The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
No. 20 DePaul
Softball wins a pair, Luna tosses no-hitter in debut
02.12.2010 | Softball
Feb. 12, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas notched wins over No. 20 DePaul and No. 19 North Carolina on opening day, while freshman pitcher Blaire Luna tossed a no-hitter in the nightcap. The Longhorns opened the day with a 3-1 win over DePaul before Luna twirled an eight-inning, 1-0 victory over the Tar Heels in her collegiate debut.
Texas improved to 2-0 on the year with the wins, while DePaul ended the day 0-2 and North Carolina fell to 1-1. The Horns return to action in the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational on Sunday, Feb. 12 at 1:30 p.m. Central against LSU.
In the nightcap, Luna (1-0) fired only the second Texas no-hitter in a freshman debut and the first since Natalie King accomplished the feat on Feb. 7, 2001. The Austin, Texas, native threw 8.0 innings of no-hit ball, while striking out six and walking one. North Carolina starter Amber Johnson went the distance for the Tar Heels, scattering four hits over 8.0 innings and fanning seven.
The Horns broke the scoreless tie in the eighth inning, which also marked the first inning of international tie-break play. Texas started the inning with sophomore third baseman Nadia Taylor on second base and she advanced to third on a sacrifice by junior second baseman Raygan Feight. Senior pinch hitter Tallie Thrasher drew a one-out walk to put runners at the corners before Taylor raced home with the winning tally on a UNC wild pitch.
In game one, freshman righthander Kim Bruins (1-0) picked up the victory for Texas, tossing a complete game, allowing one run on five hits and striking out three in her collegiate debut. DePaul starter Becca Heteniak (0-1) was saddled with the loss after surrendering three runs (two earned) on five hits and walking four in 6.0 innings of work.
Junior catcher Amy Hooks headlined the Horns' offense in game one with a 2-for-3 effort that included one run scored and an RBI. Senior shortstop Loryn Johnson led the way in the nightcap with a two-hit performance.
Against DePaul, Texas notched the game's first tally in the third when junior catcher Amy Hooks started the rally with a one-out double to centerfield. After sophomore outfielder Courtney Craig reached on an error, freshman rightfielder Taylor Hoagland drove Hooks home with a single down the rightfield line.
DePaul evened the score at one in the top of the fifth. The Blue Demons used a leadoff double by Samantha Morgan to start the rally and an RBI single by Annie Demas brought Morgan home.
Texas broke the stalemate in the sixth using a double by sophomore designated player Lexy Bennett to get things going and an RBI single by sophomore third baseman Nadia Taylor to score pinch runner Torie Schmidt. Taylor advanced to second on a walk and came around to score on Hooks' RBI single to leftfield.
POST-GAME QUOTES
Head coach Connie Clark
On Texas' pitching: To be honest, I am really proud of both Kim [Bruins] and Blaire [Luna] tonight. Obviously, Kim got to start in the DePaul game and Blaire got the second one. We've known all along that they are pretty talented. They have to continue to grow and we talked about a few adjustments that they made mid-game, but overall, we are really proud of them.
On whether she expected Luna to have a no-hitter: It doesn't surprise me because I think she is really talented. We have some great defense behind her tonight as well. She's so deceptive. The ball just seems to disappear on those hitters sometimes, but she will continue to get better too. She's got some things that we are going to have to work on and when she faces the top hitters, she is going to have to make adjustments as well. Overall, she had a great start and we are really excited for her.
Sophomore third baseman Nadia Taylor
On the day: I feel good. We started off strong and our talk in the locker room has been focused on playing pitch-to-pitch and playing game-by-game. I think today we did a really good job of doing that.
On her defense: Defensively, I just made sure I practice day in and day out as if I was playing in a game. I will always try to practice like I play.
On the freshman pitchers: I was impressed. I know we have some more work to do; we're not done. We are going to continue to improve and I am happy for them, but we still have some work to do.
Freshman pitcher Blaire Luna
On her first game: It was a good fight with North Carolina. Both teams played really well and I tip my hat to them. You could just feel the energy tonight. Both teams really wanted it and it was a good fight.
On her expectations before this game: I didn't really expect anything. I expected to do well, but I certainly didn't expect a no-hitter. I just went pitch-to-pitch. With the runner on second, I was a little bit nervous, but I knew that my defense was backing me up so I knew that it would be ok.
On her no hitter: I'm not going to think about it during the next game. It's always one pitch at a time and one game at a time. You have to play the game, not the opponent.
Kim Bruins
On how she feels: I feel ecstatic. It was a great way to start my career. My parents were here tonight as well.
On what she is looking to improve upon: I'm looking to improve my pitching, getting ahead in the count, and getting my pitches off the plate a little more because I got a little complacent and that's when the other team got their hits.
