order in the top of the first with a pair of pop outs in foul territory and a strikeout by Gia Rodoni, the Lady Bears set the tone for the night when Lou Gilbert smashed a triple off the right field wall. She scored a batter later when Maddison Kettler laid down the sacrifice bunt to bring her home.

In the bottom of the third, Baylor added to its lead when Emily Hott hit her first career home run.

UT Arlington got on the board in the top of the fourth, but the Lady Bears were quick to answer. Goose McGlaun led off the frame with a double, and Josie Bower followed right behind her with a double of her own to score McGlaun. 

The Baylor power hour was just getting started as BU plated three more runs in the bottom of the sixth. McGlaun got things started with a home run over the left field wall, the 30th of her career. Bower and Taylor Ellis followed with a pair of singles to put runners on the corners with two outs for pinch hitter Hannah Thompson who roped a double to the center field wall.

Gia Rodoni picked up the win for Baylor as the senior gave up one run off four hits with three strikeouts through five innings of work. Maren Judisch came on in the sixth inning and gave up a hit before Sidney Holman-Mansell shut things down in the seventh.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Emily Hott hit her first career home run over the right field wall. It marked the first home run of the season at Getterman Stadium.
• Goose McGlaun recorded her 28th career double and first of the season.
• McGlaun followed that up with her first home run of the season and 30th of her career. It marked her first homer at Getterman Stadium since March 20, 2019 vs. Central Arkansas.
• McGlaun recorded her 39th career multi-hit game.
• Josie Bower finished with a double for the second-straight game and sixth of her career.
• Bower recorded her second-straight multi-hit game, and fourth of her career, as she went 2-for-3 at the plate.
• Lou Gilbert hit her second career triple

STAT OF THE GAME 
5 – Number of hits the Lady Bears had before recording a single. They started out with a triple, a home run, two doubles and another home run before Bower’s single in the bottom of the sixth.

TOP QUOTES
Baylor head coach Glenn Moore on the win…

“I told the girls one of the most important at-bats of the game is the leadoff at-bat. Usually, we have a slapper in that spot, but we wanted to send a big message with the first at-bat. If you hit a ball hard, you can create a lot of doubt in the pitcher. It can make them doubt themselves if they start off the game with a triple. I’d love to piggyback off of that and hit more home runs. … Emily Hott turned the lineup over with a homerun. I think we could be pretty dangerous this season with how dangerous this lineup is.”

Emily Hott on her home run…

“It was amazing. We dedicated the season for Lum, and it made me so happy and almost tearful knowing that we were doing exactly what he would want us to do, especially on our first home game.”

UP NEXT

Baylor hosts the Lone Star State Classic this weekend (Feb. 26-28) against UConn, Ole Miss, Lamar and No. 25 Mississippi State.