Softball falls in series opener at No. 16/14 Baylor, 5-0

Wednesday, May 6

Waco, Texas

7 p.m.

University of Texas

35-15, 0

Baylor

38-13, 0

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Texas	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
Baylor	0	1	0	0	3	1	X	5	8	0

Softball falls in series opener at No. 16/14 Baylor, 5-0

05.06.2015 | Softball

Box Score

The two teams continue their split series on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. CT at McCombs Field

WACO, Texas – On Wednesday night in front of 1,387 fans at Getterman Stadium, Texas (35-15, 10-6 Big 12 Conference) dropped the opener of its split series against No. 16/14 Baylor (38-13, 12-4 Big 12), 5-0.

The Longhorns' offense managed just one hit against BU ace Heather Stearns as sophomore shortstop Devon Tunning registered a third-inning triple.

In the circle for UT, freshman Erica Wright (16-7) suffered the loss by allowing five earned runs on eight hits with three walks and seven strikeouts over 6.0 innings.

After Texas left junior center fielder Lindsey Stephens stranded following a walk in the top of the first, Baylor managed the first solid offensive opportunity of the contest during the bottom half. A lead-off bunt single from right fielder Kaitlyn Thumann and a free pass issued to second baseman Ari Hawkins put two Bears on base with just one down. That's when Wright went to work to escape the threat, striking out first baseman Shelby Friudenberg and getting third baseman Sarah Smith to pop-up to second as BU left a pair stranded.

With Baylor starter Heather Stearns having retired six of the first seven Longhorns she had faced through the opening two frames, the Bears got a lead-off double from designated player Linsey Hays in the bottom of the second that just eluded a diving Stephens in left center. With pinch runner Riley Browder stationed just 60 feet from pay dirt, following a pop-up and a grounder back to the circle, catcher Robin Landrith lined a RBI single through the right side of the infield to grant BU a 1-0 advantage.

Texas' offense got its lone hit of the contest with two retired in the top of the third as Tunning ripped a shot to right that eluded Thumann and ricocheted off the wall. The situation got a little more serious just moments later as sophomore right fielder Stephanie Wong drew a walk to put runners at the corners. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, a routine grounder to first ended the frame with no damage on the scoreboard.

The Bears threatened again during the bottom of the fourth as a lead-off single down the right field line from third baseman Sarah Smith and a Hays walk put two on with no outs. Facing another big spot, Wright was again up to the task in getting out of a jam. The Huntington, Texas, native induced a fly out to right and a pop-up to short before catching Landrith looking on a big strike three to conclude the frame.

Self-inflicted UT damage to the tune of two hit batters and a four-pitch walk with two outs finally helped the Bears nab a commanding 4-0 edge in the bottom of the fifth. With the bags packed, Hays launched a ball down the right field line that hit near the top of the wall for a two-RBI double. Shortstop Jordan Strickland followed that immediately with a RBI single that tipped off the edge of the glove of a leaping Kelli Hanzel at first.

BU finalized its offensive output at five tallies in the bottom of the sixth as a one-out Thumann triple to right center was cashed in on a Cargill RBI single.

With one final opportunity to get back in the game in the top of the seventh, Texas went down in order against Stearns on a strikeout, a foul out and a fly ball to right.