After winning against the University of Louisiana at Lafayette earlier in the evening 5-0, No. 2/2 Texas softball continued their winning streak with a shutout win over Colorado State, 7-0. 

“We had some spurts where we did really well and other times we struggled a little bit,” Head Coach Mike White said. “There’s always something to take away from the games that we need to work on and we got to be ready for tomorrow.”

Freshman outfielder Kayden Henry, the leadoff hitter, got the momentum going with a base hit out to right field. 

Two outs from balls popped up in the infield put pressure on sophomore catcher Reese Atwood as she stepped up to the plate. However, on only the second pitch, Atwood hit a home run to left field, bringing the score to 2-0. 

Atwood wasn’t done for the night. First up to bat in the third inning, Atwood took a massive swing to a pitch and the ball sailed into centerfield, over the wall. 

“In that situation, (I was) just getting a base hit to score my teammates,” Atwood said, “Just so we can start the game off strong and get a run.” 

After Atwood’s solo home run in the third inning, the rest of the team picked up the pace. Senior infielder Joley Mitchell got a base hit and found an opportunity to steal second base. 

With Mitchell on second, sophomore shortstop Viviana Martinez stepped up to the plate. Martinez hit a ball into center field, which dropped in front of the outfielder. However, while trying to scoop up the ball, the centerfielder fumbled the ball, allowing Mitchell to make it home.

When Atwood made her way to the plate at the bottom of the fifth, Colorado intentionally walked her.

“Right now, she’s swinging it well, of course, and finally got an intentional walk out there,” White said. “We just gotta keep her in that locked-in phase that she’s in. She’s hitting the ball real well, doing a great job for us behind the plate as well.”

Freshman infielder Victoria Hunter also got a moment to shine. 

In the fourth inning, Hunter stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. Despite the heavy pressure on the Houston product, Hunter clinched a hit just inside the foul line and all three of the players on base ended up scoring, bringing the score up to 7-0. 

At the bottom of the sixth inning, Hunter stepped up to the plate again. Hunter cracked the ball into left field, just short of going over the wall. 

While the Rams had an opportunity to score in the seventh inning due to a miscommunication error catching a pop fly by junior right-hand pitcher Sophia Simpson, the Longhorn’s defense kept the Rams scoreless. 

The pitching staff had a lot to do with that success as well. 

“(Our) defense is coming through, but, obviously, Mac Morgan did a good job there and started taking advantage,” White said. 

Junior right hand pitcher Mac Morgan pitched five innings without a run, facing 20 batters and throwing 85 pitches.

The Longhorn pitching staff will face Colorado State again Saturday at 4:30 p.m. followed by a matchup against No. 13/12 Stanford at 7 p.m.