OKLAHOMA CITY — No. 17/16 Baylor softball (36-16, 12-6 Big 12) battled late, but couldn’t overcome an early push by No. 3/3 Oklahoma (50-3, 18-0 Big 12), dropping a 6-4 decision in the championship game of the Big 12 softball tournament on Saturday afternoon at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium.
Gia Rodoni (22-11) worked the complete game for the Lady Bears in the circle, battling with the NPF No. 1 draft pick, LHP Paige Lowary, for OU.
The Sooners grabbed an early advantage, plating two unearned runs in the home half of the first.
The Lady Bears battled back, scratching out a run in the top of the third.
Taylor Ellis led off with a single to left, advancing to second on a groundout by Jessie Scroggins.
With two outs, Shelby Friudenberg poked a single through the left side of the infield, scoring Ellis from second to cut the Sooner lead to two.
OU responded with a three-spot in the home half of the third, coming on a three-run bomb by tournament MVP, Nicole Pendley.
Down to their last two trips to the plate, the Lady Bears caught a spark in the top of the sixth, with Scroggins leading off with a single down the left field line.
Kyla Walker squared up a triple to the wall in right center, scoring Scroggins from first.
Friudenberg drew a walk, with Madi O’Neal entering to run at first.
Goose McGlaun traded places with O’Neal on a fielder’s choice RBI, scoring Walker on the play.
Carlee Wallace drew a hit by pitch, taking a fastball off her helmet to put two on with two outs.
Alyssa Avalos came on to run for McGlaun at second, with both Avalos and Wallace advancing into scoring position on a wild pitch.
Maddison Kettler came up clutch for the Lady Bears, lacing a single to centerfield that scored Avalos, cutting the OU lead to 5-4 entering the home half of the sixth.
The Sooners would claw back a run in the inning, bumping the lead back to 6-4. Down to their final three outs, the Lady Bears hit three-straight groundouts, with the upset bid coming up short to the two-time defending national champs.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Maddison Kettler, Gia Rodoni, and Kyla Walker represented Baylor on the All-Tournament Team.
- Baylor advanced to the tournament title game for the first time in program history, recording its best-ever finish as the runner-up of the 2018 Big 12 Softball Championship.
- Baylor moves to 14-25 all-time in Big 12 tournament play.
- Facing Paige Lowary, the 2018 No. 1 overall draft pick of the National Professional Fastpitch league, the Lady Bears pushed across four earned runs. Lowary had only allowed eight all season entering the contest.
- Kyla Walker matched career highs in both hitting streaks and on base streaks, now at 11 games in both categories.
- Kyla Walker collected the eighth triple of her career, drawing her even with Sarah Caudle (2000-2003) for the No. 4 spot on BU’s career leaderboard in triples, one off of a three-way tie for the top spot.
- Maddison Kettler picked up her seventh multi-hit game of the season, bumping her career total up to 25.
- Kettler led the Baylor offense on the weekend, hitting .556 and tying for the most RBIs with three.
WHAT’S NEXT
Baylor will await its path through postseason, hosting a public watch party for the 2018 NCAA Selection Show on Sunday, May 13, at 9 p.m. in the Stone Room at the Ferrell Center. The show begins at 9 p.m. on ESPN 2, with doors opening at 8:30 p.m.
