The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Centenary College
No. 15 Softball blanks Centenary, 6-0
02.16.2010 | Softball
Feb. 16, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas -- The fifteenth-ranked Texas Softball team received a combined shutout pitching performance from senior Erin Tresselt and freshman Kim Bruins as it blanked Centenary, 6-0, Tuesday night. The win improved the Longhorns to 6-0 on the year, while the Ladies of Centenary fell to 0-1.
Tresselt (1-0) earned the victory in the circle, tossing 4.0 innings, scattering two hits and fanning four. Bruins came on in relief to throw the final three frames, allowing two hits and striking out five to earn her first career save. Centenary starter Sara Dornelas suffered the loss after throwing 2.1 innings and surrendering two runs on three hits and walking two.
Texas struck first in the second inning when an RBI single by freshman rightfielder Taylor Hoagland scored junior catcher Amy Hooks who reached on a single. The Horns added two more tallies in the third, using a sacrifice fly by Hooks to score sophomore Courtney Craig and a throwing error by the Centenary catcher to score sophomore Lexy Bennett.
Junior second baseman Raygan Feight's first home run in a Texas uniform -- a solo shot -- in the fourth widened the margin to 4-0.
The Horns capped the scoring in the sixth, taking advantage of a leadoff walk by sophomore third baseman Nadia Taylor and a two-run long-ball by senior pinch hitter Tallie Thrasher to push the score to 6-0.
Feight headlined the Longhorns' offense on the night with a 2-for-3 performance that included a homer, a double, an RBI and one run scored.
Texas returns to action on Friday, Feb. 19 when it takes on Purdue at the Marriott Houston Classic at the University of Houston. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m. Central.
POST-GAME QUOTES
HEAD COACH Connie Clark
On ranking among the top 25: Coming off such a hot weekend, the key for the team now is consistency. We have to keep our energy up, stay focused and maintain ourselves from here on out.
On maintaining the momentum: I'm anxious to get a practice in, honestly. We have some things we need to work on, and we have not yet had a chance to practice. It will help us tremendously.
On the team's potential: If you are going to have freshmen, it is really nice if they are good. Luckily, ours have been able to help us out in many ways. One of the things we like the most is that we are able to get contribution across the board. We have a small club this year, but we have a great group.
On the upcoming weekend: It will be another challenging weekend. But we will have practice to improve, and we will go into the weekend looking to do the same.
On the attitude going into the game tonight: I was glad that we had this game. Coming off of a great weekend it really tests the team's endurance and mental focus.
SENIOR P ERIN TRESSELT
On her first win: Personally, it was great for me, but most importantly it is just nice to continue the winning streak for the entire team.
On her expectations for the weekend: You don't know the outcome, but we know we are going to approach the weekend the same way we have our last six wins.
SENIOR SS LORYN JOHNSON
On the top 25 ranking: We are excited. We knew coming into the beginning of the season that we would be up against some great ranked teams and that if we came out strong we would be able to rank among them. So we came out, played our game, got the wins and we are very pleased with the result.
On the upcoming weekend: We just have to keep getting better where we need improvements and maintain what we have been doing right. If we do those things, we will have a successful weekend.
On the team's potential: Playing as well as we played this weekend really helped us open our eyes to our own potential. We are very excited and know that we are going to get better every day.
JUNIOR 2B RAYGAN FEIGHT
On her home run: I had been having a rough time at the plate, and mentally was ready to moved passed it. Luckily, the pitcher threw a perfect pitch and it went pretty far.
On the team's emotions overall: We are pumped. Especially about being 6-0 overall and with five of those wins coming against ranked teams. We just have to keep doing what we have been doing, working hard and getting better every week.
