The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Arizona State
Softball opens Women's College World Series with 2-0 win over Arizona State
06.01.2006 | Softball
OKLAHOMA CITY -- National Player of the Year Cat Osterman fired a one-hitter and struck out 18 batters, an NCAA Women's College World Series record for a seven-inning game, to lift No. 3 seed Texas to a 2-0 victory over No. 6 seed Arizona State in the first round of the 2006 Women's College World Series.
With the win, the Longhorns improve to 55-7 and move into the winner's bracket in the WCWS. Texas will face No. 2 seed Arizona (50-10) in a 6 p.m. (Central) game on Friday, June 2 at 6 p.m. (Central) at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium, site of the WCWS. Arizona advanced with a 3-2 nine-inning win over No. 7 Oregon State, in the tourney's first game which was delayed for nearly two hours due to inclement weather.
The Texas offense rapped out six hits, four of them for extra-bases, as the Longhorns scored single runs in the both the fourth and fifth innings. Key UT hits were delivered by senior rightfielder Amber Hall (RBI double in the fourth) and sophomore shortstop Desiree Williams (solo homer in the fifth).
Osterman, now 38-2, just missed firing a perfect game. She allowed one hit, a leadoff single to left field in the second inning to cleanup hitter and third baseman Bianca Cruz. Osterman faced only 22 Sun Devil hitters, one batter over the minimum.
Texas got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when second baseman Chez Sievers wrapped a leadoff double off the left-field wall. After an outfield flyout, ripped an RBI double to right center to score Sievers for the 1-0 lead.
Sun Devil sophomore lefthander Katie Burkhart then got the final two outs on two strikeouts.
The next inning, Williams came to the plate with two outs and slammed a solo home run off the left field foul pole for the 2-0 Texas lead. The homer was Williams' 13 th of the year and her 40 th RBI to date, both team highs.
With her 18 strikeouts, Osterman not only set the WCWS record for strikeouts in a seven-inning game, but also moved to No. 2 on the NCAA Division I single season strikeout list. She now has 608 strikeouts on the year, surpassing Tennessee's Monica Abbott, who had 603 in 2005. The all-time season strikeout mark is held by former Southern Mississippi star Courtney Blades (663 K's in 2000).
Burkhart took the loss, falling to 29-7. She allowed both earned runs on six hits, walking two and striking out nine.
Arizona State will face Oregon State on Saturday, June 3 in an 11 a.m. elimination game on ESPN.
POSTGAME NOTES
- This marks Texas' second straight WCWS and its fourth in program history. The Longhorns had previous appearances in 1998, 2003 and 2005. Texas is now 5-6 all-time in the WCWS.
- Texas has now won six games in a row. to six games and improved to 5-6 all-time at the WCWS.
- Arizona State is making its fifth appearance in the WCWS and its first since 2002. ASU's three other appearances in the WCWS came in 2000, 1987 and 1982. ASU fell to 4-9 in WCWS play with the loss. The Sun Devils have appeared in the NCAA Tournament on 17 occasions.
- With a 1-for-1 effort in stolen bases, senior Tina Boutelle tied the school record for single season stolen bases ... She now has 25 steals in 27 attempts, including a four-for-five effort in the NCAAs... She ties the school record for base thefts, held by Erin Mahoney (2002).
- Texas snapped ASU's nine-game winning streak, which was the longest of any team entering the WCWS.
- Today's game set three different WCWS records. Cat Osterman's 18 strikeouts broke the WCWS single-game record for K's in a seven-inning contest. The previous record of 17 was shared by Osterman (2005, 2003) and Northwestern's Lisa Ishikawa (1984). The combined strikeouts of both teams (27) also tied a seven-inning single-game record at the WCWS shared by Michigan and Texas in 2005. With only two assists by both teams combined, the game also set a WCWS record for fewest assists. The record was previously held by DePaul and Southern Miss in 1999 (five total assists).
- Texas is 76-0 in the last two years when leading after five innings; the last time an opponent mounted a late-inning comeback against the Horns was in 2004. On the year, the Longhorns improved to 37-0 when leading after five innings.
- Of UT's six hits against the Sun Devils, four were for extra bases (three doubles, one HR). Eighteen of UT's 39 hits (46 percent) in the NCAA Tournament have been extra-base hits. Four of the Horns' six hits today went for extra bases.
- Today's matchup marked the ninth meeting between Texas and Arizona State. With the win, Texas improved to 5-4 in the series. The last meeting between the two schools was a 1-0 Longhorn victory on March 19, 2005, at the Kia Klassic in Fullerton, Calif.
- Cat Osterman's 18 strikeouts marked her 36 th double-digit strikeout game of the season and her 21 st game of 15 or more strikeouts. Osterman also recorded her 27 th shutout of the season.
- Senior Amber Hall knocked in UT's first run of the game with her double to center field. It marked her 21 st RBI of the season and her fourth in the NCAA Tournament. It marked her team-high 11 th double of the season.
- UT's Desiree Williams' home run off the left field foul pole in the fifth was her first ever in two WCWS appearances and her team-leading 12 th of the season.
- UT's Tina Boutelle singled to right field in the fifth inning to extend her hitting streak to eight games. Additionally, her stolen base in the fifth marked her 25 th of the season, tying the UT record held by Erin Mahoney in 2002. The stolen bag also tied the school career record of 61 shared by Lindsay Gardner (2000-03).
- Thursday's first session attendance of 4,750 marked the third-highest for an opening WCWS session. The highest was 5,072 set in 2001, followed by 4,949 in 2003.
- The Sun Devils were held to one hit for just the second time this season. ASU recorded one hit against UCLA on April 29. The Sun Devils have only been shut out five times this season.
POSTGAME QUOTES
Texas Head Coach Connie Clark
General comments... "I thought we did a great job today of resetting. Mentally it's hard on kids when you're out warming up and they tell you a storm is moving in. I thought we did a very good job of heading back to the hotel and then coming back out. We had a very, very good warm-up.
I was a little concerned yesterday - we looked like the nerves were there just a little bit with some of our younger athletes at practice. But as the day settled in and as we got out here with our warm-up today they looked relaxed and loose and had a good presence of mind. Arizona State is a great ball club and we brought a game plan in and were able to kind of hit on all cylinders. I'm proud of our ball club for getting that initial win here."
On her team's improved offense this year...
"I think it's just a matter of staying pitch to pitch and knowing that you have to continue to work and make adjustments. One great thing is Desiree (Williams) doing a great job for us in that leadoff spot. Immediately when she has an at-bat, she is coming back into the dugout and she is sharing everything with her teammates about the adjustments we are going to try to make and what the pitcher is doing.
On offense, it's about compensating and adjusting. I thought we did that today and I thought we have done a good job of that and have gotten better about that throughout the season."
Texas Senior Pitcher Cat Osterman
On her performance...
"I could tell from my warm-ups I was having a good day. My ball was spinning well and I felt really in command. A lot of times I have to work through my warm-ups and once I get in the game I'm pretty crisp. But , I was pretty crisp from the get-go in warm-ups. With the game before us going extra innings, I got to take some time just to relax and throw a little bit, and then rest and then get geared up and not really have to go straight in.
After the first inning, I think I realized I was going to be hitting my corners. The umpire was very consistent and did not stretch the plate very much at all. I have to give credit to(catcher Megan) Willis, as we worked together to do a good job of keeping it on the corner."
Texas sophomore shortstop Desiree Williams
On her fifth-inning home run...
"Actually I thought it was just a double - I had no idea it was home run. The umpire did not signal one. I was just trying to get to first and then I saw that it ricocheted off (the pole) so I tried to get to second and I just kind of stood there. I saw my teammates coming out and I thought, `Get back in there, there is no one in front of me to score"! My thoughts were just try and be safe and then try and get a double. Then, they waved me in. I can't say there was any clear thought in all that, but I was excited and happy to contribute."
Arizona State Coach Clint Myers
General comment...
"I thought that Cat (Osterman) threw very well, I thought that our young lady right here next to me (Katie Burkhart) did an outstanding job. She made two mistakes on two pitches. If you can go up against Texas and say that you only want one pitch back, I thought she threw a heck of a ballgame. Offensively, I think we got a chance to hit off of the best pitcher in softball."
On hitting against Cat Osterman...
"We were hoping for contact. The young lady to my left (Bianca Cruz) did a pretty good job -- she got our only hit. I thought that there were a couple of pretty good at-bats by a couple of our kids, but when we start swinging at balls - her strikes are tough enough to hit - we are only helping her."
On moving on from the loss...
"We are going to practice and take in this great city and this great tournament. The kids need to live the whole experience. For the six seniors this is a dream come true; this is their final opportunity. For the sophomores and the juniors that we have here, hopefully they will be able to do it again. Overall, we are going to live the moment. We are going to work on the things we need to work on and try to work the mental as well as the physical. Then we are going to experience the World Series here in Oklahoma City."
Arizona State sophomore pitcher Katie Burkhart
On the game from her perspective...
"I was a little nervous in warm-ups. I had to get the jitters out, but after the first inning I was fine. I feel pretty well (about the game), and like coach said, there were two pitches that I wish I could take back. I know that when we come back, if we have to play them again, we will be tougher and come out stronger."
