While it’s not a given that No. 1 Texas softball will get behind early, when they do, it’s a struggle to find enough rhythm and consistency to rally from behind.
Texas couldn’t pull off a comeback to win in its fourth conference series against No. 4 Alabama, losing the third game 4-7 on Saturday at Rhoads Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
While senior catcher Reese Atwood and junior infielder and catcher Katie Stewart didn’t seem phased by the Crimson Tide’s pitching, players who consistently found themselves on base and in scoring position struggled to find hits in the last game.
“When they’re swinging well, they’re swinging well,” head coach Mike White said earlier this week. “It’s kind of like a rivalry, ‘You hit one, I’ve got to hit one.’”
Typically, when Atwood and Stewart, the “smash sisters,” get hot, the Longhorns are able to cash in big on the duo’s home runs. However, Stewart’s first home run, a bomb when it came off her bat in the fourth inning, only scored Atwood, who had been walked earlier. It was Atwood’s first at-bat that put the first run on the board, and then Stewart hit her second four-bagger of the game in the sixth inning to inch Texas closer to Alabama’s lead.
The first three batters in the Texas lineup rank among the top six on the team in on-base percentage. In Saturday’s game, junior outfielder Kayden Henry only found herself on base once, while senior infielder Leighann Goode and junior infielder Viviana Martinez went 0-7 on the day.
The bottom of the first was promising, with junior pitcher Teagan Kavan forcing a 1-2-3 inning. However, Kavan faced eight batters in the second inning, giving up four runs on four hits and one walk.
“She’s just got to keep working on her pitches, using the off-speed and drop,” White said on SEC Network after the bottom of the third inning. “Right now, she’s not being effective with the drops.”
It didn’t get much better for Kavan in the fourth inning. With the bases loaded, Kavan walked a batter, elevating the Crimson Tide’s advantage to 5-3. That’s when White called it wraps for the ace.
Senior pitcher Citlaly Gutierrez entered the game, but didn’t deliver for Texas to get out of the inning, walking another batter for another easy run. After facing three batters, Gutierrez left the circle with Alabama leading Texas 7-3, after a fielding error by Martinez.
Going into the weekend, the Longhorns knew the Crimson Tide’s pitching roster was stacked. Both Alabama pitchers Texas faced have an ERA under 2.00, while Kavan and Gutierrez have registered a 2.68 and 2.38, respectively.
“Another thing we preach in our offensive meetings is that we don’t care how we get on base,” Goode said on Tuesday. “So, whether that’s a walk, a hit by pitch, an error, we celebrate any way we can get on base.”
The Crimson Tide’s pitchers didn’t give the Longhorns many mistakes to capitalize on. Alabama gave up just one walk, with no batters hit and no wild pitches, while striking out eight Texas players.
This is the first time Texas softball has lost a series since being swept by Oklahoma at the end of April during the 2025 season. Texas faces the Sooners, a team with just three losses, April 10-12 at McCombs Field.
