Kayce Walker awaits a pitch in a March 18, 2010 Baylor win over South Alabama. Walker and the Lady Bears welcomes New Mexico to Waco for a three game series beginning at 4 p.m. today.
By Daniel Wallace
Sports Writer
The Lady Bears’ (5-0) next victory will be not just No. 6 on the young season, but also head coach Glenn Moore’s 400th win at Baylor.
The team will have three chances this weekend to give Moore the historic number. Two of those chances will come today when they play the University of New Mexico Lobos (3-0) at 4 p.m. at Getterman Stadium. The third opportunity will be at 11:30 a.m. Saturday and will close the three-game series against the Lobos.
Moore tried to brush off the milestone and focus on the team. He did, however, give credit to the players he has coached and who have helped him get to this point.
“A lot of players are to be credited with the 400 wins. Last time I checked, I never threw a pitch or hit a ball,” Moore said. Entering today’s games, Moore has a career record of 399-207 (.658) at Baylor and is in his 11th season with the Lady Bears.
Although No. 400 is an honor, Moore and the rest of the team is more focused on No. 6. They want to keep up the success they had last weekend going 5-0 and winning the Getterman Classic Title, and believe they can do so.
“We are very confident with our hitting and our pitching. I think everybody is in the right place, the right mind; we’re very confident with what we have right now,” senior Dani Leal said.
That confidence is backed by a 22-run differential, as the Lady Bears have been solid at the plate and the mound, outscoring their opponents 26-8 this season.
Junior Kayce Walker said the key to beating the Lobos this weekend will be pitching, saying “[it] needs to hold up and be as dominant as last weekend.” She also spoke of the consistency that needs to carry over, referencing the three consecutive one-run innings the team started the game with against Illinois on Sunday to win the Getterman Classic Title.
There are multiple mental keys to beating the Lobos this weekend, as well.
Walker said that giving “110 percent” would be imperative to repeating last weekend’s success.
“Every game we are going to give it our all. You never know when it might be your last game,” Walker stated.
Moore also said one main aspect in winning this weekend will be to focus on Baylor more than the New Mexico team that is coming in with a new head coach and a whirlwind of excitement.
Leal spoke of making sure the team is looking forward and not behind.
“We need to get past the past weekend, because this is a new weekend, and we just need to be ready for whatever they bring,” Leal said.
The not-looking-back strategy has seemed to work well for Leal this season, as she leads the team in average (.545), RBI (6) and total bases (18).
Although Moore has enjoyed the fact his team has not lost this season, he is zoned in on the pitching staff at this point in the season.
“W’s are important this time of year, but developing the pitching staff is key,” he said. The pitching staff he spoke of is led by red shirt sophomore Whitney Canion and sophomore Courtney Repka who boast ERA’s of 0.50 and 1.47, respectively.
Whether it is looked at as No. 6 or No. 400, the next Baylor Lady Bears ‘victory will be one where they leave everything out on the field, the only way they know how to play.
