Just three weeks ago, Texas softball was ranked No. 1 in the country and only had one loss.
On March 26, ahead of the Texas A&M series, the Longhorns boasted a 29-1 record. Nine games later, they’re ranked No. 5, and they’re sporting a record of 33–6.
Three weeks can change a lot. In consecutive weekends, the Longhorns faced then-No. 15 Texas A&M, No. 4 Alabama and No. 2 Oklahoma. Despite winning the first two games of the Texas A&M series, the loss in the third game was a preview of what the future held for Texas.
At the beginning of the season, opposing teams came to expect offensive domination from Texas. In the three-game series against Ole Miss, the Longhorns registered 29 runs. Even in the Longhorns’ loss against the Aggies, they still managed to put seven runs on the board. Since then, though, the batter’s box has been an area of concern for head coach Mike White.
“We’ve just had some poor at-bats,” White said after Friday’s game against Oklahoma. “We talked about quality at-bats, and we didn’t have the quality at-bats throughout the lineup as much as we wanted.”
Heading into Sunday’s game, Texas had lost four games in a row, dropping the last two games in the Alabama series and the first two in the Red Rivalry Series. In each of those losses, Texas’ team batting average never exceeded .300.
While each team managed only six hits in Friday’s game, it was the Sooners’ pair of home runs that elevated them to a 3-0 victory over the Longhorns. Texas couldn’t cash in on any of its hits, the closest being a triple, hit by senior outfielder Ashton Maloney. Maloney would later be called out at home after attempting to tag up on a shallow ball hit to right field.
By Sunday, it looked like Texas had finally cracked the code on Oklahoma’s pitching. Four different players combined for five home runs, with junior infielder Katie Stewart claiming two homers, including the bomb that sent the Sooners packing in extra innings.
“I had a feeling that pitch was coming because I had struggled with it the last two games,” Stewart said. “Being able to sit on it, and I just knew it off the bat.”
That walk-off homer, Stewart’s 22nd of the season, put her in striking distance of senior catcher Reese Atwood’s single-season home run record, which she set in 2024 with 23. With three more conference series and one non-conference midweek game left in the regular season, Stewart has plenty of time to tie and break her teammate’s record.
Texas doesn’t have an easy road ahead. On the road, it will play No. 13 Georgia, followed by Kentucky, before returning home to Red & Charline McCombs Field to wrap up the season against No. 6 Arkansas. The Longhorns will not find success heading into the postseason without fixing their problems at the plate.
“Anytime you can stop that momentum, the negative momentum, it’s a good thing,” White said after Sunday’s victory. “It was good to see us get those key hits, … it was a good all-around job throughout the order, which we’ve been missing.”
