After sweeping through its five games over the weekend, No. 1/2 Texas softball faced a visit from its former Big 12 rival Baylor.
With a 4-0 win against their longstanding rivals, the Longhorns added their fifth consecutive win against the Bears, tying for the third-longest streak in series history. The teams have met 67 times since 1998 and Texas currently leads in series history, 41-26.
“They’re still one of our rivals,” head coach Mike White said. “We’ve had good matches with them throughout the years for sure … they’re always competitive”
Both teams struggled at the plate, with the first hit of the game for either team coming in the bottom of the third. However, despite not getting a hit, Texas managed to put points on the board in the second inning.
Sophomore catcher/infielder Katie Stewart walked at the top of the second inning, then proceeded to advance to third on a passed ball and wild pitch. Graduate infielder Joley Mitchell and junior utility Leighann Goode followed Stewart, loading the bases for senior utility Vanessa Quiroga.
Quiroga reached first base on a fielder’s choice, allowing Stewart to score from third.
Thanks to stifling pitching from sophomore pitcher Teagan Kavan, the Bears’ struggles continued through to the end of the game. She pitched her first full-game shutout of the season, only giving up one hit all night and striking out 11 batters. The game marked the second time this season she’s had a double-digit strikeout game.
“I thought she really hit her tempo and not somebody else’s,” White said. “She was just ready to go, she seemed like she was really locked in tonight.”
The scoreboard remained still until the bottom of the fourth inning, when Goode hit a deep 236-foot two-run home run to center field, bringing home Mitchell with her.
With the home run, Goode increased her season count to three and brought the Longhorn lead to 3-0. Goode has done well in stepping up in the replacement of second-team All-American junior Viviana Martinez, who Texas lost in the fall due to injury.
“It was a competitive environment in the fall trying to find out who was going to take that spot,” White said. “(Goode) was the one that came through in the end and she’s done a good job with that.”
The Longhorns added one final run in the bottom of the sixth inning, as freshman infielder Shylien Brister pinch hit for Quiroga and knocked a sacrifice fly into shallow left field that allowed Mitchell to score from third base once more.
Texas gears up for a three-day, five-game road trip this weekend in the Ohio State tournament hosted by the Ohio State Buckeyes. The first game of this road trip begins Saturday, when Texas plays Saint Francis University at 8 a.m. CT.
