Although the win was all but secured, there was still plenty of drama surrounding the Baylor softball team’s final at-bat Wednesday evening against rival GPS. Leading by five runs heading into the home half of the sixth inning, the Lady Red Raiders needed to push across one more to assure themselves of the Division II-AA East/Middle Region title.
With GPS owning a five-run win against Baylor earlier this season, had the Lady Red Raiders won by the same margin, the teams would have needed a coin toss to determine the region champion. But after Baylor coaches informed their players of the situation just before the bottom of the sixth, the Lady Red Raiders found a way to manufacture a two-out run that not only capped the 7-1 victory but also secured the region crown.
“We told them right before we went out to hit what we needed, and they went out and took care of it,” said Baylor coach Kelli Smith, whose team has won state each of the past four years, with all those title wins against the rival Bruisers. “We had to adjust to some of the off-speed pitches, but I thought we did a nice job that second time through the order of being patient and finding something to drive.”
The Bruisers (24-7, 13-1) jumped on top early when freshman catcher Ansley Blevins belted a solo home run in the second inning, her fifth homer in the past three games.
That 1-0 lead held until the fourth, when Baylor (37-3, 13-1) broke through with four runs to take command. After the first two batters reached, Raven Jones poked a single to right field to tie the game and Macy Ann McKnight followed with a single down the first-base line that plated the go-ahead run. Cadashia Collins added an RBI single and Emily Rye brought home a run with a fielder’s choice.