By Marissa Essenburg | Sports Writer
Finals are upon us, and Waco has started its slow exhale toward summer. But while campus packs up and graduation nears, Baylor athletics is still in full stride, with spring sports hitting their most competitive stretch as the weather warms and the stakes rise.
After an up-and-down close to April, May brings a packed postseason slate for the Bears. From a tennis Super Regional berth and NCAA golf to Big 12 championships on the track and late-season pushes on the diamond, Baylor’s spring squads are entering the month with plenty still on the line.
Men’s Tennis
After knocking off Tulsa and No. 22 Auburn over the weekend, No. 11 Baylor men’s tennis earned another week of postseason tennis in Waco. The Bears will host Pepperdine in Friday’s Super Regional after the Waves edged No. 7 LSU 4-3, a result that came just minutes after Baylor closed out its own 4-1 win over No. 22 Auburn.
“To be honest, [the Super Regional] is the coolest match in the country,” head coach Michael Woodson said. “It’s some of my favorite memories we’ve ever had. … Being at home for it is pretty awesome.”
Less than two months after rolling past Pepperdine 4-1 in Indian Wells, Calif., Baylor will see the Waves again with a trip to Athens on the line. First serve is set for 6 p.m. Friday at the Hurd Tennis Center, where the Bears will look to claim their ninth win over Pepperdine and advance to face No. 17 San Diego or No. 1 Texas on May 14.
Track and Field
Baylor track and field closed its regular season in College Station with junior pole vaulter Molly Haywood once again raising the bar. Haywood cleared 14-10 ¾ on her final attempt, standing alone in a 23-athlete field while breaking the meet and facility record set by teammate Tenly Kuhn last season.
After a week off, Baylor will compete in the Big 12 Outdoor Championships May 14-16 in Tucson, Ariz., where senior Tiriah Kelley will look to take home a conference title in her final chase alongside fellow All-Americans Demario Prince and Haywood.
From there, the Bears will turn toward the preliminary rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Fayetteville, Ark., beginning May 27.
Baseball
Baseball enters May with little room for error as the regular season wraps up. The Bears (25-22, 11-13 Big 12) will host UCF (27-17, 15-9 Big 12) for a three-game series May 10-12, a matchup that could carry major weight in the Big 12 standings as teams jockey for postseason positioning.
Following the UCF series, Baylor will close out its Big 12 season slate against Utah (23-19, 11-13 Big 12) before shifting its focus to the Big 12 Tournament, which is set for May 19-23 in Surprise, Ariz.
Softball
Baylor’s postseason path now runs through a familiar heavyweight, as the Bears will open the Big 12 Tournament against No. 4 Texas Tech at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Oklahoma City. The matchup will be streamed on ESPN+.
From there, Baylor will try to turn its Big 12 Tournament opener into the first step of a longer postseason road — one the Bears hope stretches all the way to the Women’s College World Series, which is set for May 28-June 5 in OKC.
Women’s Golf
With home-course advantage on its side, Baylor women’s golf will host an NCAA Regional at the Ridgewood Country Club in Waco from May 11-13. The three-day tournament will bring some of the nation’s top teams to Central Texas with a trip to the NCAA Championships on the line. As both host and competitor, the Bears will look to turn familiar ground into an edge and punch their ticket to nationals later this month.
