HONOLULU, Hawaii – No. 21/22 Baylor softball (15-5) started off play in the Hawaii Spring Fling weekend tournament with a 4-2 win over North Dakota State (11-9) on Wednesday afternoon at Rainbow Wahine Stadium.
Heather Stearns (7-2) pitched through 6.0 innings of solid work, allowing just four hits and no runs, adding four strikeouts.
For the Baylor offense, the Lady Bears would piece together four runs on 10 hits, breaking through to the scoreboard in the top of the fifth frame.
Linsey Hays led off with a single up the middle, moving to second on a sac bunt from Sarah Smith. Ari Hawkins singled into left field, moving Hays to third.
Hawkins would steal second, with Kyla Walker picking up a walk to load the bases.
Caitlin Charlton broke the tie, roping a single between short and third, scoring Hays.
Back in the top of the sixth, Lindsey Cargill and Shelby Friudenberg roped in back-to-back singles, bringing up Hays with no outs.
Hays broke open the game, crushing a three-run, no-doubt shot to left-center, giving BU a 4-0 lead. Hays picked up her fifth home run of the season, leading all Lady Bears.
Kendall Potts relieved Stearns to start the seventh inning. Picking up a strikeout for the first out, the Bison would answer with a runner reaching on an error, and a double to right field.
Another double down the left field line would score two, bringing the tying run to the plate. A strikeout and a walk brought the potential winning run to the plate with two outs.
A ground ball to Sarah Smith at third for the force out would end the game, with BU outlasting the Bison to pick up Baylor’s 15th win of the season.
STAT OF THE DAY
325 – Linsey Hays’ career total base count, passing Kaitlyn Thumann (324, 2012-2015) for No. 4 on Baylor’s career leaderboard.
WHAT'S NEXT
Baylor faces off with the tournament hosts, the Hawaii Rainbow Wahine, on Thurs., March 10, at 6:00 p.m. HT/10:00 p.m. CT.
