Softball drops Big 12 Conference opener at No. 20 Baylor, 3-1

Friday, March 25

Waco, Texas

6:30 p.m.

University of Texas

19-7, 0-1

Baylor

25-6, 1-0

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

Softball drops Big 12 Conference opener at No. 20 Baylor, 3-1

03.25.2016 | Softball

Box Score

Senior catcher Erin Shireman went 2-for-2 and blasted her first HR of the season.

WACO, Texas – On Friday night in front of the third-largest crowd in Getterman Stadium history (1,519 fans), Texas softball (19-7, 0-1 Big 12 Conference) got a 2-for-2 effort with the first HR of the season from senior catcher Erin Shireman but dropped its Big 12 Conference opener to No. 20 Baylor (25-6, 1-0 Big 12), 3-1.

BU ace Heather Stearns limited the Longhorns offense to just two hits in the defeat, while UT junior left hander Tiarra Davis allowed two earned runs on seven hits with five walks and seven strikeouts in falling to 11-6 on the season.

After Texas went down in order against Stearns in the top of the first, Baylor made offensive noise immediately against Davis during the bottom half. With second baseman Ari Hawkins standing at first on a one-out walk, first baseman Shelby Friudenberg drove a double to the wall in center, placing runners at second and third. Ball four to right fielder Linsey Hays proved wild, allowing Hawkins to race home from 60 feet as BU took a 1-0 lead. With two still aboard, Davis struck out third baseman Sarah Smith looking for a big second out. Left fielder Lindsey Cargill followed with a sharp grounder to third that Felix managed to corral before tossing across the diamond to limit the damage to a single tally.

Off the bat it appeared that Texas might have tied things up with two outs in the top of the second as senior right fielder Holly Kern launched a towering drive to center. Unfortunately for the Horns, center fielder Jessie Scroggins managed to track the ball down and made an inning-ending catch while colliding with the wall.

Shireman got the Burnt Orange & White off to a promising start in the top of the third by blooping a lead-off single to shallow center. With one retired on a K, junior first baseman Kelli Hanzel successfully sacrificed the runner over into scoring position. Senior center fielder Lindsey Stephens lifted a fly to shallow left that had promise, but Cargill came racing on to make a basket catch and leave the Texas runner stranded.

The Bears got back in business in the fourth as Smith opened the frame by driving a double to the wall in right center. With the runner at third after a sac bunt, Davis struck out shortstop Caitlin Charlton to get close to getting out of the inning. Another wild pitch would soon bring home Smith, however, as the Bears improved their advantage to 2-0.

With Stearns having struck out the first two Longhorns in the top of the fifth, Shireman electrified the UT dugout by blasting her first HR of the season over the left field wall as BU's advantage was cut in half.

A walk and a double placed a pair in scoring position for Baylor with two retired in the bottom of the fifth. Davis got UT out of the jam, however, by inducing a vital pop-up to second from Cargill as the left-stranded count for the Bears grew to seven.

Seemingly cruising in the bottom of the sixth after striking out the first two Bears she faced in the frame, Davis ran into some two-out trouble. A single, a crucial Texas infield error and a hit batter loaded the bases for the dangerous Friudenberg. She battled to a full count before drawing a walk to force in an important Baylor insurance run to make it 3-1.

Needing another late rally in the top of the seventh, it wasn't to come against Stearns as the Longhorns went down in order on a fly ball, a strikeout and a bouncer to second.