WACO - No. 25 Baylor (15-2) won its 14th
consecutive game en route to the Texas Shootout title with a 9-3 win
over North Texas (7-9) on Sunday afternoon at Bobcat Stadium in San Marcos, Texas. The victory matches the 2011 squad, which began
14-0, for the longest win streak in program history.
"We are playing well as a team right now and
getting better," head coach Glenn Moore said. "We faced some good
pitching this weekend and got great pitching of our own. We just have to
continue to stay focused and keep doing all the little
things that make teams great."
Whitney Canion (7-1) earned the complete-game win
with a season high 13 strikeouts, allowing six hits, three runs and four
walks. The redshirt junior struck out at least two batters in each of
the first five innings.
Four different Baylor players (Kathy Shelton, Holly
Holl Sarah Smith and Jordan Strickland) recorded two hits apiece, while
Holl added three RBI and Shelton had two. Smith extended her hitting
streak to eight games and on-base streak to
13.
North Texas got on the board on the second pitch of
the game, a solo home run from Brooke Foster. Canion worked around a
pair of walks and struck out three to get out of the first.
Thumann answered back with a leadoff home run to
begin the bottom of the first, tying the game at 1-1. The blast was her
first of the season and second of her career.
The Lady Bears added three more in the third,
including a two-run shot from Holl, her first of the season. Kathy
Shelton laced a one-out single up the middle and stole second and third
to reach scoring position. Holl then stepped in and
turned on a pitch, sending over the right field wall for a 3-1 lead.
With two outs and runners at second and third, a passed ball got by
Bryana Wade for the third run of the inning.
The Mean Green answered with another solo homer in
the fourth, as Karly Williams hit a one-out home run to left and cut the
Baylor lead in half, 4-2.
Baylor put some distance between itself in UNT in
the bottom of the inning, as Kelsi Kettler and Jordan Strickland each
singled to begin the inning. With one out, Thumann reached on an error
by the first baseman and stole second to reach
scoring position. Shelton then laid down a squeeze bunt that saw
Strickland slide in safely at home, and as Thumann reached third, was
sent home when Shelton forced a throw down to second for a 6-2
advantage.
Shelton added her second RBI of the day with a
single to center that plated Strickland, who singled. Holl followed with
her third RBI, a single to right, and Smith closed out scoring with an
RBI-single of her own to make it 9-2.
North Texas added one final run in seventh on an RBI-double.
The Lady Bears will remain on the road for the Wilson DeMarini Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. on March 1-3. Baylor will begin with a showdown against North Carolina on Friday at 10:00 a.m. and then face North Dakota at 12:30 p.m. CT.
