Daily Bears Report - 4/10/2017 - Blast from the Past w/poll added.

Today’s Events

Ping Pon Panda, vs. everyone, all day.

Softball

• During an age in which many young athletes are pushed to focus on a single sport of choice, there are still plenty of examples that prove variety doesn’t hamper a player’s progress. Complete story by Temple Daily Telegram’s Tim Waits at tdtnews dot com.

Exhibit A could be Shelby Friudenberg.

Playing five sports at Bruceville-Eddy didn’t hamper Friudenberg’s development as one of the best to ever don a softball uniform for Baylor. The junior first baseman is methodically moving up the career list as one of the most productive power hitters the Lady Bears have known.

“Playing different sports in high school was something I always wanted to do,” said Friudenberg, who lettered in volleyball, basketball, track, tennis and softball during her days as a Lady Eagle. “I grew up going to a variety of sporting events to watch my sister compete so it made me want to follow in her footsteps.

“Softball was always my main priority and consumed most of my focus, but being able to play different sports taught me how to be a well-rounded athlete. Competing in different sports helped me improve my skill set in softball as well as the sport I was training for.”

If Friudenberg’s pace holds up through the remainder of this season and next, she will be Baylor’s career home run and RBI leader. She ranked fifth in both categories heading into the weekend’s home series against Iowa State. Her 35 home runs are nine behind leader Chelsi Lake, who graduated 10 years ago. Friudenberg, at 130 RBIs, is 54 behind Lake.

• Shelby McGlaun is one of the best two-for-one deals in college softball. Full story by WacoTrib’s John Werner at BearsExtra.

Not only does the versatile freshman lead No. 13 Baylor with eight homers, she provides depth at pitcher.

McGlaun showed her value once again as she threw a complete game and hit a run-scoring single to lead the Lady Bears to a 9-6 win over last-place Iowa State to complete a three-game sweep Sunday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.

• No. 13 Softball Completes Sweep over Iowa State - Baylor Official Athletic Site, No. 13/14 Baylor softball (35-6, 8-1 Big 12) finished off the sweep of the Iowa State Cyclones (15-27, 0-9 Big 12), grinding out a 9-6 victory on Sunday afternoon at Getterman Stadium.

Track & Field

• It was so windy at Baylor’s Clyde Hart Track and Field Stadium on Saturday that it capsized a metal bench at one point. Full story by Brice Cherry at WacoTrib.

Those types of conditions aren’t always easy on runners, throwers or jumpers. Nevertheless, Baylor still breezed to some easy wins and emphatic performances at the Baylor Invitational, the first of the program’s two home meets of the outdoor season.

Among the stalwarts: freshman sprinter Maxwell Willis. During the 100-meter dash, the wind relented just enough during Willis’ heat to make any time posted a legal entry in the NCAA rankings.

Willis took advantage. He busted out to a hot start – “The best of my life,” Willis called it – and motored to victory in 10.08 seconds. That’s the third-best time in the NCAA this season.

“I’m really happy, because it’s really windy today,” Willis said. “When I first came out here, I didn’t really want to run 100 percent, because I knew if it was unlegal (by wind standards), then it was pointless. So when I got over here, I was just like, ‘Clear everything out of my head, it’s time to work.’ I just cleared my mind, said a little prayer and I just showed out.”

Wil London also delivered his best effort of the season in the 400-meter dash. He attacked the first straightaway to set a frenetic pace and came around the final turn in the lead. London’s teammate George Caddick gave chase from behind, but stayed two paces behind on London’s heels. The Baylor sophomore and former Waco High product clocked in at 45.46 seconds, despite finishing the race into a stiff headwind.

London’s time ranks as the second-best in the country thus far.

Golf

• Womens Golf Finishes Fourth at Ping/ASU Invitational - Baylor Official Athletic, Site, Baylor womens golf finished in fourth place with a 54-hole total of 2-over-par 866 at the Ping/ASU Invitational. The Lady Bears shot 3-over 291 in Sundays final round at the ASU Karsten Golf Course.

Baseball

• Baseballs Six-Run Ninth Takes Down No. 6 Texas Tech - Baylor Official Athletic Site, Baylor baseball pulled off quite a win in a 10-9 decision over No. 6 Texas Tech on Sunday afternoon at Griffin Park. The Bears (20-12, 3-6) scored six runs in the ninth to salvage the series finale over the Red Raiders (28-7, 6-3).
• Dodson’s 3 HR day rallies Baylor past Texas Tech | Red Raiders, Orlando Garcia had a good day at the plate, hitting a pair of home runs. But, Aaron Dodson had a better one. The Baylor first baseman crushed three home runs and led a Baylor comeback that including scoring six runs in the ninth inning as they defeated Texas Tech 10-9 at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park on Sunday. Dodson’s hot bat is a major reason the sixth-ranked Red Raiders’ (28-7, 6-3) lead didn’t last.

Tennis

• Men's Tennis Falls To No. 8 Oklahoma State, 4-3 - Baylor Official Athletic Site, The third-ranked Baylor mens tennis team had its seven-match win streak snapped with a 4-3 loss to No. 8 Oklahoma State Sunday at the Hurd Tennis Center.

Acrobatics & Tumbling

• The top-ranked and defending national champion Baylor acrobatics & tumbling team will travel to California to take on Azusa Pacific in the final match of the regular season Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. CT. From Baylor Bears dot com.

Riding a four-meet winning streak, the Bears (5-1) are certainly rounding into form at the right time. BU has posted a new season-high final score in each of its last four matches, culminating with an impressive 289.745 against Oregon on April 2. That score is the highest that any team has posted all season.

Azusa Pacific (2-3) had a slow start to their season, dropping each of their first two matches, but they rebounded nicely with back-to-back wins over Fairmont State and Concordia. In their last match, they traveled to Oregon and lost 288.075-277.280.

BU Campus Orchestra

• The Baylor University Campus Orchestra will present a free concert at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Baylor’s Roxy Grove Hall. From WacoTrib.

The ensemble is composed of 35 Baylor students, whose majors range across virtually every discipline the university offers.

Titled “Themes of Sorrow and Joy,” the concert will open with Ennio and Andrea Morricone’s “Cinema Paradiso,” as well as works by Jean Sibelius, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Benjamin Britten.

For more information, visit www.baylor.edu/music or call 710-3991.

A Blast From the Past

• Seems like this OBF Fan Post is twenty years old but in fact only 18 months have gone bye . . . A Walk in the News - Our Daily Bears - Oct 16, 2015, Around the web and in the news, Baylor is not just rising in the polls but in the estimation of the college football world. To start the week, while posting the same AP article, The Boston Herald...
• Famous OBF Quote: “Our new Head Coach Matt Rhule can bring us forward to this pinnacle and beyond . . .”
• The following poll cannot be viewed on AMP or Apple (still working on that).