Texas gets revenge, beats UCLA in Women’s College World Series opener
June 3, 2022
On Feb. 19, Texas was in a major slump. Facing then-No. 3 UCLA in Clearwater, Florida, the Longhorns sent out freshman Sophia Simpson to pitch in only her second career start for Texas. While Simpson kept it close, the Longhorns fell short in the midst of what would become a six-game losing streak.
Flash forward to Thursday, and the Longhorns found themselves once again facing the Bruins. This time the matchup was in Oklahoma City on the biggest stage in college softball, and the Longhorns got their revenge, beating the Bruins 7-2 in the opening round of the Women’s College World Series.
“(Reaching the WCWS) never gets old, that’s for sure,” Texas head coach Mike White said. “The excitement, I’ve been telling the players about it. This is the show. … This is the pinnacle for our sport, without a doubt. … We are very, very excited.”
Texas opened up the scoring in the third inning with a long triple off the bat of freshman standout Mia Scott. In the previous at bat, senior second baseman Janae Jefferson bunted, and sophomore outfielder Bella Dayton scored because of an errant throw to first base, but UCLA challenged and was awarded runner interference on the play, wiping the run off the board and forcing Dayton back to second base. Despite the call, Scott walked into the box and smashed a ball to deep left center, bringing Dayton home and giving the Longhorns their first lead of the ball game.
That spark was all Texas needed. After Scott’s triple, the Longhorns caught fire. Sophomore shortstop Alyssa Washington singled to score Scott from third, and senior catcher Mary Iakopo followed up the RBI by crushing a two-run home run to left field, putting Texas up 4-0 in the third inning.
With ample run support from her teammates, senior pitcher Hailey Dolcini had the freedom to play her game and mow through UCLA’s lineup. Despite throwing nearly 700 pitches in the postseason prior to Thursday’s game, Dolcini showed no signs of fatigue and took care of business against No. 5-seeded UCLA.
“I’m feeling great,” Dolcini said. “Being slated (for) the Thursday, Friday, Saturday Super (Regional), at first we kind of looked at it as a disadvantage, but we just got an extra day off.”
This extra day off appeared to do wonders for Dolcini, as she allowed only two earned runs and six hits. UCLA averaged the 12th-most runs per game in the country this season, yet the Longhorns managed to stifle the Bruins in one of their largest defeats of the season. Texas’ seven runs was also the most the Longhorns have ever scored in a WCWS game.
Texas advances to face Oklahoma for the fourth time this season on Saturday, looking to repeat the Longhorns’ winning formula from their last meeting on April 16 in Austin.
“Hailey (Dolcini) was able to put together one of the best games of her career (against Oklahoma),” White said. “Hopefully, we can repeat it.”
