Texas softball left the DeMarini Invitational with a clean sweep, going five-for-five against a competitive field and stacking up a strong showing ahead of conference play.
The Longhorns improved their 2026 record to 14–1 after playing two top 20-ranked opponents away from home soil in Palo Alto, Calif.
Friday saw Texas’ most competitive game due to some late-inning drama, but the Longhorns pulled away with a 4-3 win against No. 10 Stanford. Texas was up by three runs going into the bottom of the seventh inning, but a late-game push from the Cardinals and two fielding errors cut Texas’ lead to one, but Texas was able to hold on to the lead, finishing the game 4-3.
Junior pitcher Teagan Kavan spent a combined 12 innings in the circle on Friday, sealing the deal against No. 16 Arizona and Stanford. Against the Wildcats, Kavan gave up just three hits and no earned runs in the Longhorns’ 12-2 win. Only one of Stanford’s runs in the seventh was earned, with Kavan again only giving up three hits in her five innings pitched.
“The pitching stood out to me,” junior catcher and infielder Katie Stewart told Texas Athletics. “Teagan threw great in both of her appearances.”
In the top of the third inning against Arizona, senior catcher Reese Atwood took a nasty pitch to the face and didn’t appear in the rest of the game. After being cleared by the Texas trainers, she returned to the diamond as a pinch hitter for senior outfielder Kaiah Altmeyer.
“We were able to survive a scare in the first game when Reese Atwood was hit in the face by a pitch,” head coach Mike White said. “As a precautionary measure, she was taken out of the first game, but was able to return to the second game.”
While pitching was Texas’ strongest feature on Friday, it seemed like Texas’ batters were in their element on Saturday. The Longhorns beat Boise State in five innings, 10-0, and Santa Clara, 10-2.
While the DeMarini Invitational mainly took place at Stanford University, the Longhorns made the drive to take on Santa Clara at their home softball stadium.
Before the sixth inning, Texas was only up 4-1, but freshman infielder MaTaia Lawson hammered a three-run home run over the right-center field fence, putting the Longhorns up 7-1. With a throwing error from Boise State, a triple from junior outfielder Kayden Henry and a single from Altmeyer, the score was quickly elevated to 9-1. By the end of the seventh inning, Texas had the Broncos beat 10-2.
Texas maintained its momentum from the previous day’s doubleheaders in its Sunday rematch against Arizona. The Longhorns ended the Wildcats’ weekend in five innings, 12-2. Texas had an explosive third inning, scoring 10 runs on seven hits.
Freshman pitcher and utility Hannah Wells started against the Wildcats, but it was Kavan who earned the victory for the Longhorns, her third-ranked win of the weekend. Kavan faced 18 batters and gave up four hits, two runs and registered five strikeouts.
Texas returns to McCombs Field, Feb. 25, to take on Southeastern Louisiana at 6 p.m.
