By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
After the recent outings junior right-handed pitcher Dariana Orme has given No. 25 Baylor softball, it was only right for her offense to give her run support when she gave up a few runs.
In the last ten days, Orme has twirled a perfect game, helped clamp down then-No. 1 University of Oklahoma and tossed a no-hitter this past Friday. But in the second inning of Sunday afternoon’s championship game of the Baylor Invitational, Orme gave up an uncharacteristic two-run home run.
The Bears’ offense backed her up and responded with 15 runs across the next three innings to run-rule the University of Minnesota, 15-2, at Getterman Stadium. The win secured a 5-0 weekend in the Baylor Invitational and the team won the tournament championship.
“[Orme] went out there and she gave up that two-run home run and the first thing we all said was, ‘We all have your back Dari. We have your back,’” junior utility Emily Hott said. “And guess what? We went up there and put up five runs right away. We just showed Minnesota that we’re not going to back down. If you come into our house and you’re going to score, we’re going to score back and we’re going to score more.”
Baylor (13-1) had five different batters record multi-hit outings on Sunday, and the top three of the batting order all notched three RBIs apiece. The team collectively had 14 RBIs on 12 hits, and the entire order went around in the fourth inning that saw the Bears put up a six spot. There were five different instances in which Baylor loaded the bases, and they did it three different times in the fourth inning alone.
Hott, who finished the game 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, said the squad was smart in its individual plate appearances.
“We had girls going up there waiting to see the pitch that they knew that they could hit,” Hott said. “We had girls that [were] walked [or] were hit by a pitch, and then guess what? When the bases were loaded, every girl came up and stepped up when we needed them [to].
“Every one of the girls we have in the dugout can come up and do their job when their name is called. That’s just not something that we usually have, and it’ll be really fun to see what we do with it.”
With Sunday’s win, Baylor is off to its best start to a season since 2011, when it opened the year 14-0 en route to a postseason run in which the team made it to the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series. The Bears have won nine-straight games so far this year.
Orme (5-1) earned the win in the circle after allowing two earned runs on three hits in 5.0 innings of work. She hit one batter, walked none and struck out three Golden Gophers (8-6).
Baylor pounced on Minnesota’s junior right-handed pitcher Jacie Hambrick (4-1), as she allowed five earned runs on four hits in just 1.1 innings.
The Golden Gophers jumped ahead in the top of the second when sophomore catcher Taylor Krapf blasted a two-run shot over the right centerfield wall. Orme limited the damage to just that, but Minnesota carried its 2-0 lead into the bottom of the side.
The Bears dished out their counterpunch, though, as they loaded the bases following a walk and two hit-by-pitch. Junior outfielder McKenzie Wilson stepped up to the plate and cracked the ball down the middle of the field to plate two baserunners, tying the game at two runs apiece.
“As cliché as it sounds, hitting is contagious,” Wilson said. “Although maybe it wasn’t hits that came before me, it was good at-bats, getting hit by pitches, having quality at-bats, taking pitches deep in the count I think it all plays a role.”
Three more hits helped bring home three more runners and Baylor led 5-2 going into the third.
The Bears found more offense in the bottom of the third, thanks to the squad drawing three walks and utilizing a hit from sophomore infielder Presleigh Pilon. They also capitalized on a fielding error by Minnesota to take a 9-2 advantage.
The Golden Gophers were retired in the fourth inning once again before Baylor’s six spot in the bottom side. Hott hit a leadoff single before rolling back around to slap a two-RBI single, which wound up being the final two runs of the game.
Orme retired the side in the top of the fifth to achieve the run-rule victory in the championship game of the Baylor Invitational. The victory keeps the Bears undefeated at home this season.
“Going into this tournament, we didn’t know that it would have as strong a field as it was,” head coach Moore said. “But as we watched the other teams play the last couple of weeks, I think we sent a message in the first game against Maryland that we’re here to play, and that probably carried us momentum-wise through the whole weekend.”
Moore said that junior right-handed pitcher and infielder Aliyah Binford is dealing with a minor bruise and that they’ll keep her limited in the coming days.
“We’re going to rest her a little bit now and make sure we take care of her,” Moore said. “It’s too early in the season to get out there and make a small injury into a big one.”
Baylor is staying put as it will host its first midweek contest of the season. The Bears will compete against the University of Texas at Arlington at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Getterman Stadium.
Wilson said this team is hitting its stride right now and that even though the group is confident, “it’s humble confidence.”
“We’re not trying to get too high, and we don’t want to plateau,” Wilson said. “We want to keep improving and keep on taking the steps forward that we need to. This team is fun to watch, and I have no doubt in my mind, as Coach Moore mentioned [before], that Getterman [Stadium] is going to be packed pretty soon and we’re going to bring the fans back into Getterman. It’s going to be a fun time.”
