After a grueling pre-conference schedule with non-stop games and traveling, Texas softball wraps up its first month of the season with dominant wins against Ohio State, Dayton, Kent State, Oakland and Merrimack in a tournament in Columbus, Ohio.
Day one of the Ohio State Tournament went as expected for the Longhorns. Both games against Merrimack and Oakland resulted in Texas victories via mercy rule and a combined margin of victory of 23-1.
While competing in near-freezing temperatures in Columbus, Texas batters and pitchers stayed hot all day long. Four different batters hit a combined seven home runs. Three different pitchers struck out a combined 14 batters and gave up just three hits throughout both five-inning games.
“I thought we hit the ball really well (today),” head coach Mike White said. “That leads to the opportunity to open the gates for the power bats. We hit seven home runs on the day, so they did a pretty good job at the plate today.”
In the opening game against Merrimack, the Longhorns put together two of their seven home runs of the day early in the very first inning of the game. A two-run home run from infielder and catcher sophomore Katie Stewart and a solo home run from graduate student infielder Joley Mitchell got the day started. Junior utility player Kaydee Bennett hit the third home run, marking her first of the season and first as a Longhorn. Wrapping up the display of power in game one was junior catcher Reese Atwood with a home run to center field.
In game two, Texas’ pitching power came alive as junior pitcher Citlaly Gutierrez and freshman pitcher Cambria Salmon combined for 10 strikeouts through five innings of work. As the starter, Gutierrez struck out seven batters and gave up just a pair of hits, while Salmon came in for the final inning and struck out all three batters she faced. Meanwhile, the bats continued to buzz. Mitchell, Stewart and Atwood all had back-to-back games with home runs, continuing their momentum from game one.
The Longhorns dominated Kent State, 15-1, in five innings on Sunday.
Thanks to a quick offensive start and no response from Kent State, the Longhorns were able to switch up their pitching and send fresh faces into the circle.
After taking four innings, sophomore pitcher Teagan Kavan finished the day with seven strikeouts, allowing two hits and no runs. Senior pitcher Sophia Simpson took over and pitched the bottom of the fourth, throwing two strikeouts and allowing the only Kent State run, Salmon took over to close out the game, throwing two more strikes and allowing no hits.
“It was a solid performance all the way around today,” White said. “Teagan Kavan pitched really well and Sophia (Simpson) was able to come in and had a good inning before Cam(bria Salmon) came in and closed it out.”
Redshirt junior outfielder Ashton Maloney, who leads the hitting lineup, dominated offensively, scoring three runs. She also was integral in helping her teammates get runs on the board, hitting a triple in the second inning and a single in the fourth.
“I feel like, in the past, we’ve been playing tight in close games, so this weekend, we’ve just really been playing free and relaxed and that’s been helpful,” Maloney said. “For me, personally, I’m just trying to get a good pitch to hit and trying to not be too complicated and just simplify things, because that’s my game.”
Texas kept the ball rolling on the tournament’s final day, beating Dayton 6-1 before Ohio State.
Salmon got to start in the circle for the Longhorns, winning the pitching battle, throwing seven strikeouts and allowing just one hit.
After a scoreless first inning, senior utility player Vanessa Quiroga hit a laser of a home run to put the Longhorns on the board. Scoring just one more run across the next two innings, Texas’ bats got hot in the bottom of the fifth. Junior utility player Leighann Goode hit a two-run homer. Senior catcher Katie Cimusz followed, homering to the left field, extending the lead to five runs.
About an hour later, Texas beat home its final opponent of the weekend, host team Ohio State 4-2.
The Buckeyes’ offense stood little chance against Kavan, who threw 11 strikeouts.
Just four pitches into the game, senior utility player Mia Scott hit her first homer of the season, sending her and Maloney to the home plate. The scoring was sporadic throughout the rest of the game, with just one run scored in the top of the second by Cimusz and an unearned one in the fourth by sophomore outfielder Adayah Wallace due to a mistake by the Buckeyes outfield.
The Buckeyes scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth, as Kavan allowed Ohio State’s sophomore catcher and utility player Jasmyn Burns to hit a two-run homer. Kavan was able to stop the offensive momentum, throwing another strikeout and a pop fly to end the game.
With just one loss across the first month of the season, Texas softball will enter conference play next weekend against its first Southeastern Conference opponent, heavy hitter No. 3 Florida in Gainesville.
