No. 14/14 Baylor softball (27-6, 1-1 Big 12) split the first day of conference play at Kansas (19-13, 1-1 Big 12), winning 6-1 in the conference opener and falling 6-4 in 10 innings in game two on Saturday evening at Arrocha Ballpark at Rock Chalk Park.
Kelsee Selman (14-3) took both decisions, throwing a total of 10.2 innings and allowing a combined two earned runs and six hits, striking out 12.
In the early game, KU took the early lead, grabbing a run in the bottom of the first.
The Lady Bears tied it back in the top of the second, with Maddison Kettler leading off the frame with a double. She would score on an attempted sac bunt by Sydney Christensen, with Kettler scoring on the botched play at first by the Jayhawks.
BU added two more in the top of the third, with Ari Hawkins leading off with a bunt single, followed by back-to-back singles by Shelby Friudenberg and Shelby McGlaun.
With the bases loaded, an infield single and defensive miscue by KU allowed both Hawkins and Friudenberg to score, putting BU up, 3-1.
Keeping the pressure on in the top of the fifth, the Lady Bears picked up two solo home runs, one for Christensen and one for Jessie Scroggins, pushing the lead up to 5-1.
Back in the top of the sixth, Hawkins added a third home run, icing the 6-1 win for the Lady Bears.
In the second game of the doubleheader, BU took a quick start, with Scroggins leading off the game with a solo bomb to right center in the top of the first.
Taking the 1-0 lead into the top of the second, the Lady Bears led off with singles from McGlaun and Cargill. Riley Browder, pinch running for McGlaun, was tagged out on a fielder’s choice, moving Cargill into scoring position.
Taylor Ellis reached on a fielder’s choice, with Cargill using aggressive base running to take advantage of lax defense by the Jayhawks to add another run.
The Jayhawks picked up two runs in the home half of the frame to tie the game at 2-2, adding a third run in the bottom of the fourth.
Baylor would attack back in the top of the fifth, with Charlton leading off with a hit-by-pitch. After back-to-back fielder’s choice groundouts put Kyla Walker on first with two outs, Walker would steal second before a four pitch walk for Hawkins.
Friudenberg drilled a single up the middle, scoring Walker from second. A well-struck ball by McGlaun was misplaced by the KU second baseman, allowing Cargill to score to give BU the 4-3 lead.
The Jayhawks took a run back in the top of the sixth after a BU defensive miscue, tying the game at 4-4.
The Lady Bears stranded a total of five runners in extra innings, including three in the top of the eight, with KU finally breaking through with a two-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th.
HIGHLIGHTS
Jessie Scroggins went 4-for-10 to start conference play, driving two solo home runs, scoring two, and totaling 10 bases.
Lindsey Cargill and Shelby McGlaun both had big days at the plate, each going 4-for-8.
Cargill, the team and Big 12’s leading hitter, extends her hitting streak to 11, a new career high and one away from the team’s season high streak (Hawkins, 12).
Shelby Friudenberg extended her on-base streak to 30 games, and counting. The junior slugger now holds sole possession of the No. 2 spot in the Baylor program’s record book, passing Kaitlyn Thumann (26, 2014) and Kathy Shelton (26, 2011-2012). She now trails only Thumann for the program record, who had a 44-game streak stretching across the 2013-2014 seasons.
Ari Hawkins also extended her own on-base streak to 20 games, tying Kathy Shelton (20, 2013) for the No. 5 spot in the program record books.
STAT OF THE GAME
21 – the number of runners left on base by the Lady Bears over the two games, including a season-high 11 in game one and 10 in game two.
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor faces the Jayhawks in the series rubber match at 12 p.m. at Arrocha Ballpark, looking to take the first Big 12 series of 2017.
