The Longhorns were back on the winning track with record-setting performances against Kansas last weekend. However, when the Longhorns traveled to Waco on Wednesday, they came up short and will now head into this weekend’s home series against the Oklahoma State Cowgirls with a loss on their minds.
Wednesday night’s 5-4 loss came in eight innings as the Texas defense struggled to keep the Bears offense off the bases. The Longhorns are now 35-6 on the season and 9-4 in Big 12 conference play. The loss puts them in second place in the conference behind Oklahoma.
“I think offensively we kept trying to stay on the attack and had some balls that were hit hard,” said Texas head coach Connie Clark. “But defensively, we did not look good. We did not look like the more confident team.”
It was just the third time this season that the Longhorns had been pushed to play in extra innings. Texas is now 2-1 in extra-inning games so far this season.
Junior All-American Blaire Luna was saddled with the loss on the road in Waco. Luna, who is now 15-3 on the season, gave up nine hits while striking out seven and walking four batters.
The usually stellar Texas defense committed four errors which contributed to Baylor’s offensive success.
“We made some throws to bases that allowed the winning run to get into scoring position and it’s too late in the season for that,” Clark said. “We are better than that, [and] I don’t think mentally we played very well in pressure situations.”
Despite the defensive woes, the Texas offense managed to keep the Longhorns in the game until the Bears came up with a walk-off double in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Senior third baseman Nadia Taylor went 1-for-3 on the evening with one home run and two RBIs. Taylor, who was named Big 12 player of the week last week for her performance against Kansas, extended her hitting streak to five games and has four home runs in the last four games.
Sophomore center fielder Brejae Washington and junior left fielder Torie Schmidt each turned in a multiple hit performance. Washington went 2-for-4 with two runs while Schmidt went 2-for-3 with one RBI.
“I thought [Baylor’s] crowd was great tonight in helping with the momentum,” Clark said. “It’s nice to be at home for this next window. Anytime you can be at home and comfortable with your crowd for pressure situations. We just need to get back to work and play hard for our fans.”
Printed on April 19, 2012 as: Baylor orchestrated late rally, defeats UT in extra innings
