By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
After then-unranked Baylor softball took down No. 1 University of Oklahoma, the two-time defending national champions, by a score of 4-3 on Sunday, junior right-handed pitcher Dariana Orme said “this team is just rolling” right now.
That’s one way to say it. The Bears (8-1) have done what head coach Glenn Moore said they would do: rank in the top-25 this season. D1Softball announced its rankings on Monday, and Baylor was selected as the 23rd best team in the country.
Sunday’s performance at Getterman Stadium cannot be overlooked. It was probably the best win in Baylor softball history, with the only other win against a No. 1 team earned in 2009 when the Bears took down the University of Florida 1-0 in Gainesville, Fla.
Kenneth Prabhakar | Photo Editor
This win has to top that, though, as the Sooners (8-1) are one of the most dominant collegiate softball programs of all time. They’ve won five of the last nine national championships and are coming off two-straight seasons in which they only lost a combined seven games.
Even though it’s early in the year and upsets like this tend to happen, there’s something special potentially brewing in Waco this season. Orme has the looks of being one of the top ace pitchers in the Big 12 if she stays healthy. The lineup found its power element with the addition of sophomore infielder Shaylon Govan, and there’s not a bat around her that should be taken lightly.
Baylor Athletics announced Sunday’s contest was sold out, which was due in large part to the Oklahoma faithful that traveled down from Norman, Okla. If this Bears squad showed anything this weekend, it’s that all of those seats at the ballpark should be filled with green and gold moving forward.
It’s not often that a team gets the opportunity to take on the top-ranked program in the country, let alone to beat one. But Moore did the same thing he did last year, scheduling the Sooners in the non-conference slate to be given a chance.
Why? Because an inferior team doesn’t lose in that scenario. It’ll either gain a lot of experience from a loss or rejoice in the thrill of doing the unthinkable. Well, Baylor put its footprint on the map over the weekend and has a chance to continue building toward something unique in 2023.
That next opportunity comes this weekend when the Bears will host their Baylor Invitational from Friday to Sunday at Getterman Stadium. The green and gold will face off against the University of Minnesota at 3 p.m. Friday in the first half of a doubleheader. Baylor’s second game will be versus No. 21 University of Maryland at 5:30 p.m.
This is still a young team, but as Moore said in January, it’ll have experience. That growth is already starting to show, and there’s no telling what’s in store for this group. The squad doesn’t appear to be complacent with the splashy, non-conference win over the Sooners. They believe they can do it again and that they’ll continue making noise in the coming weeks.
