“Get out of the stands!” a fan wearing burnt orange shouted at an Oklahoma supporter seated in the front row behind home plate. The Sooner had flashed a horns down hand sign before the top of the fifth inning — enraging the surrounding spectators rooting for the Longhorns.
The rain might have washed away the crowd during Texas softball’s 3-0 loss on Friday, but the stands were full at Red & Charline McCombs Field to watch the Longhorns take on the Sooners Saturday evening. The right outfield bleachers were filled with students from the Longhorn Hellraisers, chest paint and all.
Even with the support, Texas fell to Oklahoma 4-3 Saturday night. Texas improved its short game, registering eight hits from six different players, but without a solid No. 2 pitcher, Oklahoma’s power-hitters gave the Sooners the leg up they needed to take the series.
“Kudos to our pitching staff, kept the game close, same with the defense, they played pretty well,” head coach Mike White said. “We just couldn’t quite string the hits together when we needed them.”
Texas had the chance to walk off the game. With just one out on the board and junior infielder Katie Stewart’s single, the energy was palpable when senior catcher Reese Atwood approached the plate.
It wasn’t meant to be, though. Atwood grounded the ball and allowed Oklahoma to execute a 5-4-3 double play to end the game.
While Texas got ahead early with a single by junior infielder Viviana Martinez in the first inning to bring in junior outfielder Kayden Henry, Oklahoma quickly evened the score in the top of the second with a homer from sophomore infielder Gabbie Garcia, placed directly behind the left field wall.
“Some people are struggling to get a little bit in their head, (trying) to do too much,” White said. “The games have to come to you, and then (you have to) slow it down.”
Both teams sported accents of teal on their uniforms to honor a Mississippi State softball player who lost her battle to ovarian cancer in 2018. Despite the coordinating colors, it was a fierce game from both teams, with the Sooners leaving nine runners on base and the Longhorns stranding six.
Freshman pitcher and utility Hannah Wells started in the circle for two innings before subbing in as a pinch hitter for freshman infielder Jaycie Nichols. However, Nichols resumed her role at third base while Wells didn’t play for the remaining five innings.
Texas utilized three pitchers total, with sophomore Brenlee Gonzales entering the game after Well’s exit and senior Citlaly Gutierrez wrapping up the remaining three innings. The Sooners trailed the Longhorns 2-1 entering the fifth inning, but that didn’t last for long. Gonzales allowed two runners on base and left Gutierrez with a lot of work, and the senior could not get out of the inning unscathed.
Gutierrez gave Oklahoma freshman catcher Kendall Wells the ball she was looking for when Kendall blasted a ball past freshman outfielder Alisa Sneed’s head to break the NCAA Freshman Single-Season Home Run Record and put three more runs on the board.
“I thought they all did a good job, Citlaly (Gutierrez) gave up the home run, but they’re a great hitting team, and that’s going to happen,” White said.
Texas couldn’t secure the runs it needed to even the series, and the Longhorns drop to 32-6 for the season. Texas returns to the diamond to complete the series tomorrow afternoon at 1 p.m.
