MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The magic number Baylor’s softball team has in mind now is 10.
After polishing off bitter rival Girls Preparatory School – a seemingly constant opponent at TSSAA’s Spring Fling – by 8-2 Thursday in the Division II-AA winner’s bracket final, the Lady Red Raiders are zeroed in on a game that could produce their 10th state championship.
“It feels really good to make the championship game,” Baylor third baseman Cheyenne Lindsey said. “We’ll come back tomorrow (Friday) and likely see them (Bruisers) again and put another whuppin’ on them.”
Well, Lindsey was right.
GPS responded with a 15-5 run-rule victory over out-girled St. Benedict on Thursday night for a second shot at the Lady Red Raiders on Friday at 12:30 p.m. local time.
GPS, however, will have to win two from Baylor to claim the state title, but the Bruisers did that very thing in in 2014. Baylor beat GPS 6-4 for last year’s championship. The second title game, if necessary, is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m.
Lindsey, among others, was an integral part of Baylor’s win Thursday.
The fleet-footed leadoff batter, walked in the first, stole second, went to third on Abby McNamara’s single and scored on a passed ball. McNamara stole second, moved to third on the passed ball and came home on Crosby Huckabay’s RBI groundout.
In the second inning, Mari Gardner walked, Trinity Liner reached on a one-out single and Lindsey drove in both runners with a triple to right-center field.
“I think my hit got everyone going,” Lindsey said. “Everyone was excited.”
The Lady Red Raiders (36-4) stretched the lead to 5-0 in the third with three different players involved in the run production.
Against GPS’ freshman reliever Macie Stanfield, Kamrie Rich reached on an error and so did Kayla Hughes. After Gardner struck out, Aaliyah Henderson ripped a run-scoring double past third and into the left-field corner.
Hughes, who pitched a complete game while holding GPS to four hits, including Hannah Kincer’s solo homer in the sixth, struck out six and walked two.
“I think I did what I planned to do,” she said. “I put a lot of pitches where they counted and let my great defense behind me do its job. The (home plate) umpire had all kinds of strike zones and I had to make some adjustments. I really loved the early run support because it gives me more confidence having a two- or four- or five-run lead.”
Baylor, which has won four of the five meetings with youthful GPS this season, didn’t sit back and relax after building the five-run cushion.
Stanfield retired eight of 10 over three innings before running into trouble in the top of the seventh.
With one out A.J. Johnson singled to center. Huckabay singled. Rich slapped her second double of the game down the right-field line to score both runners. Hughes then delivered an RBI single to cap a three-run inning that ended with Baylor having what proved to be the six-run lead.
“Kayla was fantastic today,” Baylor coach Kelli Smith said. “She’s a senior and she’s been here several times and played in pressure situations.”
The Bruisers (27-12) managed just one baserunner against Hughes over the first two innings – Haley Smith drew a two-out walk in the first.
Stanfield doubled to left in the third, but was stranded there when Hughes retired Elizabeth Warwick, one of three eighth-graders on the roster, on a pop to third and Lilly Berger and Kaitlyn Songer on strikeouts.
Smith lost her shutout bid an inning later when Smith reached when Johnson, playing center field, dropped a fly ball. Smith stole second and scored on Lindsey’s throwing error
Hughes gave up two singles in the seventh, but the Bruisers couldn’t take advantage of them.
The Bruisers wasted no time in jumping all over St. Benedict, scoring four runs in the first two innings. St. Benedict tied the game with four runs in the third, but GPS answered with four of its own and added three in the fourth for an 11-4 advantage.
GPS also scored four runs in the sixth inning to end the game.
The Lady Eagles committed seven errors.
“They tied the game at 4-4, but we’re awfully young – my oldest player is a sophomore – and the girls are learning a lot by being over here,” GPS coach Susan Crownover said after the Bruisers crushed St. Benedict. “After playing so poorly, nobody wanted to hear what I had to say after the Baylor game.
“We had to race out of here to get something to eat because the TSSAA schedule made us play back-to-back games.”
Crownover did have time to ask her players an extremely important question prior to the night game.
“I asked them, ‘How are you going to respond after playing so poorly against Baylor?’ and they dug deep and responded well,” she said.
Songer had a hit and drove in five runs and scored three times.
Sydney White went 3 for 4 to pace the Bruisers’ 15-hit attack. Berger, Kincer, Stanfield and Hannah Sanders all had three hits in four at-bats. Warwick was 2 for 2.
Kincer was the winning pitcher, going five of the six innings while giving up three earned runs. She struck out five and walked three.
In the Baylor game, Kincer was twice given treatment for a sore hip, but returned to the diamond to continue play. Against Baylor, Kincer gave up the first four runs and gave way to reliever Huckabay.
“We had to stop the bleeding,” Crownover said.
Boxscores
Baylor 221 000 3 – 8 10 2
GPS 000 101 0 – 2 4 2
Hughes and Rich; Hughes and Rich.
St. Benedict 004 001 – 5 10 7
GPS 224 304 – 15 15 1
Sweat and Hill; Kincer, Sanders (6) and Smith.
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and follow on Twitter @larryfleming44)