By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Baylor softball finds itself in the last weekend invitational of the regular season, fighting to win the Baylor Invitational — the only tournament-style event before the postseason.
Baylor (7-8) is coming off a 1-4 trip to California in the Mary Nutter Classic, where all of its losses came against ranked opponents.
“And then the whole ball of wax, we were beaten by really good teams, but we were soundly beaten,” head coach Glenn Moore said. “So, we’ve gone back to work this week and tried to brush up on some things that we needed to work on, that were revealed that playing a weaker schedule would not reveal.”
With a losing record for the first time this season, the Bears have an opportunity to bounce back after the difficult weekend. They will face off against Sam Houston State, Cal Baptist and North Texas — the only opponent with a winning record at 13-2.
“I think we really want to establish who we are and get our confidence back,” senior catcher Carson Frier said. “Any team can beat anyone on any given day, but we know we can beat these teams this weekend.”
Along with regaining confidence, Baylor has found patience as it continues to grow and improve on and off the field, especially with a retooled pitching staff and multiple freshmen. Moore said senior right-handed pitcher Dariana Orme is still working her way back to her dominance before the injury that stopped her 2024 season short.
“You don’t know if she’s maxed out now or going to get frustrated with not having the success that she’s used to having previously in her career,” Moore said. “But, to go out there and pitch against that competition and come out of it feeling pretty good about yourself, I think encourages her.”
One of the bright spots for the Bears in the circle has been redshirt freshman right-hander Lexie Warncke, who holds a 3-1 record — her only loss coming against No. 4 UCLA. Warncke leads the team with a 2.93 ERA and 20 strikeouts over 28 2/3 innings of work.
“Lexie has actually pitched against the best lineups better than we anticipated. So, it was a surprise at this moment,” Moore said. “Big picture is that that’s the Lexie we hoped and expected before she was injured. So, to see her coming back and gaining confidence is huge and gives her self-confidence, and I think she’ll only continue to get better.”
Despite Baylor’s record, the pitching staff has improved throughout the non-conference schedule. While some pitchers’ improvements have not shown up on the score sheet, Moore and his team are noticing the strides made.
“All of our pitchers have really gotten better and better as time has gone on,” Frier said. “It doesn’t help that our last four opponents were all like top 20 teams. So, they have a lot better through different at-bats and through different pitching sequences.”
The Baylor Invitational is another step toward the Bears’ conference schedule after playing three weekend events earlier in the season. Looking forward, they will play No. 2 Texas on Wednesday, and then face two more ranked teams later in the schedule.
“We get to know each other every single day a little bit better,” Warncke said. “We’re growing closer to each other, and I think that just makes us better on the field. Going into conference, I think it’s important to go through struggles to get better.”
The Bears will open up the Baylor Invitational against North Texas at 3 p.m. Friday at Getterman Stadium.
