SB Falls in Battle Against No. 4 Florida, 4-2 - Baylor (2024)

W: Keagan Rothrock (29-6) L: Binford, Aliyah (13-12)

Bears face the Gators in a win-or-go-home game Saturday

Game Recap: Softball | 5/24/2024 3:32:00 PM

GAINESVILLE, Fla. –Baylor softball fell against No. 4 Florida, 4-2, Friday afternoon at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in the first game of NCAA Super Regional competition.

THE RUNDOWN
Baylor jumped out to a hot start, scoring in the top of the first to take the early lead. After Emily Hott led off the game with a four-pitch walk, Shaylon Govan singled to the shortstop before an error found runners standing on the corners. Aliyah Binford came in clutch, singling to right field to bring home Hott and give Baylor the 1-0 lead.

The Gators responded in the bottom half of the inning when two doubles plated three runs and gave Florida the 3-1 advantage.

After a strong first inning for both teams, Baylor and Florida pitchers responded in the second when both teams went down in order.

Binford brought the Bears back within one run in the top of the third, when she launched her third homer of the season down the left-field line to make it a 3-2 ballgame.

Sydney Collazos went 2-for-3 at the plate, recording her second hit in the top of the fourth, but that would be it for the Bears as they aren't able to capitalize with a baserunner.

Florida took the 4-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth when Korbe Otis homered to left-center, a solo shot to lead off the inning. Skylar Wallace threatened the Bears again, but a diving catch from centerfielder Taylor Strain kept another hit off of the board.

Binford recorded her third hit of the day in the top of the sixth before Collazos barreled up a ball to deep left field that was caught at the warning track to stop the Bears from tying the ballgame.

Baylor was down to its last chance in the seventh but wasn't able to capitalize and fell in game one of the Super Regional.

HIGHLIGHTS

• The Bears out-hit the Gators 6-5 in the contest
• Aliyah Binford went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate
• Binford also pitched a complete game in the circle, striking out four and only walking two
• With four strikeouts today, Binford passed 150 strikeouts on the season
• Sydney Collazos went 2-for-3 at the plate with a deep fly out
• Baylor is now 51-36 all-time in the NCAA postseason
• Florida now leads the all-time series over the Bears 7-6
• Eighteen of Baylor's 22 losses this season have come against ranked opponents
• Baylor has advanced to the WCWS four times, and in three of those seasons, the Bears played all three games of the Super Regional series
• Most recently, the Bears advanced to the WCWS in 2017 after losing the first game

QUOTABLE
Head Coach Glenn Moore on the game …
"With the exception of the outcome of the game, I'm very happy with the we competed. Unranked going into this and went head-to-head with one of the tops in the SEC and in the country. And if you look at the box score, I've rarely seen a box score that's this identical in all aspects – hits, five to six; strikeouts, four to five; number of pitches even, 108 to 104. We just came out on the short end of the stick from a run production standpoint. And Syd (Collazos) came close to tying the ballgame at the end. There were a lot of positives to build on. And moving forward, we've just got a lot of work now that we dug a little bit of a hole. But it's best two-out-of-three. So, it can be done. And we're going to expect this team and I know they'll expect themselves to respond."

Aliyah Binford on her day at the plate …
"Definitely just seeing the ball well. I think we were prepared very well by our hitting coach (Hoot Johnigan) to see her. She's a great pitcher, but just being able to see the ball come out of her hand was what helped me."

Sydney Collazos on the teams' fight…
"I think that's just the character of this team. We've faced a lot of adversity, which I know that we preach on. But it's true. I think watching us get punched in the face at Louisiana and then coming out of that regional just shows you the character of this team. So, even being here in this position, 0-1 in the Super Regional, nobody has any doubt that we're capable of coming out of this."

UP NEXT
The Bears will face No. 4 national seed Florida in game two of the Gainesville Super Regional at 10 a.m.Saturday, May 25,at Katie Seashole Pressly Stadium in a win or go home situation.

-BaylorBears.com-