In the top of the third inning of Texas softball’s matchup against Ole Miss on Friday at home, Rebels senior outfielder Taylor Malvin was one pitch from becoming her team’s second consecutive player to earn a free ride to first base.
However, junior pitcher Teagan Kavan was in no mood to concede two consecutive walks. Instead, she opted to create two defensive outs for her team on the play.
Malvin made contact with the ball, but Kavan secured it for a quick catch and made the throw to junior infielder and catcher Katie Stewart to prevent the first base runner from retreating back to the bag.
For Texas, the play created new life.
“That game could’ve changed if they would have got anything there,” Kavan said after her team’s 3-1 victory. “I think that (play) set the tone for the rest of the game and solidified that we were just ahead.”
Make no mistake, Kavan had not been playing poorly before this double play. She accumulated five strikeouts in the game’s first two innings, striking out three out of four Ole Miss batters that stepped up to the plate in the second inning.
But when senior catcher Reese Atwood made her way to the pitcher’s mound to talk to her ace in the third, it was clear that she wanted to nip any drop of intensity in the bud. The double play ensuing immediately after the conversation helped Kavan reestablish the momentum she needed to pitch seven more strikeouts in the remaining five innings, allowing just one run when sophomore infielder Mackenzie Pickens hit a solo home run in the sixth inning.
This home run wasn’t enough to help the Rebels complete a comeback, but it would be the best hit either team had all night on offense. The Longhorns rallied around early small-ball successes to put three runs on the board, not scoring after the second inning of the matchup.
“I thought we were good coming out, but I thought (senior pitcher Kyra) Aycock pitched a really good game against us, and it was difficult,” Texas head coach Mike White said. “I thought she really hit the locations pretty well, and we were fortunate to get a couple of big two-out hits.”
Texas’ first big play of the matchup occurred in the first inning when senior outfielder Kaiah Altmeyer drilled the ball down the left field line and allowed junior outfielder Kayden Henry to cross home plate. The second was in the second inning, this time with Henry as the batter. Taking a page out of Altmeyer’s book, Henry cranked the ball down the left field line, bringing both freshman infielder Jaycie Nichols and senior outfielder Ashton Maloney home.
With two more games left against the Rebels this weekend, the Longhorns prepare to see what other pitchers can accomplish against this Southeastern Conference opponent. According to White, Saturday’s starting pitcher remains in the air, as does whether he will utilize Kavan again at any point this weekend.
“We’ll see what happens tomorrow,” White said after Friday’s win. “We take each day at a time. I’m not sure who we’re going to start tomorrow, either.”
The Longhorns will return to the Red & Charline McCombs Field on Saturday at 12 p.m. to take on Ole Miss for the second game of the series.
