No. 12/16 Baylor softball (42-12) fell 2-1 to the No. 3 seed, Oklahoma State, bouncing back with a 4-0 win over No. 5 Iowa State on Friday at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
Entering the tournament’s first year of reinstatement since 2010 as the No. 2 seed, the Lady Bears will play the No. 4 seeded Texas Longhorns in the third place game on Saturday.
In the afternoon game against the Iowa State Cyclones, Kelsee Selman (22-8) rebounded with a masterful outing in the circle, going 7.0 innings for a complete game shutout, her fifth of the season, holding the Cyclones to just two hits and striking out five.
The senior ace carried a perfect game into the fifth inning, allowing a two-out single to snap a streak of 14-consecutive Cyclone hitters retired.
The Baylor offense provided the early confidence boost, plating a run in the top of the first.
Lindsey Cargill led off with an infield single, advancing around to score on an RBI single for Sydney Christensen.
Adding on in the top of the third, Shelby Friudenberg drilled a solo shot to right-center, her eighth of the season.
BU took a 2-0 lead through into the top of the seventh, looking for insurance.
Kyla Walker got the rally going, leading off the frame with a single down the left field line.
Friudenberg crushed another bomb to nearly the same spot over the right-center wall, a two-run shot to put BU out in front to cruise to the 4-0 victory.
In game one versus the Cowgirls, OSU notched two unearned runs to take the early lead in the top of the third.
The Lady Bears would pick up a single run in the home half of the fourth, with Jessie Scroggins leading off with a bunt single, coming around to score on an RBI double by Christensen.
BU managed to get the lead-off hitter on in all seven innings of the contest, but the Cowgirls escaped out of the jam each time.
Selman took the loss in the circle, going the opening 2.2 frames, allowing four hits and two unearned runs before being relieved by Gia Rodoni.
Rodoni finished off the final 4.1 frames of scoreless work, allowing five hits and striking out three.
HIGHLIGHTS
Lindsey Cargill extended her on-base streak to 32, one shy of tying Shelby Friudenberg (33, 2017) for the second-longest streak in program history.
Cargill posted her 246th career hit, now just one shy of tying the program record by Naomi Fitzgerald (247, 1998-2001).
Cargill also notched her 76th hit this season, bumping up to a three-way tie for the third-most single-season hits in program history with Naomi Fitzgerald (2000) and Kaitlyn Thumann (2014).
Kyla Walker bumped her season hit total to 75, taking sole possession of the No. 6 spot on Baylor’s single-season hits chart.
Shelby Friudenberg became the seventh player in Big 12 Softball Championship history to launch two home runs in a single game.
TOP QUOTE
“I can’t remember ever having that many opportunities to win a game and not doing it. We couldn’t buy a timely hit and it cost us a chance to play for the championship. However, it was nice to see the team rebound with a solid performance in game two.” – Baylor head coach Glenn Moore
STAT OF THE GAME
10 – the number of consecutive innings Baylor had the lead-off runner on base. The streak spanned from the seventh inning versus Texas on May 7, through all seven innings of Friday’s game with Oklahoma State, on into the first two innings of BU’s win over Iowa State.
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor will close play in the 2017 Big 12 Softball Championship in the third-place game, facing No. 4 seeded Texas on Saturday, May 13, at 1:30 p.m at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium.
