AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas softball team scored four runs in its final two at bats to beat Baylor Saturday 5-3 at McCombs Field. The Longhorns rallied from down 3-1 with a solo homer from Gabby Smith in the fifth and a three-run effort in the bottom of the sixth to even the Big 12 series at a game apiece.
Baylor (38-14, 12-5) scored an unearned run in the first and third innings and had an RBI single from Jessie Scroggins in the top of the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. However, Smith's second home run of the season for Texas (36-15, 11-6) went over the centerfield wall off Baylor ace Heather Stearns (19-10) to cut the lead to one run.
Texas tied the score with two Baylor errors on the same play on a squeeze bunt by Erin Shireman, which scored Lindsey Stephens, and the throw to the back stop put UT players at second and third with no one out. Texas delivered with an RBI single from Keili Hanzel to take the lead and a sacrifice fly from Marlee Gabaldon to give the home team four unanswered runs.
Baylor put its first two runners on base in the top of the seventh, but the Bears could not rally further. A Texas win Sunday would mean a tie for second place in the Big 12 between the two teams, and a win for Baylor would give the Bears second place outright for the second-straight year, and two wins over Texas for the firs time since 2009.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Ari Hawkins finished 2-for-4 with an RBI. It was Hawkins' 14th multiple-hit game of the season and 35th of her career. Hawkins' on-base streak extended to 10 games.
• Kaitlyn Thumann's double in the third inning was the 43rd of her career, and it tied her for third all-time on the BU career doubles list with Kelly Osburn (43, 2003-06).
• Thumann also drew her 100th career walk in the fourth.
• Heather Stearns' scoreless innings streak came to a halt in the bottom of the third inning at 22.2 innings, which was one out shy of her career high of 23-straight scoreless innings, accomplished earlier this season.
• Shelby Friudenberg extended her on-base streak to 15 games with a 1-for-4 performance at the plate.
• Jordan Strickland extended her on-base streak to 10 games with a 1-for-2 performance at the plate.
STAT OF THE GAME I
22.2 – Heather Stearns' scoreless innings streak came to an end in the bottom of the third inning, but it was the second scoreless-innings streak of at least 20 innings this season (23.0, Feb. 6-19).
THEY SAID IT
Glenn Moore on Baylor going for the series win Sunday …
“We haven't really lost one like that this year, so I'd like to think this team has the ability to come back from something like this. Texas didn't play flawless either, so we're really going to have to bring it tomorrow to be able to take the series.”
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor takes on Texas at 11 a.m. Sunday on the Longhorn Network, and the game will air locally on ESPN 1660 AM. The Bears will also play host to an NCAA Tournament selection show party at the Stone Room in the Ferrell Center at Baylor beginning at 8:30 p.m. Selections will be announced on television on ESPNU. Baylor is on the bubble to host.
