Texas A&M 5, Baylor 1

May 3, 2002

With a mighty swing of the bat, the 2002 Big 12 Player of the Year, Texas A&M's Selena Collins, hit a grand slam in the fourth inning to spring the Aggies to a 5-1 victory Friday morning. A&M had not scored against Baylor during the regular season in the two games played. Also for the Aggies, Lisa Klam ended her 0-for-11 hitting drought in the Big 12 Tournament with a 3-for-4 performance and an RBI. The Aggies are now an impressive 18-0 when scoring five or more runs this year. Lindsay Wilhemson and Jessica Slataper combined to shut down Baylor's offense. Wilhemson gave up one run in 3.0 innings of work while Slataper surrendered just one hit and a walk in 4.0 innings of relief. Baylor left 11 runners on base, six in scoring position. Texas A&M improved to 37-14 overall while Baylor dropped to 45-17. A&M will play Texas at 5 p.m. and BU will play Oklahoma State at 3:30 p.m. today.

Texas A&M Head Coach Jo Evans
On facing Baylor in the first round:
"When we finished up with the Big 12 regular season I said that I wanted to face one team, Baylor. I wanted them because we had not played well against them. We didn't hit the ball well. We didn't take care of the ball. I wanted to play them when we are playing our best and then see how it would all play out."

On Selena Collins' grand slam in the fourth inning:
"When I heard that she received the Player of the Year I was so excited, it is such an honor for her and our program. And then I hoped that it wasn't the kiss of death. You don't want it to be the big jinx. When she was up in that situation I kept thinking `You are Player of the Year, step up and show these people why you are the Player of the Year.' I would have been happy with a base hit but the grand slam makes it that more exciting."

Baylor Head Coach Glenn Moore
On the game:
"I think that we started out with a great approach to the game. We left runners on base so often and it was very frustrating that we couldn't get timely hits. We just started out on the wrong foot. They had a big inning against us and we couldn't recover. I didn't think we had a particularly good performance from our pitchers. We've got to get mad and come back and fight. Hopefully, we can win a few games in the losers bracket and be in the thick of the things. "

On Oklahoma State:
"I know they're a great team and a great hitting club. They also have a real nice pitcher in Lauren Bay and I expect that we'll see her in the contest. We just have to fight hard. Our team isn't going to lay down to a team that lost in the first round. I think our approach is changing and I think that we have as good a chance as anyone in this tournament."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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