By Michael Haag | Sports Editor
No. 21 Baylor softball dug itself an early hole and couldn’t produce enough offense, as it fell to No. 23 Texas State 6-1 on Wednesday evening at Bobcat Softball Stadium in San Marcos.
The Bears (19-13, 3-9 Big 12) only mustered the one run on four hits, and their offense has produced two or less runs in nine of their last 16 outings. They hold a 6-10 overall record in that stretch, which followed a 12-game nonconference winning streak from Feb. 18 to March 6.
Baylor is 2-12 this season when scoring two or less runs, and it owns a 3-8 record when recording five or less hits.
FINAL: No. 23 Texas State defeats No. 21 Baylor 6-1. Another massive non-conference win over a P5 opponent and second straight win over a Top 25 opponent in a midweek game. https://t.co/tsRHxivEEJ
— Colton McWilliams (@ColtonBMc) April 4, 2024
The Bobcats (30-8, 7-2 Sun Belt) opened the game with three runs in the bottom of the first inning, but the Bears held them scoreless over the next four frames. Texas State was just as solid defensively, though, as it held Baylor scoreless until the top of the seventh inning when junior first baseman Shaylon Govan ripped a two-out RBI single through the left side.
Junior infielder Presleigh Pilon totaled two of the Bears’ four hits as a team, as she went 2-for-4 in the box. Govan, who entered the game with a .445 batting average, had Baylor’s lone RBI. She still leads the team with 17 RBIs on the year, which is two more than senior utility Emily Hott’s total of 15.
Senior right-handed pitcher Aliyah Binford (6-7) was tagged with the loss after allowing three earned runs across 5.0 innings of work. The Bobcats laced six hits on Binford and recorded two walks, but she struck out three batters. Junior right-handed pitcher Kaci West pitched the sixth inning and allowed three more earned runs on three hits and a walk.
Texas State jumped on Baylor early as it scored three runs on four hits in the opening frame. Binford was able to leave one runner stranded to get out of the first inning, and she retired 10 of the next 13 batters to finish her outing.
The Bears only had two baserunners, who reached on errors, from the second through the fifth innings. They loaded the bases in the first and sixth innings but couldn’t produce any runs.
The Bobcats poured on three more runs of insurance in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a bases-loaded, two RBI single and a wild pitch which made it a 6-0 ballgame. Govan plated Baylor’s only run in the top of the seventh as Texas State secured its 16th victory in the last 19 games.
The Bobcats snapped the Bears’ 15-game nonconference winning streak, the last loss coming at the hands of Louisiana on Feb. 16. Baylor still only has four road wins on the year (4-8 record).
The Bears will jump back into conference play with a three-game series against Texas Tech, starting with a match at 6:30 p.m. on Friday at Getterman Stadium. All three contests across the weekend can be watched on Big 12 Now on ESPN+ or listened to on 101.3 FM.
