By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Baylor softball’s lineup caught fire, completing the two-game sweep over ACU with a 9-4 victory Saturday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.
The Bears (21-21, 7-8 Big 12) picked up where they left off Friday night, following an 11-0 victory in five innings over ACU (11-31, 7-8 WAC) with an all-around outing to wrap up the series.
Senior second baseman Presleigh Pilon, who went 2-for-2 with two runs scored and batted in, opened up the scoring with an RBI single in the first. With the bases loaded, junior shortstop Amber Toven tacked on a two-run single and a fielding error by the ACU center fielder to make it a 4-0 game through one inning.
In the second, senior third baseman Turiya Coleman drove in junior center fielder Brooklyn Carter on a throwing error. Coleman scored on Pilon’s second RBI single of the day. Freshman catcher Averie Waddell hit a two-RBI single to extend the Baylor lead to 8-0 after two innings.
“[There] was no doubt that there was a motivation to talk about passing the bat,” head coach Glenn Moore said. “Whenever you’re feeding off of each other, passing the bat, communicating, seeing the girls talking, sharing a little bit of knowledge with the next thing, trying to find out. There is a huge amount of respect for this team.”
After a clean third inning, the Wildcats responded with a two-run fourth against the newly called freshman right-handed pitcher Sadie Ross. ACU scored on a rundown and an RBI single from sophomore shortstop Audrey Lacina. The Wildcats struck one last time with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to reach the final score of 9-4.
In the last three games for Baylor, there have been more Bears on the field than usual. By the fourth inning, all the starters were substituted for players off the bench. It was the same story for their 11-0 win on Friday night, while the win over UTSA on Wednesday saw five substitutes.
“I thought we should have challenged a little bit more, but they’re the bench [and] rarely in the game, so even being in the box is important,” Moore said. “You never know when we’re going to put them in the game for a different reason, whenever the game’s more high-stress.”
Redshirt freshman right-handed pitcher Lexie Warncke (7-6) started the game for the Bears with three innings of one-hit softball, allowing no runs and striking out two Wildcats in the winning effort. Ross followed with 2 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on four hits and two walks.
“I was just trying to hit the zone pretty well,” Warncke said. “I definitely lost it for a bit, so I’d say I was effectively wild today … I trusted my defense behind me and was able to just throw it up there.”
Senior right-handed pitcher Ava Knoll made her season debut after allowing 13 runs in 4 2/3 innings in 2024. Knoll threw 1 2/3 innings with two runs and strikeouts to close the game.
“We all got excited because she’s been waiting for an opportunity,” Pilon said. “She showed out, so it’s always great when your teammates do great.”
With Saturday’s win, Baylor is at .500 for the first time since they were 11-11 following a nine-inning victory over Kansas on March 7. They have continued to roll both in the circle and at the plate. The Bears have outscored their opponents 47-14 during their six-game winning streak, including two shutouts and two games with 10 or more runs.
“In a word, it feels good, knowing that we still have a lot of competition, good competition ahead of us,” Moore said. “We needed to get there … but I wouldn’t say it gives us an opportunity to take the foot off the gas pedal because every game from here on out is going to be a tough game to play.”
The Bears open a three-game series against Arizona State at 8 p.m. Thursday at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
