WACO, TX — Baylor (15-24, 2-11) plated all six of its runs in the final three innings as the Lady Bears’ rally fell short against No. 15 Texas Tech (33-8, 6-6), 11-6, Sunday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.
The Red Raiders took an 8-0 lead heading to the bottom of the fifth inning with things looking like they might end in run-rule fashion for the second straight game. The Lady Bears, however, had something to say about that.
Nicky Dawson led things off in the bottom of the fifth with a triple to the center field wall. It marked the first triple of the year for Dawson and sixth of her career. With Dawson on third, Lou Gilbert’s fly out to left field brought the first run of the day home for Baylor. And the Lady Bears were just getting started. Goose McGlaun followed with a single up the middle, and then it was time for Kassidy Krupit who jacked her ninth home run of the season over the left field wall.
Baylor’s three runs in the fifth inning shut the door on any kind of run rule victory Texas Tech was hoping for. Both teams went scoreless through the sixth inning before the Red Raiders plated three more runs in the top of the seventh to take an 11-3 lead.
The heart of Baylor’s lineup was due up in the bottom of the seventh inning, and they delivered. McGlaun got things going with a single to shortstop. She then advanced to second off a wild pitch. Krupit walked to reach base for the third time Sunday afternoon to put runners on first and second for Baylor with no outs.
With Alyssa Avalos in to run for Krupit, Ana Watson cleared the bases with a double to right field. That scored two runs and put a runner on second with one out.
The lefty Madi O’Neal then stepped to the plate and laid down a bunt toward first base. O’Neal would have been safe anyway, but the throw by the Texas Tech first baseman went wild which moved her to second and scored Watson.
Defensively, Baylor rotated between Krupit and McGlaun in the circle. Krupit finished with four strikeouts on the day.
While Dawson had a good day offensively with a 3-for-4 showing at the plate, she also turned a pair of double plays off nifty line drive catches. The first one tipped off Krupit’s glove, and Dawson tracked it down and dove to reach second base to get the Tech runner out for not tagging up. The second one Dawson leapt in the air for and then immediately threw to McGlaun at first to get the runner.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Nicky Dawson had quite the day on Sunday. She finished 3-for-4 at the plate with two singles and a triple. She also walked once and scored one run. Dawson now has four three-hit games this season. Her last one came last Sunday vs. Oklahoma when she went 3-for-3 at the plate.
- Baylor turned two double plays. Both of them came from Dawson.
- Casey Shell got the first hit of her Baylor career in the bottom of the second with a single to left field.
- The Lady Bears drew six walks, two of which by Kassidy Krupit.
- Krupit hit her ninth home run of the season.
STAT OF THE GAME
10 – Number of hits Baylor recorded vs. Texas Tech. It marked the first time since March 12 at McNeese State that the Lady Bears put up double digit hits. Additionally, Baylor’s six runs on Sunday marked the most since the Lady Bears plated seven at McNeese State.
TOP QUOTES
Glenn Moore on the game…
“We finally put up some double-digit hits on a team, and I think we can build on that momentum in a week of games that we can compete and possibly get some wins in. I thought that was good. You always want the end result to be more favorable, but they’re a good team and when they throw their best at us they’re really tough.”
Nicky Dawson on Baylor’s energy…
“I think we came with a different approach. One of the things we’ve really been talking about is energy, and that’s something they had in their dugout. We felt like if we matched that we could have good at-bats and play good defense and be focused and really just have everything together. I was really impressed with our fight no matter what the score was. It really wasn’t close at one point, and we just kept getting hits and they came together. That’s what we wanted.”
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor hosts five games in five days this next week. First, the Lady Bears have a doubleheader vs. Lamar on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 4 p.m. Then, Baylor returns to Big 12 action with a series vs. Iowa State Thursday – Saturday.
