Ole Miss’ campaign to stop the Longhorns’ series sweep was short-lived. Despite getting ahead in the first inning, Texas relied on its base hitting to deliver an explosive run-rule victory on Sunday.
The Longhorns swept their second Southeastern Conference opponent, ending the day 15-3. Uncharacteristically, Texas registered zero home runs on the day — instead, the Longhorns found strength in contact hitting, garnering 12 hits in 26 at-bats.
“I can’t remember all the heroes. … There were a lot of people hitting the ball really well,” head coach Mike White said. “We got down early. Teagan was in some jams early, and we’re able to wriggle out of it.”
Seven out of the nine batters in the starting lineup were able to get a hit off the Rebels’ pitchers, with two additional pinch hitters finding success. Senior infielder Leighann Goode scored two runs on two hits and drove in one RBI. To compare, Goode was unsuccessful in her two at-bats against Ole Miss in Friday’s game, but after reviewing her performance, she knew what she had to tweak.
“We worked on our pitch selection, just getting a good pitch to hit,” Goode said. “We’re much better when we’re in zone versus when we start chasing.”
Goode recently moved to second in the batting order when White pushed senior outfielder Ashton Maloney down to last in the order to build her confidence. If Goode is feeling the pressure, she seems to not be showing it at the plate, averaging .492 through 27 games, including two conference series.
“(I’m) trying not to get too ahead of myself and get too involved in stats,” Goode said. “Just working with my mental game has been big for me.”
Texas’ first inning told a different story from the rest of the game. Despite junior pitcher Teagan Kavan striking out the leadoff batter and forcing a groundout by the second batter, Kavan gave up two singles, a double and two walks in the first inning.
Texas only responded with a run by junior outfielder Kayden Henry, made possible by an Ole Miss fielding error. The first inning might’ve been Texas’ warmup, because in the second and third innings, Texas scored six and eight runs, respectively.
By the time Texas entered the bottom of the fourth inning, the Longhorns were well within run-rule territory, being up 13 runs on the Rebels. White gave a few non-starters some experience at the plate, including freshman infielder Caigan Crabtree and junior outfielder Adayah Wallace.
With this win, the Longhorns tie the program record of most consecutive wins at 24. White and his team aren’t concerned about records — just the road to the next win.
“I didn’t know that,” White said about the program record. “It’s a testament to the club, how well they’re doing and how well they’re taking the pressure of being defending national champions.”
Texas looks to break the record against Baylor at Red & Charline McCombs Field on March 20 at 6:30 p.m.
