The Lady Mavericks celebrate after defeating Baylor University on April 8 at Allan Saxe Field. The team won 5-4.
UTA softball (17-19) beat Baylor University (23-16) 5-4 after rallying in the bottom of the fifth inning to erase an early deficit Wednesday at Allan Saxe Field.
After traveling to Utah and losing a conference series against Utah Valley University, UTA snagged its second win in a row to open a four-game home stretch.
Head coach Kara Dill said her team’s ability to make adjustments and take advantage of mistakes has been a big factor in their back-to-back wins.
Senior center fielder Marley Neises swings at the ball during a game against Baylor University on April 8 at Allan Saxe Field. Neises had one run.
“That’s been our identity most of the year,” Dill said. “Our offense is pretty consistent for us. We have a lot of confidence in our offense. It helped with them making a couple of miscues that we were able to capitalize on.”
Baylor started the scoring early. A combination of fielding errors from the Mavericks, timely hits and aggressive baserunning gave the Bears two runs in each of the first two innings to take a 4-1 lead.
Sophomore pitcher Madi McDonnell pitches the ball during a game against Baylor University on April 8 at Allan Saxe Field. McDonnell gave up three hits and two runs.
The scoring stayed quiet until UTA got a two-out rally going in the bottom of the fifth inning. A walk, a single and an error loaded the bases for UTA.
Fifth-year right fielder Kelsey Creech drew a walk on a 3-2 count to score a run and bring up junior second baseman Kaitlyn Sailor, who tied the game with a two-run single to left field. A knock from freshman left fielder Kaylee Schweitzer gave UTA a 5-4 lead.
“We know that we can battle, and we knew we were better than this team,” Schweitzer said. “Just kept our heads down, kept swinging, stuck to the plan and we all got the job done.”
Senior center fielder Marley Neises reaches to catch the ball during a game against Baylor University on April 8 at Allan Saxe Field. Neises had two putouts.
Sophomore pitcher Madi McDonnell got the win after pitching four innings and only allowing one earned run. Following her performance, sophomore pitcher Maddie Furniss took over on the bump and tossed two dominant innings.
Furniss got three straight groundouts in the sixth inning. In the next inning, three more consecutive outs held Baylor scoreless and secured the win for the Mavericks.
Junior third baseman Peyton Holland throws the ball to first base during a game against Baylor University on April 8 at Allan Saxe Field. Holland had two assists.
Furniss said she was working on throwing strikes and letting her defense do the rest. She said the game plan was possible because of the confidence she had in her defense to make plays.
“A lot of people have been getting extra reps,” Furniss said. “Just knowing that they’ve been working, knowing that they want the ball, knowing they want to be out there, I’m just doing my job, and then they’re also doing theirs.”
Following this win, UTA will face California Baptist University for a three-game home series starting at 3 p.m. Friday at Allan Saxe Field. All three games will be available to stream on ESPN+. California Baptist sits in front of the Mavericks at first place in the conference rankings and is on an eight-game win streak.
Sophomore pitcher Maddie Furniss, left, and senior first baseman Dee McClarity hug after winning 5-4 against Baylor University on April 8 at Allan Saxe Field. Furniss had two assists.
Dill said her team is going to need good plate discipline and to swing hard and confidently at pitches in the zone, taking what the pitchers give them.
“We’re going to have to be okay swinging and missing once in a while,” Dill said. “Not getting too high or too low with those but just being confident, we just have to get it right a couple of times.”
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