It was a chilly night in Austin but No. 1 Texas softball remained on its hot streak, winning a doubleheader in front of fans at home for the first time this season.
Earlier in the day, the Longhorns opened the Bevo Classic with a mercy rule 13–4 win against the Maryland Terrapins. Later in the evening, the team pulled away with a narrow 2–1 walkoff win against the Texas Tech Red Raiders to remain undefeated.
The outpour of scoring from a week ago continued in the Longhorns outing against the Terrapins, scoring 13 runs in five innings.
Texas’ dominance came in the strength of its batters, with four different Longhorns each hitting a home run. Swinging on the first pitch, sophomore outfielder Kayden Henry rocketed the ball toward left center, getting a two-run home run and increasing the Longhorn’s lead to four in the second inning. A couple of batters later, sophomore catcher Katie Stewart hit a line drive toward center field and would increase the lead to seven.
Junior infielder Leighann Goode added her first home run of the season to the count, hitting a deep 253-foot ball to left field that ended up on the other side of the street surrounding the field. Then, senior utility player Vanessa Quiroga got her first home run in two years. Pinch-hitting for junior infielder Kaydee Bennett, Quiroga launched a two-run home run toward left centerfield and increased the blowout to 13–0.
In game two of the doubleheader, Texas would play its first ranked matchup of the season against former Big 12 rival No. 11/8 Texas Tech.
A pitching duel began between the team’s starting pitchers as Texas sophomore pitcher Teagan Kavan and Texas Tech junior pitcher NiJaree Canady faced off. While at Stanford last year, Canady was named USA Softball’s Collegiate Player of the Year and helped give Texas one of its few losses during the season.
“We knew it was going to be a matchup and it didn’t disappoint,” head coach Mike White said. “They’re both two of the best in the country going at it.”
After three scoreless innings from both teams, the Red Raiders broke the deadlock at the top of the fourth inning. Freshman catcher Anya German batted in sophomore outfielder Logan Halleman to score from second base.
However, the Longhorns got a score of their own in the fifth inning to tie up the game. Senior infielder Mia Scott got a double hit down the third baseline that drove in junior outfielder Ashton Maloney, evening up the game at one.
Seven innings were not enough to separate both teams. The duel between the two pitchers continued to battle on, with both pitchers combined throwing for 29 strikeouts. Kavan broke her career-high in strikeouts with 18 and threw 147 pitches on the night.
“I wanted to finish the game,” Kavan said. “I knew I had to do what I needed to do, all adrenaline just rolling within.”
A walk-off score came in the ninth inning for the Longhorns. Sophomore designated player Victoria Hunter hit a single toward first base that drove in graduate student infielder Joley Mitchell to end the game.
Texas returns to the field on Saturday on day two of the Bevo Classic, facing UMass at 4 p.m. CT and Maryland again at 6:30 p.m. CT.
