Story by Ben Everett | Sports Writer, Video by Branson Hardcastle | Broadcast Reporter
No. 21-ranked Baylor softball shutout Kansas 6-0 Sunday afternoon at Getterman Stadium to complete the series sweep.
Sophomore third baseman Goose McGlaun led the way for the Lady Bears (29-13, 7-6) in a dominant win over the Jayhawks (25-21, 0-12).
McGlaun finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs and junior left fielder Kyla Walker contributed three hits and three runs in the win.
Baylor head coach Glenn Moore said they played good softball this weekend, but the key is trying to get better each game.
“Complete weekend, for sure,” Moore said. “We played solid ball, not perfect. But again, we’re going in the right direction having slumped really bad a couple weeks back. They’ve really focused on playing against themselves, really, and trying to be better every game. And I think they’ve done that, and we’ve got to continue in that incline.”
Walker singled on her first at-bat and McGlaun notched an RBI single to left field to drive in Walker and give the Lady Bears an 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
Senior catcher Carlee Wallace and sophomore second baseman Nicky Dawson each picked up singles later in the inning to load the bases, but Baylor left all three runners stranded at the end of the first.
In the bottom of the second, Walker notched her second hit of the game, this time a double to left center. Senior first baseman Shelby Friudenberg singled up the middle to bring Walker home and put Baylor up 2-0. Later in the inning, sophomore shortstop Taylor Ellis launched an RBI single to score Friudenberg and give the Lady Bears a 3-0 lead.
After Walker and senior center fielder Jessie Scroggins reached on a fielder’s choice and walk, respectively, McGlaun delivered her third hit of the day to pick up two more RBIs and put Baylor up 5-0 in the bottom of the fourth. Ellis added to her stat line in the inning with an RBI single that scored Friudenberg and cemented the Lady Bears lead at 6-0.
Junior starting pitcher Gia Rodoni went 6 1/3 innings, giving up just four hits while striking out seven batters on the day.
McGlaun said that when Rodoni is pitching like she did today, Baylor is hard to beat.
“I thought Gia did great on the mound and we backed her up pretty well on defense and then we hit the ball,” McGlaun said. “Any time that happens and Gia throws like that we should come out with the W. It’s awesome to have people behind you and in front of you in the lineup that you know will get it done whatever you need them to do. That’s huge as we go into postseason.”
The Lady Bears are back in action this week as they play a doubleheader against Houston starting at 4 p.m. Tuesday in Houston.
