No. 10/12 Baylor Softball Wins Two to Sweep Northwestern State Series

No. 10/12 Baylor softball (3-0) finished off a three-game sweep of Northwestern State (0-3), taking 8-4 and 4-1 wins in a Saturday doubleheader at Getterman Stadium.

In game one, Regan Green (1-0) made her Baylor debut, going 6.0 innings, allowing five hits and three earned runs, while striking out five and walking three.

All nine Baylor starters in the batting lineup recorded a hit, highlighted by Jessie Scroggins going 3-for-4 with a double.

The Lady Bears started quick, posting two runs in the home half of the first. Carlee Wallace led off with a single to right field, moving over on an infield single for Scroggins.

A four-pitch walk of Goose McGlaun loaded the bases for Shelby Friudenberg, who grounded out to third base, but drove in Wallace for the RBI.

Taylor Ellis roped a single to left field, scoring Scroggins to give BU a 2-0 lead after one.

The Lady Demons scored their first run of the weekend in the third, but the Lady Bears took it right back in the bottom of the third.

Kyla Walker led off the inning with a bunt single, stealing second, and advancing to third on an errant throw by the NSU catcher.

McGlaun picked up an RBI on a sac fly, pushing BU’s lead back to two at 3-1.

Adding some crucial insurance in the bottom of the fifth, Walker got it rolling with another single, followed by one for Scroggins.

A McGlaun double after an 11-pitch, full-count battle to left center scored Walker, moving Scroggins to third. A sac fly to center from Friudenberg plated Scroggins and an Ellis groundout scored Madi O’Neal, who came on to run for McGlaun.

The Lady Demons persisted, adding two in the top of the sixth, but the Lady Bears took them back in the next half inning.

Wallace led off with a walk, with Alyssa Avalos making her BU debut to pinch run and going on to steal second.

A double to left-center for Scroggins moved Avalos to third, setting up for an RBI groundout by McGlaun.

Friudenberg came through again, with an RBI single to score Scroggins, putting BU back up by five, at 8-3.

NSU scratched a run back in the top of the sixth, pushing Gia Rodoni, who came on to close out the game. After loading the bases with nobody out, Rodoni settled in to force three swinging strikeouts to close out the 8-4 win and secure the series victory.

In game two, Goose McGlaun made her first start in the circle, pitching a complete game and allowing just one run on four hits, while striking out two and walking one.

The Lady Bears got to scoring rolling in the home half of the third, with Caitlin Charlton leading off the frame with an infield single.

A single from Walker and a walk for Wallace loaded the bases with no one out.

A single for Scroggins scored Charlton and a wild pitch added a second run.

McGlaun took another walk, loading the bases and leading to a sac fly RBI for Friudenberg, closing a three-run inning for BU.

A solo HR for the Lady Demons cut the lead back in the top of the fourth, but the Lady Bears responded again in the bottom of the frame.

A double for Ellis led off the inning, with Charlton attempting to sac bunt her over to third. Another errant throw to first allowed Ellis to score, icing the game at 4-1 with McGlaun retiring nine of the next 10 Lady Demons to finish off the series sweep.

HIGHLIGHTS

Three different Lady Bears made their season debut starts in the circle, with all three picking up wins (Rodoni, Green, McGlaun), showing off a deep and versatile bullpen for BU.

Green’s debut complete game was the sixth of her collegiate career.

The Lady Bears topped the game one hit total, posting 12 hits in game two with multi-hit outings from Kyla Walker (2-for-4) and Jessie Scroggins (3-for-4).

Goose McGlaun leads the Lady Bears in batting average (.600) after the opening weekend, going 3-for-5 with five RBI and a team-high four walks.

Shelby Friudenberg led the squad in RBI over the weekend, driving in seven with a 4-for-8 hitting clip.

Alyssa Avalos, Hannah Smith, and Hannah Thompson all made their BU debuts, with Avalos scoring a run in game one of the doubleheader.

The Baylor offense hit at a blazing .411 clip over the weekend series, scoring 20 runs on 30 hits and drawing eight walks.

The BU pitching staff combined for a 1.47 ERA, going 3-0 with 21 strikeouts, 14 belonging to Rodoni, to just six walks, and allowing only four earned runs.

Baylor improved to 30-2 in the all-time series with Northwestern State, including a 17-1 record in Waco.

Baylor notched its 24th and 25th-straight wins over NSU and its 17th and 18th-straight win at home against non-conference opponents.

Over Saturday’s doubleheader, in each inning that Northwestern State scored, BU matched their run total in the home half the frame.

TOP QUOTES

“Today is tough. The elements are tough but I thought our girls did a good job at staying focused and getting the job done. It certainly wasn’t always pretty, I wouldn’t say ugly either. It was a game that was somewhat well-played, good situational hitting, our hitters taking advantage of mistakes, getting good at-bats, working deep in the count, certainly stuff to work from a pitching standpoint. We are going to be much better than what we saw today. Regan Green isn’t very happy with her performance. They’re all fixable things, this early in the season with these conditions, I was pretty happy.” – Baylor head coach Glenn Moore

"You’ve got to win and play players, and pitch pitchers, that’s the tough balance. You have to get teams ready down the road but you have to win ball games, so it’s important to win. I thought they came back and responded well. We saw some good pitching, a good mix, they fought and challenged us and we became better because of it." – Baylor head coach Glenn Moore

“I was super excited to get going. I think all of our hard work over the fall and even through the spring has really showed, especially in that first game and even the second game today. I was just excited to get out there and get my first start under my belt.” – Baylor sophomore Goose McGlaun

“I’m seeing the ball really well. It helps that the hitters in front of me are getting on base. I’m seeing the pitches they’re getting and I’m able to make those adjustments when I get to the plate. We definitely feel confident in our approaches as a team and I think we’ve got a bright future ahead of us with the lineup we’ve got.” – Baylor sophomore Goose McGlaun

“The team liked that they both came in and hit their spots and were able to get the outs that they needed to get. They also did a great job keeping composed while they were out there.” – Baylor senior Jessie Scroggins, on the pitching from Green and McGlaun

“It is really important. It’s always great to get a win at home. It will give us a lot of confidence heading to Mississippi next weekend.” – Baylor senior Jessie Scroggins

WHAT’S NEXT

Baylor travels to Hattiesburg, Miss., to take part in the Black & Gold Invitational, running Feb. 16-18. The Bears will be facing the hosts, Southern Miss, as well as McNeese State, Mississippi Valley State, and Alabama.