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Mar. 23—Written on Baylor softball coach Kelli Smith’s arm was the number 677. It served as a reminder of how many days had gone by since the Lady Red Raiders last played a home game until Monday’s on-campus opener.
Senior Acelynn Sellers enjoyed the long awaited return to the home diamond with a towering solo home run that smacked off the right side of the scoreboard and also formed a lethal battery with LSU committment Syd Berzon in an 11-0 six-inning victory over a East Hamilton.
“When you talk about MVP, you can’t have that discussion without Acelynn,” Smith said of Sellers, who went 2-for-3, while being robbed on a lineout to the shortstop while also excelling in her first start at catcher.
“She has started for us as an eighth grader and is the only kid I’ve ever coached that can play every position on the field,” Smith added. “She is a great athlete and has taken on the duties behind the plate seamlessly. She is so selfless and willing to do whatever her team needs.”
As the only senior in the Lady Red Raiders starting lineup, Sellers is intent on making every moment count after having last season taken away by COVID-19.
The UTC softball signee, who will also pitch and play shorstop for Baylor (2-0), aims to help the program’s dynasty challenge for a sixth straight Division II state championship.
Besides her work with the bat, she also made a perfect throw to shorstop Cadashia Collins covering second base to catch a runner stealing to end the top of the first.
“We didn’t have a catcher coming into this season, so I volunteered to fill that role,” Sellers said. “It’s definitely a different ballgame trying to catch Syd, but we have worked a lot together in bullpens and have a great connection.”
That chemistry showed as Berzon threw her riseball in the upper 60s and mixed things up later — fanning four straight battters with a devastating changeup that had hitters either way out on their front foot or frozen entirely.
“Whenever she throws her changeup, I know she is going to strike someone out,” Sellers said. “It’s a filthy pitch and hitters are already on edge because of how hard she throws. She is just unstoppable.”
Berzon — who is one of the country’s top 10 players for the Class of 2022 — struck out 14 and retired that many in a row after allowing a single to Nikki Wasserstrom in the first. Berzon allowed two hits and a walk over six innings and smacked a line drive home run over the right center field fence for a 3-0 lead in the third inning.
Baylor plated two in the first as Smith’s team was sparked by a leadoff double from Morgan Sharpe who later stole home on a successful double steal.
East Hamilton’s Syerra Rogers struck out nine over five innings and allowed eight hits. Smith said Rogers is “as fine of a pitcher as we will face all season.”
Freshman Holly Merritt had a two-out line drive to left that drove in three for a 7-0 lead in the fifth. Raven Jones capped Baylor’s return home by cranking a grand slam to dead center for her third home run of the season.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @PMacCoon.
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