No. 13/17 Baylor softball (41-11, 13-5 Big 12) blanked the Texas Longhorns (30-22, 7-10 Big 12), taking a dominating 4-0 shutout win on Sunday afternoon at McCombs Field.
The Lady Bears claimed the series win for the second-straight season, notching the first win for Baylor in Austin since 2011.
Kelsee Selman (21-7) worked her second complete game of the weekend, shutting out the Longhorns and striking out five.
Putting the pressure on Texas early, the Lady Bears were the first to breakthrough on the scoreboard, posting a run in the top of the fourth.
Three straight singles by Kyla Walker, Ari Hawkins, and Shelby Friudenberg loaded the bases, with Jessie Scroggins coming through to drive in the go-ahead run. The junior centerfielder roped a single through the right side of the infield, easily scoring Walker.
Two fielder’s choice outs at the plate and a pop up ended the threat for the Lady Bears, giving Baylor the 1-0 lead.
The Longhorns pushed back, putting a runner in scoring position in the fourth, sixth, and seventh, with Selman slamming the door closed with the help of the Baylor defense to get out of each jam.
Entering the top of the seventh, the Lady Bears broke the game open, adding three insurance runs.
Taylor Ellis led the drive, working a full count walk to lead off the frame.
Lindsey Cargill legged out a bunt single and Jessie Scroggins dropped a base hit into shallow right, loading the bases.
Ari Hawkins stepped in to drill the 1-2 pitch down the line into the corner in left, emptying the bases with a three-RBI double, giving the Lady Bears a 4-0 lead that Selman would finish off with a groundout and two fly outs in the home half of the seventh.
HIGHLIGHTS
The Lady Bears won the series over the Longhorns for the second-consecutive season, notching the first win in Austin since 2011 and snapping a nine-game home team winning streak in the series.
Lindsey Cargill extended her on-base streak to 30, becoming the third player in program history to have a streak of 30+ games.
Cargill posted her 242nd career hit, now five shy of tying the program record (Naomi Fitzgerald, 1998-2001).
After a 3-for-4 game for Kyla Walker and a 1-for-3 outing for Cargill, the pair are now tied with 72 hits for the 2017 season, the ninth-most in program history, and one away from tying Kim Wilmoth (73, 2005) for the No. 8 spot.
TOP QUOTE
“I’m very proud of this team. They played relentlessly today, with great determination to win this series. Texas is playing their best ball and it took everything we had to paint this one green. This will give us much needed momentum headed into the Big 12 tournament.” – Baylor head coach Glenn Moore
STAT OF THE GAME
.046 – the ERA for Kelsee Selman in the series win over the Longhorns, appearing in all three games and going 2-0 with two complete-game wins. Selman struck out 10 Texas batters over 15.1 innings pitched, allowing just one run on the weekend.
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor will open play in the Big 12 Softball Championship in Oklahoma City, Okla., returning for the first time since 2010, with the Lady Bears slated to face Oklahoma State at 11 a.m. and Iowa State at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 12. The pools will be seeded for the final round on May 13, with all six teams guaranteed a third game.
