By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
After scoring two runs in the seventh inning, Baylor softball came up short against UT Arlington, falling 6-2 Tuesday night at Getterman Stadium.
Coming off a series loss against No. 13 Oklahoma State, the Bears (13-20, 2-7 Big 12) have now lost seven of their last eight games.
“I don’t have the answers. I know we have the talent here, I know we are coming off of a somewhat emotional weekend where we played really well for three games,” head coach Glenn Moore said. “Then we had a midweek that we felt going into this, that what was at stake was very apparent with this team, and that it was important that we played well.”
UT Arlington (20-11, 6-3 WAC) dominated in the first half of the game in Waco, scoring four runs on five hits to take a 4-0 lead over the Bears through three innings.
“I think we were ready to play today, we did everything from a scouting standpoint, we didn’t take anything for granted, and it just did not go our way, which is very frustrating,” Moore said. “My message to the team is that we can’t allow this to cost us runs in our games on Friday or Saturday or Sunday. We’ve got to let this be in the past.”
Baylor has driven in 15 runs across nine conference games and remained cold Tuesday, being shut out and recording three hits through six innings. The Bears found a spark in the bottom of the seventh, scoring two runs off of an RBI triple by freshman left fielder Karynton Dawson and a sacrifice groundout from freshman catcher Averie Waddell.
“That’s a small victory, but I do think the fact that we did finally show some life there would give us something to, you know, build on,” Moore said. “It was more energy at the end of the game right there when we started showing some life than we had the entire game, and I was very proud of that.”
Defensive miscues plagued Baylor and kept the base paths busy for the Mavericks. Junior shortstop Amber Toven and senior third baseman Turiya Coleman each committed errors, and a wild pitch later scored a run, helping the Mavericks find a 6-0 lead through six innings.
“Our defense has to make sure that we don’t let that snowball into a confidence issue,” Moore said. “[Amber Toven]‘s got to make sure that she doesn’t let that affect her confidence because she’s one of the best middle infielders in the country.”
Freshman right-handed pitcher Lexie Warncke (4-5) earned the loss, allowing four runs on five hits in two innings as the starter. Freshman right-handed pitcher Sadie Ross followed with one scoreless inning. Senior left-handed pitcher Lillie Walker took over for the rest of the game, throwing four innings with two runs, five hits and four strikeouts.
“We’ve had to leave them out there and it’s affected them a little bit from a confident standpoint to the point where they’re pitching without confidence, and then we don’t give them a cushion offensively,” Moore said about Warncke and Ross. “Knowing that if a run or two is going to cost them a game, they’re going to end up pitching tight, therefore, giving up more hits.”
Moore believes that the number of innings Warncke and Ross are pitching will be beneficial for them, even if it comes with some tough appearances and hurdles through their journeys as collegiate pitchers.
“We’re gonna have to go with them and just let them learn to pitch at this level — baptism by fire,” Moore said. “They’re going to get opportunities to continue to get better, and it may be painful, but they can always look back on the painful times and see where they’ve come from because we’re gonna put our arms around them and love them through this.”
The Bears will return for a three-game weekend series against UCF beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Getterman Stadium.
