No. 21 Baylor softball (3-2) picked up a win over rv/rv Tulsa (1-3) in the early game before dropping a tightly-contested game with No. 12/10 Arizona (3-0) in the afternoon’s contest, both at Rita Hillenbrand Memorial Stadium.
The Lady Bears concluded competition in the Hillenbrand Invitational, hosted by Arizona, grabbing big wins over Cal State Northridge, Northwestern, and Tulsa.
Facing Tulsa in the first game of the day, the Lady Bears kept the bats rolling, drilling out five runs in the first and four in the second, totaling 11 hits in the game.
After a single from Shelby McGlaun scored Jessie Scroggins from first, Ari Hawkins stepped to the plate with the bases loaded.
A grand slam to left field would clear the bases, scoring McGlaun, Shelby Friudenberg, and Kyla Walker, handing BU the 5-0 lead.
Keeping the runs flowing in the second, Walker sent a triple tip-toeing the left field line, scoring Scroggins and Taylor Ellis. Walker would score on a Friudenberg RBI single.
Lindsey Cargill drilled a single off the pitcher’s foot into the outfield grass, scoring Friudenberg and pushing the BU lead to 9-0.
After a Tulsa run in the top of the third, Kendall Potts closed out the final 2.0 innings, allowing just one hit and no runs.
Gia Rodoni (2-0) took the start, going 3.0 innings and allowing just one unearned run, while striking out seven, including the first five Tulsa batters.
In the afternoon game against Arizona, it was a pitcher’s duel between Kelsee Selman (1-1) and the Wildcats’ Danielle O’Toole.
Selman made it through a solid 5.2 innings, allowing seven hits and three earned runs, striking out three.
UA picked up a solo home run in the home half of the fourth, following up with a three-run bottom of the sixth, with two of the runs coming on an inside the park home run.
The Lady Bears scattered five hits throughout the game, giving BU opportunities, but never able to convert into runs.
Shelby Friudenberg and Maddison Kettler led the bats for BU, both going 2-for-3.
HIGHLIGHTS
Kyla Walker finished the weekend going 7-for-14 at the plate, driving in six runs with a double and a triple.
Freshman Maddison Kettler is off to a strong start to her collegiate career, batting. 467 on 7-for-15 hitting.
The Baylor pitching staff finished the weekend with a 2.10 ERA, with both Gia Rodoni (1.20) and Kelsee Selman (1.85) keeping their ERA below 2.00. Rodoni led the way with 14 strikeouts.
STAT OF THE DAY
.346 – the team batting average for the weekend’s tournament, with seven hitters finishing the weekend batting over .300.
TOP QUOTE
“Another great day of competition. We had a lot of questions that we had answered today and I thought the score was not indicative of how close that game was. I was extremely pleased with how Kelsee Selman pitched, going up against one of the best lineups in the country, and she held her own.” – Baylor head coach Glenn Moore
WHAT’S NEXT
The Lady Bears host the annual Getterman Classic tournament in Waco, kicking off with Baylor facing UTSA on Thursday, Feb. 16, at 6 p.m.
