No. 13/15 Baylor softball (37-9, 9-3 Big 12) won the first game of the doubleheader, 4-3, before falling, 6-0, in the series finale with No. 8/8 Oklahoma Sooners (41-8, 11-1 Big 12) on Sunday afternoon at OU Softball Complex.
In the early game, Gia Rodoni (12-1) took the win in the circle, with Kelsee Selman finishing off the final two frames to notch her fourth save of the season.
Rodoni worked 5.0 innings, allowing five hits and three runs with two strikeouts. Selman allowed just one hit over the final 2.0 frames, striking out one and keeping the Sooners scoreless.
The Baylor offense jumped out to the early lead, with Jessie Scroggins leading off the game with a bunt single.
A single up the middle by Kyla Walker put two runners on, with Lindsey Cargill dropping a sac bunt in to move them both into scoring position.
Shelby Friudenberg drilled a double to right center, hitting over the shift and plating both Walker and Scroggins to give BU the 2-0 lead after one.
Back in the top of the third, Cargill led off the inning with a single up the middle, stealing second and advancing to third on a bunt single for Ari Hawkins.
With runners on the corners with one out, the Lady Bears executed a double steal, with Hawkins stealing second and drawing the throw down and Cargill able to easily score after the throw ended up soaring into center field.
Maddison Kettler legged out an infield single, with Hawkins advancing to third on the play.
BU kept up the aggressive base running, with Kettler drawing the throw down to second, and tagged out while attempting to force the rundown.
Initially looking like it could end the inning when Hawkins got caught in a rundown between third and home, the senior was able to avoid the tag at the plate, giving BU the 4-0 lead.
The Sooners were able to take a run in the fourth and two in the fifth, but the Lady Bears slammed the door shut with Selman’s final two frames to tie the series at 1-1.
In game three, Kelsee Selman (18-6) carried the bulk of the load for the Lady Bears, going 5.2 frames with seven hits, five runs, four earned, and a strikeout.
The Sooners started quickly with two singles and a walk, all with two outs, leading to the two-out grand slam to take the first lead of the series for the Sooners in regulation.
OU would pick up another run in the second and one in the sixth, with BU unable to crack the scoreboard with five hits and six runners left on base.
HIGHLIGHTS
Lindsey Cargill, the team and Big 12’s leading hitter, saw her program record hitting streak end at 22 games.
Baylor bats were led by Maddison Kettler in the three-game series, with the freshman going 4-for-9 at the plate, good for a .444 hitting clip. Jessie Scroggins matched Kettler’s hit total, going 4-for-12 in the lead-off spot for a .333 average.
Shelby Friudenberg went 3-for-10, accounting for three of Baylor’s four RBI over the weekend.
TOP QUOTE
“After a gut-wrenching loss on Saturday, I couldn’t have asked for a better response from this team. We are disappointed in the series loss, but it could have easily gone our way, and we know that. This weekend will pay dividends in post season.” – Baylor head coach Glenn Moore
STAT OF THE GAME
10 – the number of hits for Baylor in the 4-3 win over the Sooners, the second-most hits allowed by the Oklahoma pitching staff in 2017 and the most in a Big 12 game.
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor returns to Waco and makes a quick turnaround trip to Beaumont, Texas, to play a single game with Lamar on Tuesday, April 25, at 4 p.m.
