By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
No. 25 Baylor softball is coming off one of its best weekends ever, and it has another chance to prove itself. The Bears upset then-No. 1 University of Oklahoma on Sunday to appear in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll.
Head coach Glenn Moore has drawn national attention since his team is now ranked for the first time in two years. It also helps to take down a No. 1 team for the first time since the program did it in 2009.
Moore said “upsets happen” and that his team was in a good spot to do it. Now, he said the team needs to be ready for what’s to come.
“Now, they have a target on their back and we have to get back to work,” Moore said. “We can’t just sit on one win, because going downhill from here would ruin all of that, so I really have loved the practice this week — a lot of focus, a lot of getting better and working on the things that we needed to work on.”
Baylor (8-1) will host its Baylor Invitational, which runs from Friday through Sunday at Getterman Stadium. The Bears’ first game is against another ranked opponent in No. 21 University of Maryland at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.
The Bears have stepped on to the national scene and have another opportunity on Friday to snag a ranked win. Before beating the Sooners (8-1), Baylor had lost to its only other ranked foe of the season, No. 7 University of Arkansas, 11-7, on Feb. 12 in Las Vegas.
“I love playing ranked teams because there’s really nothing you can lose against them,” junior utility Emily Hott said. “The only option is getting better. So, having a team like Maryland come in, and with the good pitcher that they have, it’s just another opportunity to let us go out there and challenge ourselves.”
Right-handed pitcher Dariana Orme will get her fifth start of the season in the circle. Orme (3-1), who was named the NFCA National Pitcher of the Week and the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week, tossed Baylor’s first even-inning perfect game ever last Friday in a 3-0 win over Stephen F. Austin State University.
Orme followed that performance two days later by allowing zero earned runs versus the high-powered Sooners. In 17 innings of action so far this season, Orme has only allowed two runs on 13 hits, while striking out 17 batters and walking four. She possesses a 0.82 ERA through the four starts.
After battling through a right arm injury and nerve damage in her ribs, Orme has found her way in the circle for the Bears. Moore said in addition to getting the start versus the Terrapins (8-1), she’ll see her pitch count upped to around the 100-pitch range, which is about 20 more than what she’s been pitching over the last two weeks.
“We’re still in a protect-mode for her to a degree, and I think it’s prudent that our bullpen is prepared for that and ready to go in whenever we call on them,” Moore said.
Sophomore infielder Amber Toven said she doesn’t take Orme’s throwing ability for granted.
“I can just count on her to get the job done every time and I’m just there to back her up and have her back every single pitch that she throws,” Toven said. “It just amazes me every time she steps into that circle and deals every single inning.”
Moore said this team had the tools to be a Top 25 team back in January, and he knows “the potential is certainly there.” However, now that the Bears have proven themselves, he knows that just means they have to keep it going.
“Like I’ve always said, potential means you haven’t done anything yet,” Moore said. “We’ve done something already, but we have to prove that [the win over OU] wasn’t an accident by continuing to show up every time we come out on the field.”
Moore said he had publications from all over the country calling him and trying to talk with him after the big win over the weekend. He said the buzz around the squad “is real,” even though he’s experienced it with previous teams.
Since it’s been a few years since that type of energy has surrounded one of Moore’s groups, he said he “challenged the team to bring that back.”
“They’re responsible for the buzz being here. They’re responsible for the crowd getting into it. We can’t ask fans to come out here and cheer us on if they don’t have anything to cheer for. [On] Sunday, we gave them plenty to cheer for and they responded. That’s where the buzz comes from, the performance on the field.”
The Bears will face off against Maryland before a nightcap against the University of Minnesota on Friday at Getterman Stadium. The final team in the tournament is Texas A&M University-Commerce, and Baylor will meet them at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. The remaining matchups will be determined based on results from the first three contests.
