Kent State University
5-3
Baylor
8-6
Kent State Topples #21 Baylor and Sweeps Season Series
2/23/2019 10:48:00 PM | Softball
WACO, Tx. – Kent State (6-3) swept its season series over #21 Baylor (8-7) at Getterman Stadium on Saturday. The Golden Flashes won a pitching duel in game one, 1-0. KSU took the nightcap in roller coaster fashion, 6-5, in extra innings on sophomore Alexis Taube's walk off base hit. Kent State won two games in one day over a top-25 team for the first time in program history.
Freshman Andrea Scali was sensational in the first game and threw a two-hitter while striking out 11 Lady Bears. Sophomore Maria Cegledy delivered a clutch two-out single to right to score the game's winning run.
"We had two great team and program wins today and received solid pitching all day from Andrea Scali and Madi Huck. During game two we had some mistakes and gave up a lead, but we showed a lot of character settling down and winning late," said Kent State Head Coach Eric Oakley. "There were too many individual moments to mention today. This is a team. Disciplined role playing. That's our goal."
Game 1: Kent State 1, #21 Baylor 0
Scali was dealing from her first pitch and kept the Baylor bats off balance all game. The Golden Flashes scored the only run of the game early in the contest in the second frame.
Sophomore Carlee Selle setup the Flashes run scoring inning with a one out base hit to left center, then freshman Brooklyn Whitt was called upon to pinch run. Whitt swiped second and sophomore Maria Cegledy delivered the big hit of the game, a base hit to right, to score Whitt from second.
That was all the run support that Scali needed as she went the distance and fanned double digit batters for the fourth time in her short career.
The Golden Flashes out hit Baylor 7-2 and were highlighted by Cegledy's 2-for-3 day.
It's the first win for Kent State over a ranked team since the Flashes toppled then #3 Michigan 3-0 on the road in 2015.
Game 2: Kent State 6, #21 Baylor 5 (8 innings)
Kent State showed it could win games against elite competition in different ways as the Flashes went step-for-step with Baylor in a slugfest.
The Golden Flashes struck first, scoring the first three runs of the game. In the first inning, senior Hailey Hopkins drove in sophomore Kaitlyn Miller with a base hit to right. Senior Jen Cader manufactured Kent State's second run with an RBI groundout to short that brought home sophomore Kennadie Goth. In the second frame Taube scored on Miller's base hit to right field.
The Lady Bears cranked a solo home run in the fourth inning, but Kent State was quick to respond when Miller doubled home Cegledy in the bottom half of the frame to take a 4-1 lead.
Baylor chipped away scoring a single tally in the fourth and then two runs each in the fifth and sixth to take a 5-4 lead.
Junior Vanessa Vodan was hit by a pitch to lead off the bottom of the sixth and was successfully sacrificed to second by Miller. With two outs, senior Bailey Brownfield struck a double to the left centerfield gap to tie the game at six.
With the international tiebreaker rule in effect in the eighth inning and a runner placed on second base with nobody out. Scali pitched an incredible inning and kept the ball in the infield and stranded the runner at third.
Cegledy was on second base to begin the Kent State eighth and took third base on a wild pitch. That set up the heroics by Alexis Taube to drive in the winning run.
Junior Madi Huck received the start and pitched admirably. She worked four innings and scattered five hits and allowed three runs with a strikeout. Scali (6-0) worked the final four stanzas in relief and earned the win, and pitched four innings allowing two earned runs on five hits with three strikeouts. Scali began her collegiate career throwing 31 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run. The first earned run crossed the plate one inning into her relief outing.
Taube went a perfect 3-for-3 with a run scored. Cegledy continued to shine offensively and was 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Kent State out hit Baylor, 12-10.
Up Next
With the two victories over Baylor, Kent State advances in the Baylor Invitational to the championship game, Sunday, Feb. 24, at 1:30 p.m. EST.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Scali, Andrea (4-0)
L: Green (1-3)
Batting:
2B: Brancifort, Hunter 1 ; Cegledy, Maria 1
RBI: Cegledy, Maria 1
SH: Brancifort, Hunter 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Whitt, Brooklyn 1
SB: Goth, Kennadie 1 ; Whitt, Brooklyn 1
Batting:
SH: Smith, H. 1
Base Running:
SB: Dawson 1
