The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas State
Bobcats take extra-inning win over No. 2 Softball
03.09.2006 | Softball
SAN MARCOS, Texas -- Amy Krueger's single up the middle snapped a ninth-inning tie and scored the Bobcats' game-winning run from third, allowing Texas State to upset the second-ranked Texas softball team, 2-1 in nine innings, before a Bobcat Field record 1,184 fans on Thursday night.
The game was Texas' (26-2) first loss in its last 25 games and was the team's first extra-inning game of the season. Texas State (13-10) won its third straight game and snapped UT's three-game winning streak in the series.
Krueger went 3-for-5 on the night, the only Bobcat to record a multiple-hit game. Texas State scattered seven hits off UT starter Meagan Denny (11-2), who saw her 10-game winning streak snapped. Denny had nine strikeouts and four walks in a career-long 8.2 innings while surrendering two runs, one earned.
Katie Ann Trahan (8-4) took the win for Texas State, allowing one run on five hits with nine strikeouts and two walks in nine innings. She also went 1-for-3 at the plate.
Texas' Desiree Williams extended her hitting streak to 15 games, going 2-for-3 with a walk and the Horns' lone RBI. She was the only Horn to have a multiple-hit outing.
The Longhorns struck first in the third inning, scoring with two outs to take a 1-0 lead. Shannon Thomas legged out a two-out double to left field and Williams brought her in with a single to left. Williams' single extended her hitting streak to 15 games, the second-longest run in Texas program history, one game shy of the 16-game record Lindsay Gardner set in 2000.
The Bobcats knotted the score at 1-1 in the fourth inning. Ashton Peters reached on a fielder's choice and moved to second on a wild pitch, all with one out. After Denny struck out Alex Newton to record the second out, Trahan singled to shallow left field, and Peters came around third. The throw in from left by Rachael Cook beat her by a few steps, but UT catcher Megan Willis dropped the ball when she tried to put the tag on Peters, allowing the run to hold.
Texas State looked to have its best opportunity to go ahead in the bottom of the sixth when Krueger and Kristin Gunter had back-to-back hits to open the frame. Denny got Peters to strikeout and Newton to ground out back to her for two outs, but she issued a full-count walk to Trahan to load the bases. Karen Taylor had a 1-2 count on her when she ripped a hard-hit liner to the 3-4 hole, but Thomas dove left at the ball, making the grab and preserving the 1-1 score.
In the top of the eighth inning, Tina Boutelle bunt singled with one out and swiped two bases on Thomas' sacrifice bunt, setting up Williams with two outs. With a 1-0 count, Williams popped up to third, ending the inning and stranding Boutelle 60 feet from home.
With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Ali McCormack drew a one-out walk to give the Bobcats a chance. After a Tamara Keller strikeout, Chelsea Giroux sent a high pop into the center of the infield but the Horns' defense couldn't come up with the ball and it fell for a double, putting runners at second and third. Krueger stepped in and sent a single up the middle, scoring McCormack - the game-winning run - from third, snapping the Longhorns' winning streak.
The Longhorns have a week off before playing in the Judi Garman Classic - formerly the Kia Klassic - hosted by UT head coach Connie Clark's alma mater, Cal State Fullerton, Thursday-Sunday, March 15-19. UT faces No. 15 Washington on Thursday, March 16 and No. 9 Michigan and No. 10 Louisiana-Lafayette on Friday, March 17 in pool play before bracket play begins on Saturday, March 18.
The Longhorns return home on Wednesday, March 22, when they face Georgia Tech in the team's last non-conference games before the start of Big 12 play on Saturday, March 25 against No. 15 Nebraska.
