At the end of No. 1 Texas softball’s first inning of the season at the UTSA Invitational on Friday, the Longhorns found themselves down 0-1 against No. 9 Nebraska.
However, senior second baseman Leighann Goode made sure they didn’t leave the second without shifting the momentum in their favor, culminating in a high-scoring, 15-10 win against the Cornhuskers.
The San Antonian used the support of her hometown crowd to crank the ball over the fence at Roadrunner Field for a two-run home run blast to put her team on the scoreboard. Needless to say, fans exploded in cheers for the hometown kid.
“I’ve had my parents, my brothers and just all my support system, people from high school, which is awesome,” Goode said after the second day of the UTSA Invitational. “So, I hear everyone cheering for me when I come up to bat. Just repping the 210 is awesome.”
Helping the Longhorns earn their first runs of the season, Goode’s name became an important one throughout the invitational. During the weekend spent in her hometown, the senior recorded two home runs on five hits, batting four runners in.
Goode comes into this season with experience contributing to Texas’ championship-winning effort. While her name might have been chanted louder in San Antonio, Longhorns head coach Mike White noted that her performances have been crucial to Texas throughout her time on the Forty Acres.
“You saw that last year in the College World Series,” White said. “She was going at it like an unsung MVP. She was able to give some big hits, some big moments, and of course, she had a home run last night off Jordy Frahm and then another couple of line drives today. So, she’s just a key player that steps up in big moments for us.”
This key player, as White categorizes her, has lofty goals for herself heading into her senior season.
“I do want to try to win a Gold Glove,” Goode said. “I really do love defense over offense. I know it’s kind of hard to tell, but I do love defense.”
Her offensive prowess might be why it’s harder to tell that Goode loves defense, but she logged four putouts and four assists throughout the weekend.
“It feels awesome, obviously coming off the national championship last year,” Goode said.
This new class has played a critical role so far for the Longhorns, making a generally smooth transition into college softball with their more seasoned teammates like Goode.
Although this past weekend served as somewhat of a home game for the senior, Goode and the Longhorns will return home officially this upcoming weekend for the Bevo Classic. Taking it one game at a time, they will first face Abilene Christian on Thursday night at the Red & Charline McCombs Field.
“(We) don’t make it bigger than what it is or smaller than what it is,” Goode said. “Don’t get too relaxed and just play our game.”
