By Kalena Reynolds | Staff Writer
With a six-game winning streak under their belt, Baylor softball is preparing for a three-game series against Arizona State at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
With a clean slate and even record, the Bears (21-21, 7-8 Big 12) are gearing up for a fight with the Sun Devils during their Senior Weekend. Head coach Glenn Moore said despite their shortcomings, winning has lain within the swing of senior left-handed pitcher Lillie Walker.
“Pitching is the name of this game, so we really need to have a good out by Lillie, and we need to play behind her and score some runs,” Moore said. “That has been the formula for success the last couple of weeks, and we need to keep that going forward.”
While Moore said the season started tough for the green and gold, the team’s commitment to perseverance is what has brought them back to being able to turn the narrative around.
Continuing the realm of success, Moore said they are focused on preparing the girls the best they can when they arrive in Arizona.
“We’re gonna get out there early, and we’re gonna have two workouts before we even play, so hopefully, we’ll get acclimated to the climate and the ballfield and be able to perform our best,” Moore said. “We are not leaving any stones unturned at this stage in the game.”
Sophomore utility player Abi Flores said the offense has never lost confidence, and despite a difficult start to the season, the Bears have remained strong.
“We did get beat down a little bit at the beginning of the season with all the top pitchers that we saw from the big schools, but we are finally working together and finding our swings,” Flores said.
After seeing a strong comeback from the green and gold last season, Flores said knowing they can fight back into a good spot if needed has boosted the team’s confidence.
“Looking back does help a little bit with knowing that we can come back from getting beat down,” Flores said. “Coach Moore’s even mentioned it; we’ve been in this situation before, so looking back does help a lot.”
Senior infielder Shaylon Govan said that the driving force within the green and gold is making the postseason, and that despite Arizona State’s success, the team is holding strong within practice.
“I don’t think it’s that intimidating for our team because we have played big games, and we have played good teams, too,” Govan said. “So I think we are just going in with our head straight and just knowing that we’ve been playing good and to keep that rolling.”
Govan said the team’s resurgence has been correlated to finding unity with the group and knowing what roles each teammate is most successful at.
“We are finally clicking in all the right places,” Govan said. “We finally found a lineup we can stick to and that we see works well. So I feel now, at this point, it’s just us working well together and just having those that are upperclassmen helping lead the freshmen in the lineup.”
The Bears will be back on the diamond, opening a three-game series against Arizona State at 8 p.m. Thursday at Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.
