No. 7 Kaitlyn Thumann crosses third base in the third inning to score the third run for the Baylor Lady Bears in their 10-5 thumping of the Texas Tech Red Raiders Friday night at Baylor’s Getterman Stadium. – Lariat Photo

A six-run sixth inning spurred No. 15 Baylor (39-13, 10-6)to a series-clinching, 10-5 win over Texas Tech (29-26, 3-14)Friday evening at Getterman Stadium.

Kathy Shelton got the Lady Bears offense going in the third with a leadoff triple en route to a four-run inning. Holly Holl drew a walk and stole second to reach scoring position before Thumann laced a single down the left field field line for a 2-0 lead. Smith then followed with an RBI-single to center that scored Thumann from second, giving BU its three-run advantage. Cara Custer came on in relief of starter Gretchen Aucoin and gave up an RBI-single up the middle from Hosack for the 4-0 lead.

Texas Tech Head Coach Shanon Hays expresses his views of a call at home plate in the Red Raiders 10-5 loss to the Baylor Lady Bears Friday night at Getterman Stadium. –Lariat Photo

Junior second baseman Lawton Langford rounds second base and runs hard toward third Sunday against Texas. Baylor swept the three-game series. (Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor)

The Baylor Bears have been on a hot streak recently, riding a five-game winning streak and coming out as the victors in 14 of their last 19 contests.

The Bears look to continue the winning trend this weekend when they travel to Lawrence for a three-game series against the Kansas Jayhawks.

The Jayhawks are sitting in fifth place in the Big 12 with a 9-9 conference record and are 27-18 overall.

“Well, I’ve been following Kansas from afar all season and my thinking, long before today, has been that they looked like they were sizing up to be one of the better teams in our league because of the whole balance of their team,” head coach Steve Smith said. “They’ve got all three starters coming back on the mound, which is always a good thing. They have got some experience in the lineup and they are always good defensively.”

Not only will the Bears be facing a challenging team in the Jayhawks, but they will also have to handle adverse conditions in Lawrence with cold weather. The forecast for Friday through Sunday in Lawrence calls for some chilly baseball weather with highs in the 40s and lows in the 30s with a chance of rain and snow.

“We’ve had a few too many games so far this year in the cold,” senior first baseman Steve DalPorto said. “I’m looking forward to some warm weather but you know, we’re just going to take it one pitch at a time and the cold won’t affect us because they are going to be playing in it too.”

The Bears have played in cold weather before this season in Stillwater against Oklahoma State, so they know how to handle the cold. Despite the experience, playing baseball in the cold is anything but ideal.

“Some people like it and some people don’t,” senior right-handed pitcher Max Garner said. “I usually don’t have a problem staying loose or anything like that, and hitters hate it so that’s good enough for me. It’s kind of just personal opinion or whatever. I don’t mind it and I know [sophomore right-handed pitcher Austin] Stone doesn’t care so we’re just going to go up there and try to throw the ball as well as we have thrown it these last couple of weeks.”

One of the reasons Baylor has been enjoying success on the diamond recently is because of the added production from the entire lineup.

Throughout Tuesday’s 6-4 win against UT Arlington, the back end of the lineup played a major role. The six through nine hitters accounted for four RBIs.

Sophomore designated hitter Duncan Wendel drove in two runs. Sophomore center fielder Adam Toth was 3-4 with a run and an RBI. Toth is now hitting .252 on the season.

“It’s really good to see Toth start to get his game going,” Smith said. “He’s playing with more confidence. I think you know, it’s amazing to me how much more confident he plays when he plays center field.”

Senior first baseman Steve DalPorto was 3-4 with an RBI and a run. DalPorto has a .250 batting average for the year.

“What DalPorto has done, really doesn’t surprise me just because I’ve seen it so many times from guys who were seniors,” Smith said. “The game slows down for them and that’s what he’s doing. He’s having the best part of his game right now and he’s really been good at first base, which at the beginning of the year, was as big of a question mark as we had.”

Baylor is currently second to Oklahoma in the Big 12 standings. The Sooners are 10-5 (.667) in Big 12 play and the Bears are 11-6 with a .647 winning percentage.

With only six Big 12 games left, Baylor wants a back-to-back Big 12 title, but first they must take care of Kansas.

“We are going up there and expecting a lot of close games,” Garner said. “You can say whatever you want about the cold, but they don’t like it either, even though they are from there. We are probably going to expect some low scoring games and just try to pullout a couple of wins. It’s not going to be pretty up there when it’s thirty-something degrees so we just have to find a way.”

Junior catcher Clare Hosack prepares to round third base Thursday night against Texas Tech. (Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer)

In an unusually cold evening, the No. 15 Baylor Lady Bears took care of business with an 8-2 win over Texas Tech on Thursday at Getterman Stadium. The chilly weather didn’t seem to faze the Lady Bears who came out of the dugout with energy.

The Lady Bears scored in four of the six innings of play with everyone in the starting lineup having at least one hit, with the exception of junior left-handed pitcher Whitney Canion. However, Canion made up for it through her solid pitching.

Despite allowing seven walks, Canion allowed four hits and two runs while striking out 12 batters. With runners on bases on multiple occasions, Canion got critical strikeouts to prevent significant damage.

“We were mixing them up quite a bit,” Canion said. “Once I got that change up going, that was pretty nice, but it was nice like that last inning I threw, you work ahead and get out of it quick. I thought my change up was key tonight.”

Junior catcher Clare Hosack made head coach Glenn Moore proud going 3-for-2 and scored two runs.

“I was really happy with Clare Hosack,” Moore said. “That was one of her better outings. Top of the order, bottom of the order, when you can score in any part of your order you feel pretty good about it.”

Baylor jumped out on top in the first inning capitalizing on the early mistakes made by Texas Tech.

Senior center fielder Kathy Shelton began the game by reaching on an error by the second baseman and stole second shortly after to become just one steal shy of Baylor’s single-season record for stolen bases.

After a sacrifice bunt and a ground out, freshman third baseman Sarah Smith reached on an error by the shortstop, and Shelton advanced to third.

With two outs, freshman outfielder Linsey Hays hit a two-run double down the left field line giving Baylor an early lead.

“Coach came in the locker room and told us whoever wants to be out there least is going to lose,” Hays said. “So we made sure we were energized and ready and wanted to jump on them early and get them down.”

The Texas Tech pitching staff struggled and only managed one strikeout between the three pitchers that took the circle during the game.

The Lady Bears’ offense was consistent and continually scored runs. However, Baylor did strand runners on every base during the second inning after back-to-back advances on fielder’s choice.

Texas Tech continued fighting. The Lady Raiders ability to draw walks and get on bases haunted the Lady Bears in the fifth inning. With a seven run lead, Texas Tech scored two runs, which resulted from two leadoff walks. With runners at first and second, Canion threw a critical strikeout to end the inning.

The Lady Raiders cut the lead down to five, but the Lady Bears responded.

Hosack singled to left field after a popped ball to shortstop. With Shelton on base after being hit by the pitch, junior first baseman Holly Holl singled to right field allowing Hosack to score.

After a ground ball, Baylor did it’s job on defense to silence the Lady Raiders.

Baylor will look to clinch the series win against Texas Tech at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Getterman Stadium.

Senior first baseman Steve DalPorto looks to catch the throw to first to record an out Sunday against the Texas Longhorns. Baylor went on to sweep Texas in the three-game series. (Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor)

At one point this season, the Baylor baseball team was struggling with an 11-15 overall record and a 1-3 record in the Big 12. The outlook for the remainder of the season certainly did not seem optimistic, but a Baylor team with a history of success showed resiliency and is now in the hunt to defend its Big 12 Championship.

Since being 11-15, the Bears have been on a tear by winning 14 of their last 19 games to improve to a 25-20 record on the year.

In sports, winning is a contagious attitude, and last year the Bears experienced unprecedented success with a 49-17 season. It solidified the winning culture of Baylor baseball and put the attitude to win into the Baylor DNA.

When this season got off to a slow start, there was no sense of panic at all around Baylor baseball.

Veteran players and key seniors kept the clubhouse held together and positive. Seniors like right fielder Nathan Orf, third baseman Cal Towey, shortstop Jake Miller, first baseman Steve DalPorto, right-handed pitcher Crayton Bare and right-handed pitcher Max Garner have been the steady producers that have sparked Baylor’s recent run of success this season and their current five-game winning streak.

Whether the Bears are struggling or winning, the message and the mindset for the team remain the same.

“We try to win each pitch really,” Orf said. “In trying to do that and the trials that you’re going to go through, you just have to learn as much as you can, especially early on. I think if we win each pitch and have that mentality to compete each pitch and do learn each game by game for the year, then we are going to be quite a tough team to play against.”

Veteran players like Orf and Towey have certainly carried their fair share of the load the season.

Orf is batting a team-high .389 with 26 RBI, 29 runs, a slugging percentage of .463 and an on-base percentage of .481.

Towey has been the Bears’ best run producer this season with a team-high 42 RBIs and a .307 batting average. Orf and Towey are the only Baylor players with an above .300 batting average.

Orf and Towey have been the main carriers of the offense this season, but other players have definitely stepped up to help the Bears win this season.

“That’s what you hope to build as the season goes on,” associate head coach Steve Johnigan said. “You want one through nine to contribute because it’s hard for just two, three, four guys to do it. It’s very encouraging for those guys to come off this weekend and then swing it well going into Lawrence this weekend with a positive feeling. It’s nothing but good for our team.”

On Tuesday night, the back end of the Baylor lineup played a decisive role in leading the Bears to a 6-4 victory over UT Arlington. Baylor’s sixth through ninth hitters in the lineup combined to go 8-12 at the plate.

Sophomore center fielder Adam Toth had a monumental day with a career-high three hits. Toth also drove in a run and scored two runs himself.

“I think guys without much experience realize that they can play at this level and it’s not much different than any other level,” Orf said. “It’s just the same game of baseball, so guys realize they can do it and results show that.”

Sophomore designated hitter Duncan Wendel drove in two runs, and senior first baseman Steve DalPorto racked up three hits, a run and an RBI. Junior catcher Brett Doe was 2-4 with a run scored.

“It’s a very different team,” Wendel said. “It’s really just sticking with everybody’s approach of single, get a hit here and get a hit here. Instead of get the big hit here that’s the double or whatever. We’re just trying to be who we are. We have confidence in every single hitter, which is definitely nice. Whoever’s up at the plate is going to do their best job to get the run in and it’s been working so far.”

With the Baylor lineup seeing production from top to bottom, Baylor baseball is trending in the right direction with a five-game winning streak.

The Bears are also in the hunt for the Big 12 title. Oklahoma is currently in first place with a .667 winning percentage reflected in a 10-5 league record.

Baylor is just barely behind Oklahoma with a .647 winning percentage and 11-6 Big 12 Conference record.

With six regular-season Big 12 games remaining on the last seven games of the schedule, there are still plenty of opportunities for the Bears to take care of business and win a second-straight Big 12 Championship.

First the Bears travel to Kansas this weekend for a three-game series.

Then the Bears get an extended break in the schedule due to final exams.

The Bears host UTSA on May 14 in their last nonconference game of the season.

Baylor wraps up Big 12 play and the regular season with a road trip to Lubbock for a three-game series against Texas Tech.

Baylor Softball competes in the Miken Classic against Texas A&M Corpus Christi on Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013. Baylor beat the Islanders 7-0 and claimed the Miken Classic Title with a 3-0 win over Pacific on Sunday.
Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer

The No. 15 Baylor Lady Bears hope to end their season on a high note by sweeping against the Texas Tech Lady Raiders. The series will begin at 7 p.m. today and will finish at noon Saturday in Getterman Stadium.

The Lady Raiders (29-24, 3-12 Big 12) have only won three of their last 15 games, which included a nine-game losing streak. The team has scored more runs than Kansas and Oklahoma State, but its offense has been in a slump, hitting .219 in Big 12 play. Texas Tech does have some power hitters, tying Kansas with the second-most home runs with 11.

Texas Tech has been susceptible to great pitching, so Baylor’s pitching staff must take advantage of the situation. Baylor has a 2.87 ERA, which is the third-highest in the Big 12. The staff has combined for 120 strikeouts and allowed 55 runs. Junior left-handed pitcher Whitney Canion and freshman right-handed pitcher Heather Stearns have put Baylor in positions to win. Combined with senior right-handed pitcher Courtney Repka and junior right-handed pitcher Liz Paul, the pitching staff has 17 games with double-digit strikeouts this season.

Canion and Stearns are both ranked in the top 10 in pitching during Big 12 play. Canion has a 2.54 ERA and Stearns follows with 2.91. However, Canion has a winning record at 6-3, while Stearns is 2-2 in Big 12 play. Both pitchers need to play at their best to not only better their stats, but also to win.

Texas Tech’s pitching is No. 6 in the Big 12 with a 3.67 ERA. All of its pitchers have losing records against Big 12 competition. The ace, pitcher Cara Custer (2-9), has struck out 36, but allowed 61 hits and 41 runs.

Baylor’s offense needs to get a boost from the play of senior center fielder Kathy Shelton. Shelton has 34 steals for the year and is two away from a Baylor single-season record.

Shelton already recorded her name in the record books with her 114 career steals. Sophomore outfielder Kaitlyn Thumann leads the team with a .378 batting average and ties Shelton for the most hits with 62.

Despite her recent slump, freshman third baseman Sarah Smith is still hitting .368 and leads the team with five home runs. In addition to the home runs, Smith has scored 14 runs while contributing 50 hits and 24 RBIs.

Freshman outfielder Linsey Hays and junior first baseman Holly Holl have each hit four home runs. Hays has 31 RBIs, which leads the team.

The Lady Raiders only have four players batting above .250 with Katelyn Williams leading the team with a .275 batting average. Mikey Kenny is batting .237, but leads the team with 9 runs and 12 RBIs in Big 12 play.

Baylor must finish business and take care of Texas Tech and carry that momentum for a lone game against Texas before ending Big 12 play.

Baylor softball takes on the University of Houston in a doubleheader at Getterman Softball Stadium on Tuesday, April 23, 2013.
Travis Taylor | Lariat Photographer

With the season winding down, the No. 15 Baylor Lady Bears are preparing to make a run for the NCAA Tournament. However, Baylor still needs to take care of business within the Big 12 Conference in order to gain favorable position for the end of the season.

Baylor (37-13, 8-6 Big 12) is currently third in the Big 12 behind Oklahoma and Texas.

Oklahoma and Texas hold the tiebreaker over Baylor due to series wins, so in the event of a tie, Baylor would lose out.

However, a tie is unlikely because Oklahoma’s lone loss was to Texas and the only two losses Texas suffered were against Oklahoma.

It is critical for the Lady Bears to sweep Texas Tech because of the Lady Raiders’ recent struggles.

With a game against Texas still on the schedule, Baylor must take advantage of Texas Tech’s recent slump to overtake the Longhorns in the standings.

Texas Tech is last in the conference pitching and sixth in batting whereas Baylor is third in both categories.

The real key to watch out for in the Big 12 is the matchup between Oklahoma and Texas. Oklahoma is first in batting, but second in pitching whereas Texas is first in pitching and second in batting.

Texas pitcher Blaire Luna leads the Big 12 with a 1.18 ERA and has struck out 107 Big 12 batters. However, Oklahoma has a one-two punch with Keilani Ricketts and Michelle Gascoigne who have only lost one game between them. Luna, however, has lost two.

Oklahoma is a powerhouse with five batters in the top 10 in the Big 12 Conference in terms of batting average. The first three batters are all from the Sooners with two of them hitting better than .500.

Infielder Lauren Chamberlain was on a tear early in the season, averaging a home run every other game. Infielder Shelby Pendley has hit nine home runs in conference games, and Chamberlain has hit six.

Despite Baylor’s losses to Oklahoma and Texas, the games have been competitive. Most of the runs scored were due to errors and defensive breakdowns.

For example, during the first game against Oklahoma, the No. 1 team in the nation, Baylor committed two critical errors.

Baylor also committed an error in the second game that led to runs that cost the Lady Bears the game.

With the pitching ranks dominated by Oklahoma and Texas, junior left-handed pitcher Whitney Canion and freshman right-handed pitcher Heather Stearns have been effective for Baylor.

Stearns has struggled against Big 12 teams, going 2-2, but has still struck out 48 while allowing only 15 walks and 14 earned runs. Canion has a 2.54 ERA in Big 12 play and has struck out 64 batters. She has walked 27 batters, but her number of walks allowed has been decreasing.

Against Kansas, Canion only allowed seven and against Oklahoma State, Canion gave up three.

While she allowed more walks against Kansas, Oklahoma State’s offense is ranked sixth in the Big 12 compared to Kansas’, which is ranked fifth.

Kansas also has a better on-base percentage at .342 compared to .338 for Oklahoma State.

Senior center fielder Kathy Shelton and sophomore outfielder Kaitlyn Thumann have been effective on offense.

Shelton has displayed her senior leadership by her play. Shelton is first in the Big 12 in triples with two and also leads the Big 12 in stolen bases with 10 during Big 12 play.

Shelton is also No. 4 in Big 12 in runs scored, keeping pace with Oklahoma and Texas players this season.

Kansas is still fighting for the third spot, but the Jayhawks still have to play a series against Oklahoma and Iowa State. Oklahoma is not a favorable matchup because of the talent on that club.

Kansas’ struggle against Canion dropped them from the No. 1 batting team in the Big 12 to No. 5.

Ricketts is undefeated in Big 12 play and has struck out 67 while giving up 10 runs and Gascoigne’s only loss came against the Texas Longhorns, but she has struck out 26 batters while giving up only eight runs.

Baylor’s last conference game is against Texas. A win is critical to help Baylor’s seeding because the Longhorns have a strong team.

The Longhorns have two pitchers in the top-five in Big 12 play, Luna and Kim Bruins, but they are also strong on offense.

Outfielder Taylor Hoagland is first in runs scored and shortstop Taylor Thom is first in hits.

If Canion can quiet down the offense and turn the matchup into a pitchers duel, Baylor has a chance, but Baylor’s offense cannot be in a slump.

Baylor Baseball opens six-game home stand against Louisiana Tech on Tuesday, March 5 at the Baylor Ballpark.
Monica Lake | Lariat Photographer

The Baylor Bears defeated UT Arlington 6-4 Tuesday night at Clay Gould Ballpark to move to a season-high five games over .500 with a 25-20 overall record.

Freshman left-handed pitcher Sterling Wynn started on the mound for the Baylor Bears. Wynn has a 5.84 ERA this season and has a 0-1 record. This was only Wynn’s ninth appearance of the season and his eighth start of the season. Wynn has been battling a blister on his pitching hand that has kept him off the mound.

Wynn showed a little bit of rust by walking UT Arlington’s leadoff batter Ryan Walker. He then threw a wild pitch to the next batter to allow Walker to advance to second base.

Then Wynn struck out the next batter, but UT Arlington’s cleanup hitter, Matt Shortall, hit a two-run homer to right field to give the Mavericks an early 2-0 lead. Despite giving up the two-run home run, Wynn struck out the next three batters to end the frame.

With one out in the bottom of the second inning and with two runners on board, the Bears went to the bullpen early, and sophomore right-handed pitcher Sean Spicer took the mound. He would go on to earn the win for the Bears.

In the top of the third, the Baylor offense broke through with two runs to tie the game 2-2. Senior first baseman Steve DalPorto singled to left field, and then junior catcher Brett Doe singled to right field to put runners on both first and second. Junior second baseman Lawton Langford grounded out to third, but DalPorto advanced to third and Doe moved to second base.

Senior third baseman Cal Towey hit a sacrifice fly to left field to score DalPorto. Then senior right fielder Nathan Orf laced a double down the left field line to bring in Doe.

In the top of the fourth, Baylor scored one more run to take a 3-2 lead. Sophomore center fielder Adam Toth doubled to left field and then moved to third base on a wild pitch. Sophomore designated hitter Duncan Wendel grounded out to shortstop for a RBI, and Toth scored. Toth finished the day 3-4 with two runs and an RBI.

Toth sparked the offense once again in the top of the sixth inning with a single to the left side. Toth ran the bases with aggression to eventually score Baylor’s fourth run of the game. Toth stole second base and then advanced to third base on a throwing error by the catcher. Wendel then reached base on a ground ball to short and was safe after a throwing error by the shortstop. Toth was able to score on the play.

In the top of the eighth, Baylor added on two more insurance that would prove to be vital down the stretch. Orf singled through to the left side, and then junior left fielder Grayson Porter singled to left. Toth continued his solid day at the plate by singling to right to score Orf. DalPorto followed up with a single to right center field and Porter scored to give Baylor a 6-2 lead.

In the bottom of the ninth, Baylor got into trouble and those two insurance runs in the top of the eighth proved to be crucial. Junior right-handed pitcher Josh Michalec allowed a single and then earned an out on a groundout to third. Then Michalec walked a batter.

UT Arlington put another runner on base after a fielder’s choice when senior shortstop Jake Miller got the second out of the inning at second base. After an RBI single, Michalec walked two more batters to bring in another UT Arlington run and to make the score 6-4. With the bases loaded, Baylor head coach Steve Smith went to the bullpen and brought in senior left-handed pitcher Crayton Bare to preserve the win and seal the victory.

Bare struck out the first batter he faced for the final out of the game and to give Baylor the 6-4 win despite the late drama.

The Bears are now 2-0 on the season against UT Arlington and continue Big 12 play this weekend with a three-game road series against the Kansas Jayhawks. The Bears are battling to defend their Big 12 Championship with an 11-6 conference record and are just behind Oklahoma for the conference lead.

Junior second baseman Lawton Langford reaches out to hit the ball Sunday against the Texas Longhorns. The Bears swept the three-game series. (Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor)

The Baylor baseball team swept the Texas Longhorns over the weekend by winning all three games over the weekend.

“It’s always good to win and always good to win at home,” senior shortstop Jake Miller said. “We’ve got to take advantage of home field advantage. It’s huge and now that we’ve got a good winning streak going and with two road series, hopefully we can take advantage of that.”

On Friday, with senior right-handed pitcher Max Garner making his final home Big 12 start, the Bears handled Texas 6-2. Garner pitched seven and one-third innings and was in total command by only conceding two runs off of five hits.

On Saturday, sophomore right-handed pitcher Austin Stone had a gem of a start and propelled the Bears to a 1-0 victory. Stone pitched six scoreless innings

The Bears capped off the three-game series sweep on Sunday with a 5-2 victory. Sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan Smith went six and two-thirds innings and only allowed two runs off of six hits.

“It’s always a big deal sweeping them, and it just keeps us in the race,” Ryan Smith said. “We’re in the race right now and we just have to keep playing tough and winning ball games. We’ve got to play tough and confident.”

The true star of the weekend was junior second baseman Lawton Langford. He was named Big 12 Player of the Week on Monday. It’s the first time Langford has ever won the award. Throughout the week, Baylor went 4-0 (by defeating Dallas Baptist on Tuesday and then sweeping Texas) and Langford played a key role in the Baylor offense for those four victories.

Langford hit .438 on the week by going 7-16 with six RBIs. He also scored three runs, had a double, three walks and two steals.

“It’s really just the guys in front of me getting on base and I just come up at the right times,” Langford said. “Every time I’m up there, someone’s on base, so the guys in front of me are doing a good job of getting on.”

Baylor’s core group of seniors has also been productive and central pieces to the team’s success so far this season.

The team has three senior starters who have been crucial to leading the team.

Senior right fielder Nathan Orf is batting .388 with 28 runs scored. Third baseman Cal Towey is hitting .311 with a team-leading 41 RBIs. Towey also leads the team with a .500 slugging percentage. Shortstop Jake Miller’s defense has been vital, and Miller has an on-base percentage of .347.

“We’ve just got to keep plugging away and this weekend kind of summed up our team,” Miller said. “We’re not going to give any at bats away. We’re going to keep grinding and we’re not going to look at the stat sheet but all we know is that if we keep winning, then our chances of advancing to the postseason are greater. If we win in the Big 12, then there is still a chance that we could get that title back.”

The Bears are 24-20 overall and are in second place in the Big 12 standings with a conference record of 11-6.

The Bears now hit the road for four consecutive games as they play against UT Arlington today and then travel to Lawrence for a three-game set against Kansas over the weekend.

“We’ve played some really good folks and right now we are just playing for Tuesday and playing for the league,” head coach Steve Smith said. “It’s an unusual season for the league.”

Softball vs Illinois State at Getterman Stadium on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013.
Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

The No. 14 Baylor Lady Bears took sole possession of third place in the Big 12 after a dramatic victory over the Kansas Jayhawks on Sunday.

Baylor won the series against the Jayhawks after splitting a double-header on Saturday.

“I am proud of the way this team fought through adversity,” head coach Glenn Moore said. “We treated this game with a lot of importance, so credit Kansas for giving us everything we could handle.”

Junior left-handed pitcher Whitney Canion hit a home run, which sparked in her offense. After hitting a home run in the fifth inning of the first game of the series, Canion followed with a single that scored additional runs. She also hit a critical lead off single in the third game, which led to an eventual score.

Canion was also effective inside the circle. Allowing only two walks, five hits and one run, Canion was hoping for a shutout during game one, but a home run to right field from shortstop Chaley Brickey put Kansas on the scoreboard.

With the series tied, Baylor had a four run lead over Kansas leading to the bottom of the seventh, but Kansas game fighting back in hopes of preventing a Baylor victory.

Canion allowed a lead off walk, but then back-to-back singles following an error led to a multiple Kansas scores.

With two outs and a runner on third, Canion came through and delivered a strikeout to win the game.

“It’s lowering,” Canion said in regards to allowing walks. “It’s better than what it has been. I just have to keep working at it.”

Baylor’s offense came alive during the series as they recorded double-digit hits in two of the three games.

During the first game, Baylor had 13 hits and six runs in the first game. Sophomore shortstop Jordan Strickland went 2-3 with two runs.

Freshman infielder Robin Landrith had a strong outing with a double in the third game that led to a run and went 2-3 in the first game with a RBI.

Sophomore outfielder Kaitlyn Thumann had struggled hitting, but made the hits when it counted.

Thumann doubled to left field allowing two scores and widening a narrow lead in game one. Thumann also hit a home run, which helped Baylor maintain a lead despite a late offensive surge by Kansas.

Baylor was able to get hits late in the game. Unlike the game against Houston, Baylor scored most of their points after the fourth inning.

“When you make a pitcher throw a lot of pitches, she’s going to get worn down and hopefully make most their mistakes,” senior center fielder Kathy Shelton said.

Baylor is now in third place in the Big 12 trailing No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 7 Texas.

The Lady Bears have four conference games left to play: a three game series against Texas Tech and a lone game against Texas.

It is critical for Baylor to sweep Texas Tech and take advantage of playing the team placed last in the Big 12.

With hopes of going to another NCAA tournament, Baylor needs to continue winning and paddings its numbers.

Baylor will be the favorite against Texas Tech because it has only won three conference games, one against Oklahoma State and two against Iowa State for the series win.

Texas is second in the Big 12 with a 12-2 record with its only losses coming against Oklahoma.

Baylor was competitive in the previous two games against Texas, but made costly errors that the team couldn’t overcome.

Texas had already won the series due to winning the first two games, but a big win against the No. 7 team in the national can not only help Baylor’s tournament seeding, but also it can give the team confidence moving forward.

No. 20 infielder Jake Miller slides into second base during the game against Sam Houston State on Tuesday, Mar. 19, 2013, at the Baylor Ballpark. The Bears were upset by the Bearkats 4-2.
Matt Hellman | Lariat Photo Editor

The Baylor baseball team capped off a three-game sweep against the Texas Longhorns with a 5-2 win Sunday afternoon at Baylor Ballpark. For the last home Big 12 series, the Baylor seniors went out with a bang by sweeping Texas.

Senior shortstop Jake Miller was 2-4 and scored a run. Senior third baseman Cal Towey had two RBIs and was also 2-4. Senior right fielder Nathan Orf was 1-3 with a RBI as well.

“But seriously, the difference between these two teams is seniors,” head coach Steve Smith said. “We’ve got 10 or so seniors and they’ve had one senior appear in a game this year. That’s just a different team. They’ve lost some guys in the draft and we’ve had guys that have either chosen to stay or were just a tick below what somebody wanted and they were good enough for us.”

Sophomore right-handed pitcher Ryan Smith took the mound and had the longest outing of his young career by going six and two-thirds innings and only allowing two runs.

“It’s always a big deal sweeping them and it just keeps us in the race,” Ryan Smith said. “We’re in the race right now and be just have to keep playing tough and winning ball games. We’ve got to play tough and confident. That’s about all we’ve got to do.”

Smith struck out three and only walked one batter. The Longhorns earned six hits off of Smith but in the end, Smith received credit for the win with his strong starting pitching performance.

In the bottom of third, Baylor scored their first run of the game. Junior second baseman Lawton Langford hit a ground ball single to centerfield and then Towey singled to right to advance Langford to third. Orf drove a 2-2 pitch down the left field line for a double and Langford scored to give Baylor a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the fifth, freshman designated hitter Mitch Price singled to right field and then senior catcher Brett Doe bunted for a hit. Then Langford bunted, but Price was thrown out at third base trying to advance. Next there was a wild pitch and the runners advanced to second and third base. Towey then singled to right to drive in two runs to give Baylor a 3-0 lead.

In the top of the sixth, Texas scored its first run of the game. Right fielder Mark Payton drew a walk from Ryan Smith and then catcher Jacob Felts singled to left field to drive in Payton and give Texas its first score of the game.

In the top of the seventh, Texas tacked on one more final run. With two outs, Smith struck out Texas center fielder Weston Hall but Hall was able to advance safely to first on the wild pitch. The next Longohrns batter, second baseman Brooks Marlow, singled to right field to put runners on the corners. Shortstop C.J. Hinojosa outran a dribbler to the gap between third base and the shortstop to be safe at first for a hit. The hit drove in Hall to give Texas its second run and cut into the 3-2 Baylor lead.

In the bottom of the eighth, Baylor scored two more insurance runs to take a permanent 5-2 lead. Against right-handed Texas relief pitcher Corey Knebel, one of the best pitchers in the nation, Jake Miller doubled to center field, and then sophomore center fielder Adam Toth drew a walk. Senior first baseman Steve DalPorto singled to center to drive in Miller and then sophomore pinch hitter Duncan Wendel doubled to the left center field gap to give Baylor a 5-2 lead.

Junior left-handed pitcher Doug Ashby came in after Ryan Smith and gave Baylor four outs before turning to ball over to senior lefty Crayton Bare for the save. Bare struck out three and sealed the win and the sweep for the Bears.

“We’ve just got to keep plugging away, and this weekend kind of summed up our team,” Miller said. “We’re not going to give any at bats away. We’re going to keep grinding and we’re not going to look at the stat sheet but all we know is that if we keep winning, then our chances of advancing to the postseason are greater. If we win in the Big 12, then there is still a chance that we could get that title back. That’s what we’re working for and the seniors are sticking together and we are just trying to guide the young guys through this.”

On Tuesday, the Baylor Bears hit the road for a 6:35 p.m. game against UT Arlington. With a 24-20 overall record and an 11-6 Big 12 Conference record, these last eight games are pivotal for Baylor. The Bears are riding a four-game winning streak and are just behind Oklahoma in the race for the Big 12 title.