Freshman pitcher and utility Hannah Wells ended Saturday’s game against Ole Miss early for the Longhorns in an impressive offensive and defensive performance.
Texas had an opportunity to end the game in the fifth inning, but a fly-ball hit by senior outfielder Kaiah Altmeyer forced the game to continue with just one run short of a mercy-rule. However, once Wells entered the circle at the top of the inning and approached the plate at the bottom, the Ole Miss Rebels didn’t stand a chance.
With junior infielders Viviana Martinez and Katie Stewart on base, Wells took the opportunity to end the game and hit her first-ever walk-off home run, elevating Texas to 11-2 in its first conference run-rule ending.
“It was really cool, I thought my teammates were behind me, they got on base so that I could do my job,” Wells said.
This weekend brought a packed house to Red & Charline McCombs Field, with the series-opening conference play at home. The Longhorns welcomed a number of former players, including Texas Hall of Fame inductee Cat Osterman, for Alumni Day
The game had a slow start, with each team scoring a single run in the second inning. However, a two-run home run that just cleared the padded fence in left field by senior catcher Reese Atwood gave Texas the momentum it needed to get things going.
Before this game, Atwood had a brief drought of runs, with her last being a pair against St. Bonaventure on Feb. 28. However, she was able to break the streak this afternoon against senior Ole Miss pitcher Emilee Boyer.
Senior infielder Leighann Goode doubled her hits against Southeastern Conference opponents, with two hits against the Rebels, one being a home run to left field, bringing in one base runner in the fourth. Texas had 14 hits compared to the Rebels’ six, with neither team producing any fielding errors.
Texas utilized much of its bullpen, with the starting pitcher, senior Citlaly Gutierrez, giving up two hits and two walks in 2.1 innings, and sophomore pitcher Cambria Salmon surrendering four hits and four walks in three innings. Head coach Mike White saw a few things that needed to be cleaned up going into Sunday’s game.
“(Junior pitcher) Teagan (Kavan) was over 100 pitches yesterday, and we threw a number of pitches today and a number of walks,” White said.
When Wells entered the circle to end the sixth inning, her first two warm-up pitches left the crowd with some concerns. Both pitches flew over Atwood’s head and into the protective netting, but once play resumed, Wells got the two outs and the job done.
“We always get told to be ready in all situations, so I was just making sure I was prepping my mind, being ready to go out there,” Wells said. “(I) felt a little nervous with a big crowd, but (Atwood) did a great job at talking to me and making me feel secure to get out of the inning.”
Texas will take on Ole Miss at home tomorrow at noon.
