No. 2 Texas softball swept its last two games of the Longhorn Invitational, defeating South Florida 9–1 and Alabama A&M 8–0 in five innings.
While Texas’ offense got off to a slow start yesterday, the Longhorns found their hitting rhythm early in both of Sunday’s games.
In the bottom of the second against South Florida, Texas took a quick 2–0 lead after graduate infielder Joley Mitchell hit a bunt that rolled right past the Bulls’ pitcher, allowing junior catcher Reese Atwood to run home. Immediately after, sophomore infielder Katie Stewart slid home following a miscue between the outfield and catcher.
The Bulls remained scoreless through the first three innings against sophomore pitcher Teagan Kavan. After a stellar Saturday afternoon, Kavan had an uncharacteristic start Sunday, walking South Florida’s graduate infielder Alanah Rivera quickly. Atwood noticed something was off and called for a small chat in the circle to settle down the sophomore.
The break in pace paid dividends, as Kavan’s strikeout ended the inning. After that, it was pretty much lights out for the star pitcher, working around some defensive errors, only allowing just one run and three hits while pitching four strikeouts.
The Longhorns continued to show their hitting prowess in the bottom of the third inning. Atwood, who has had a quiet weekend, returned to form by launching a two-run homer, her 40th career blast, to extend the lead to 4–0.
The Bulls only found moments of offensive momentum in the top of the fourth. After an inaccurate throw by junior utility Leighann Goode to Mitchell at first base, South Florida senior outfielder Allana Consolazio was able to run to second base and run home after several pop flies. Bases were loaded at one point, but Kavan kept her calm and pitched a pop fly to end the only inning where the Bulls scored.
Texas’ hitting continued to pounce on South Florida through the bottom of the fifth, extending its lead by five runs.
Sophomore infielder Victoria Hunter lasered a double to the left-center, bringing Goode home. Senior utility Mia Scott then singled to the right, allowing redshirt junior outfielder Ashton Maloney and Hunter to score. Atwood’s groundout brought in another run by sophomore outfielder Kayden Henry, and Stewart tacked on an RBI single to push the lead to 9–1, sealing the victory.
The next game, just 20 minutes later, was another day in the office for the Longhorns. Senior pitcher Mac Morgan shut out the Bulldogs, pitching four strikeouts and allowing just one hit.
“(Morgan) has kind of just like a bulldog mentality,” Kavan said. “She is very competitive, and so I think that’s what I see from her. … She’s going to, it’s going to get in there quick and hard.”
The Texas offensive went straight to work in the bottom of the first, going up three runs. Scott hit a single to the right, allowing Maloney to score. Atwood, in normal fashion, immediately smashed her second two-run homer of the day.
In the bottom of the second, Texas took advantage of severe errors from the Bulldogs’ defense. Maloney’s bunt single and a wonky throw from the outfielder to the catcher allowed her to advance to the third. The exact same error by Alabama A&M in the next play allowed Maloney to score and Henry to advance to second. Scott then hit an RBI, which saw Henry score a run to extend the lead by two runs.
After a scoreless third inning, Texas tacked on another run in the fourth when Henry stole second and later scored on Scott’s pop fly. The Longhorns added two more in the fifth when Maloney’s double drove in junior utility Kaydee Bennett, sealing the 8–0 run-rule win.
“Why is (Maloney) not an all-American?” head coach Mike White said. “She plays the outfield really well. So I’m looking for her to have that breakthrough season (and) really get the notoriety she really deserves.”
The Longhorns improve to 20–1 as they head into the last stretch of the non-conference season, returning to Red & Charline McCombs Field Wednesday to take on old conference opponent Baylor.
