The No. 7 Longhorns carried their strong pitching momentum and offensive domination from Friday into the second day of the Lone Star State Invitational at Red and Charline McCombs Field.
In their first game against a ranked opponent, Texas prevailed over No. 25 Mississippi State in an exhilarating 8-7 game. Mississippi State, possessing some of the best home run hitters in the country, proved a tough win for a Longhorns team boasting an ace of a sophomore pitcher.
Sophomore pitcher Shea O’Leary’s third start of the season didn’t begin with the perfect pitch, giving up her first earned run of the season to Mississippi State senior power hitter Mia Davidson. However, she was able to recover with help from the defense and closed out the top of the second inning by retiring all three Bulldog batters and recording her first strikeout of the game.
In the first four innings of the game, however, it was the Longhorn batters who overwhelmed Mississippi State’s rotation. Senior outfielder Shannon Rhodes hit a two-run blast to give Texas their first lead of the game, and junior utility player Mary Iakopo followed in the very next at-bat with her third home run of the tournament, allowing the Longhorns to cruise to a substantial lead.
Rhodes carried her vehement hitting into the bottom of the third inning, hitting her second homer of the game through center field and over the scoreboard, bringing junior infielder Janae Jefferson and freshman infielder Alyssa Washington home for a three run home run.
Texas carried with an 8-1 lead going into the fourth inning due to confident pitching from O’Leary and explosive hitting from Rhodes and Iakopo.
However, as the Longhorns entered into the top of the fourth inning, their defense began to wane. O’Leary pitched the ball right over the heart of the plate, which allowed the Bulldogs to garner momentum with a multitude of runs, ending the top of the inning 8-6.
Out of the six runs that O’Leary gave up, only three of them were earned. The rest of the runs came as a result of defensive errors in the field, and the offense lost their initial spunk with Rhodes striking out at the bottom of the fifth. The Bulldogs held steady in their batting and managed another run to bring the game within one run.
Needing a spark, Texas brought graduate transfer pitcher Molly Jacobsen in to pitch the final two innings. Jacobsen exuded a new energy from the mound that could be felt from the dugout and managed a huge strikeout at the bottom of the sixth.
As the game narrowed down to the top of the seventh inning with the Longhorns hanging onto the lead, Jacobsen managed to capitalize on the pressure and stay ahead of the batters in the count. She struck out the side to end the game 8-7 and seize a 6-0 record for the Longhorns.
In the end, Texas’ poise on the mound coupled with their powerful hitting set them apart for the win against Mississippi State. The Longhorns head into the final day of the Lone Star State Invitational ready to face Connecticut at 10 a.m. Sunday.
