Baylor Softball Sweeps No. 5 Tennessee in Two-Game Series
For the second day in a row, the 22nd-ranked Baylor Bears upset the No. 5 Tennessee Volunteers. They jumped out to an 8-1 lead and held on for an 8-5 victory Friday afternoon in Knoxville, Tenn., sweeping a pair of games between the two this week.
All their tallies came in the top of the second inning in an eight-run explosion. Second baseman Presleigh Pilon, center fielder McKenzie Wilson and shortstop Amber Toven all recorded RBI singles, with an RBI groundout mixed in there, making it 4-1 after Tennessee scored the game’s initial run. First baseman Shaylon Govan then walked with the bases loaded to make it 5-1, and Baylor finished off the frame by scoring three more via a wild pitch, another RBI groundout and a sacrifice fly.
Tennessee climbed back into it with one, but on a double play, in the third, then three more in the sixth. Those were a solo home run by first baseman McKenna Gibson, a run-scoring double by right fielder Katie Taylor and an RBI single up the middle by former Oklahoma Sooner and shortstop Mackenzie Donihoo. But that’s all the closer the Vols could get, as pitcher Dariana Orme finished it off from there.
Thursday afternoon, it was Orme who baffled the Vols to the tune of only one hit in a 1-0 shutout upset at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. That lone hit for the Vols off Orme came in the bottom of the third when Taylor led off with an infield single to third.
Other than that, Tennessee mustered only one other base runner, a leadoff walk to start the home half of the first by center fielder Kiki Milloy. Seven other hitters stepped into the batter’s box and couldn’t figure Orme out.
With that, the Bears needed only one tally for the result to hold up. It came in the top of the first, as Wilson, who led off the game with a double to center, raced home on catcher Sydney Collazos’ RBI single to center.
In fact, Orme was so dominant the Bears were able to win by recording only three hits. There were just four total in the entire contest.
Baylor has now improved to 30-9, having defeated three Top 5 teams this season. It also knocked off No. 1 Oklahoma 4-3 back in February. It’ll return to action with a Tuesday contest against Louisiana, set for 6 p.m. CT first pitch.
