By Jeffrey Cohen | Sports Writer
Entering the 2025 Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship as the No. 8 seed, Baylor softball hopes to start fresh with a new tournament field. Still on the bubble of NCAA Tournament status, the Bears are hoping a rush of momentum in the conference tournament will be enough to land in the field of 64.
“The season is over,” head coach Glenn Moore said. “We fought the good fight, and we ended up eighth in the conference. That doesn’t sound good, but everybody gets to go to the tournament and have a chance to win it and move on.”
Baylor (26-26, 11-13 Big 12) came into Ames, Iowa, with a 10-11 conference record, with an opportunity to rise as high as fifth in the Big 12. The Bears, along with Arizona State and BYU, dropped two of three games over the weekend. UCF swept Kansas to move into seventh while bumping Baylor back to eighth.
“Going into this past weekend, we had a chance to finish in the top five and play one less game,” Moore said. “That was kind of our goal, and we didn’t get it done, so we dropped all the way down to eighth.”
Senior left-handed pitcher Lillie Walker threw 13 innings, appearing in all three games of the series against Iowa State. She also threw a two-run complete game on Saturday, ending with a walk-off double.
“I played my cards to go ahead and put the nails in the coffin by pitching Lillie, and I think that probably played a role in the struggles on Sunday as well,” Moore said. “She was fresh. But it is a risk when you do that. You know when you want to win the series, but the sweep is what you really need, so you go for it. I don’t really have any regrets over that, but it was frustrating to know that we were so close, and she pitched well enough to win it.”
Winning 13 of their last 19, the Bears are coming into the next stage playing better softball than earlier in the season. In four of those six losses, they fell by two or fewer runs, including two one-run losses to the Cyclones.
“Our coaches have prepared us the best that they can, and we’ve put in a lot of work in the weight room and all the practices and just thinking about all the things that we’ve done leading up to this moment,” Walker said. “That’s when you go out and compete. You just go and leave it all out there. And it’s kind of a really freeing moment of, there’s nothing else that I can do to train, to get better. I just have to go out and execute.”
Now, No. 8 seed Baylor is set to face off against No. 9 seed Kansas (22-27, 6-18 Big 12) in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament. The Jayhawks come into the championship limping, having been swept by UCF in the season finale and losing two of three games to No. 23 Oklahoma State the weekend prior.
“They did [tail off], but I think they’re playing better as of late — had some rallies and got a little momentum as well,” Moore said. “Same scenario, their back is against the wall. So, we know what we’re up against. They know what they’re up against.”
Kansas took two of three over the Bears in their first conference series of the season in early March. Since that meeting, the Jayhawks have not won a series against a Big 12 opponent, while Baylor has won three.
“It was a close series, and I think we’ve definitely grown a lot since that. It was pretty early in the season,” Walker said. “I’m excited to see just the new matchup now that we’ve grown a little bit throughout the season.”
With the last stretch of the season underway, the 11 Baylor seniors prepare for the end of their time donning the green and gold. The experienced Bears look to their leaders to guide them through a run over conference foes. They face Kansas with five seniors in the first round and are lined up to play No. 1 seed Texas Tech, which has two seniors, should they advance.
“This team has great leadership, so they know what’s at stake, and I’m expecting them to play really good ball and be a really tough team to beat this week,” Moore said. “And if they do that, and they come out on the short end of the stick, then I’m proud of them, just like I was when we went to Ames, Iowa.”
While the seniors are said to be leaders on the field, they have also created a strong bond that goes beyond the diamond. In a season with “a lot of trials and tribulations,” the Bears have had to stay close to each other and “pull together in the same direction.”
“This could be my last time wearing this Baylor uniform and playing side by side with these girls,” senior second baseman Presleigh Pilon said. “That’s the fun part about softball, too, is obviously this week is going to be fun and exciting getting into it, but they’re going to be with me for life.”
The Bears will face No. 9 seed Kansas in their first-round matchup at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at OGE Energy Field at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
