Baylor Softball: Aliyah Binford Out for Season After Knee Surgery
Baylor softball is off to a hot start in 2023, with a 23-5 record ahead of Big 12 play, which they will open against No. 2 Oklahoma State in Stillwater on Friday.
Unfortunately, the Bears will have to face the Cowgirls, and the rest of their opponents this season, without one of their best players.
Junior pitcher and infielder Aliyah Binford has been out since late February with a knee injury and according to Baylor head coach Glenn Moore, Binford will miss the remainder of the season after having surgery on Monday.
Binford played a huge part in Baylor’s biggest win of the season thus far, a 4-3 upset over No. 1 Oklahoma. In that game, Binford allowed one hit across 3.1 innings, with three walks and five strikeouts. Binford hasn’t appeared in the circle since throwing against Minnesota on February 24.
“Being able to bring her in behind Dari was one of the best one-two punches in the country,” Moore said, according to the Baylor Lariat. “That’s a big blow to us.”
Moore says that the injury was a “freak accident,” but in a sport like softball, it’s “almost normal.”
“Anytime you have an injury like that, it opens up the opportunity for someone else,” Moore said. “That’s what I put in front of the girls. Now RyLee [Crandall] and Kaci [West] are going to be called on a little quicker than normal.”
Dari Orme leads the Bears in the circle in Binford’s absence and has been one of the best arms in the Big 12 so far this season. Orme is second in the conference in strikeouts (85) and ERA (0.79) and is plenty good enough to keep Baylor in the top half of an incredibly tough Big 12.
Baylor and Oklahoma State are scheduled to start their first series of Big 12 play tonight at 6:00 p.m. CT at Cowgirl Stadium.
