By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
After taking two of three games earlier in the weekend, the Bears found themselves on the wrong end of a perfect game against No. 3 Oklahoma following a dominant win over Hofstra to end the Getterman Classic on Sunday at Getterman Stadium.
No. 23 Baylor (6-4) was on the other end when senior right-handed pitcher Sam Landry threw the 22nd perfect game in Oklahoma softball history and the second this season, following senior teammate Isabella Smith’s outing against California Baptist on February 7.
“When you see a team like that and face a pitcher like that, they’re going to expose weaknesses that other pitchers on the weaker teams will not,” head coach Glenn Moore said. “You see these types of teams that are traditionally not only in postseason for them, but national championship teams for years. So, when you see those teams, you know you’re measuring yourself against the best.”
The third-ranked Sooners (10-0) finished the Getterman Classic undefeated against the three-team field.
The loss makes the Bears’ record 11-56 all-time against the powerhouse program, losing the last eight meetings going back to Feb. 19, 2023, when the Bears defeated the Sooners 4-3 in Waco.
The final day of the weekend invitational started in the right direction for Baylor, defeating Hofstra (0-5) in five innings with an RBI triple from freshman left fielder Karynton Dawson to invoke a mercy rule with a score of 11-3.
The team battled back and forth, with a 3-3 tie heading into the third inning. Senior third baseman Turiya Coleman created separation with a solo home run, her first with the Bears. The green and gold would then crank out four consecutive hits, leading to three more runs batted in for senior right fielder Ashlyn Wachtendorf and junior center fielder Brooklyn Carter.
“We have that kind of offense, it’s capable of feeding off of each other” Moore said. “Tariya started us off with that home run, and we just put the gas pedal down and didn’t let up in that game.”
The floodgates flung open for Baylor, scoring another five unanswered for the rest of the game.
In the circle, freshman right-handed pitchers Lexie Warncke and Sadie Ross ate up most of the day’s innings. Warncke would deal the first complete game of her collegiate career, allowing three runs across five innings of work.
“They were both too high in the zone, and they got punished a little bit by hanging it too high in the zone,” Moore said. “I saw both of those pitchers like positive adjustments in the right direction and have better innings as a result of it.”
After playing against two top-25 teams, the Bears have five more ranked teams ahead of them. Moore has focused on getting better, even if that means dropping some games, including some to the best in the nation.
“It’s the process. We can’t be outcome-oriented right now,” Moore said. “We’ve got to think in the moment. We’re having to have small victories.”
The Bears will be back out for the Mary Nutter Classic in Palm Springs, Calif., with a doubleheader against Nevada at noon and No. 17 Nebraska at 4:30 Thursday.
