Matthew McCarroll | Lariat Photographer
By Krista Pirtle
Sports Writer
The Baylor Lady Bears bounced back from a rough weekend in Orlando to sweep its doubleheader with Louisiana Tech 3-1 and 3-1.
The first game started out rough for Baylor with a pair of errors committed. However, no runs were scored.
“Defensively that was probably the worst outing for the first couple innings that we have had all year,” head coach Glenn Moore said. “I think it’s probably pressing a little bit, feeling you have to do more than you really have to instead of just playing that game. That’s usually what happens knowing the adversity you face getting more ground balls without Whitney Canion. I think we have to just enjoy that.”
In the bottom of the first, senior right fielder Kayce Walker led off by running out a grounder to shortstop, and junior center fielder Kathy Shelton walked.
Senior third baseman Megan Turk stepped up to the plate and smashed a single to left field, scoring Walker and Shelton.
The following inning Baylor would add another run off a sac fly by Shelton to make the score 3-0.
From then on the Lady Bears could not seem to string a set of hits together. Louisiana Tech got on the scoreboard with an earned run in the top of the fifth.
Junior right-handed pitcher Courtney Repka got the win for the Lady Bears, pitching five innings and allowing five hits, walking three and striking out one.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Liz Paul entered the circle in the sixth and got the save, allowing only one hit.
“Courtney was doing a great job,” Turk said. “She kept getting on top of her count so I think that was definitely motivational for us. And we just tried to stay in it.”
Paul remained in the circle for the second game, one that took a while for either team to get on the scoreboard.
She got the win with six innings pitched, allowing one earned run and one walk and striking out one.
Repka came in and got the save in the top of the seventh going three up, three down.
In the bottom of the fourth the Lady Bears went back to the dugout stranding three base runners after recording a trio of hits.
Baylor finally found a way home due to a suicide squeeze by sophomore left fielder Shelbi Redfearn, scoring two Lady Bears.
“I feel like everyone was seeing the ball well and feeding off each other, kind of passing the bat,” Shelton said. “I just feel like we were swinging the bat well.”
Louisiana Tech answered in the top of the sixth with a run off a single to left-center field.
The Lady Bears added insurance in the bottom of the sixth after a leadoff triple by junior catcher Kelsi Kettler, the first of her career.
Freshman shortstop Jordan Strickland would knock her in with a sacrifice fly to center field.
“I thought we really just had the best two games offensively, although we didn’t put up a lot of runs,” Moore said. “Our at-bat after at-bat was quality and being aggressive in the zone. We hit so many right at them, especially the first game, that you know eventually it is going to go your way. I was pretty happy with our offensive performance for the first time in a long time.”
