The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Texas State
No. 17 Softball shuts out Texas State, 8-0
03.31.2010 | Softball
March 31, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas -- The 17th-ranked Texas Softball team used a complete game shutout pitching performance by freshman righthander Blaire Luna and a two-home run effort by sophomore outfielder Courtney Craig to knock off Texas State, 8-0, Wednesday night. The run-rule shortened victory improved the Longhorns to 29-8 on the season, while the Bobcats dropped to 17-14.
Luna (16-4) earned the win after throwing 6.0-shutout innings, allowing two hits, walking one and fanning 12. She did not surrender her first hit until the sixth inning when the Bobcats recorded a pair of softly-hit singles. Texas State starter Chandler Hall (12-7) suffered the loss after throwing 3.1 innings, allowing six runs on five this, walking one and striking out one.
Texas got on the board early in the first as freshman rightfielder Taylor Hoagland reached on an error and sophomore first baseman Lexy Bennett walked to start the frame. A second Bobcats' miscue allowed Hoagland to score before a sacrifice fly by junior catcher Amy Hooks plated Bennett to push the tally to 2-0.
The Horns added a third run in the second, receiving a leadoff double by junior second baseman Raygan Feight to start the inning. A sacrifice bunt moved Feight to second and she scampered home on a sacrifice fly by Craig.
UT continued its pace in the third with Hooks logging a two-out single and coming around to score on an RBI double by senior shortstop Loryn Johnson, pushing the lead to 4-0.
Texas tacked on two more runs in the fourth on a two-run homer to left centerfield by Craig that scored senior outfielder Kori Cook. Craig struck again in the sixth, launching a two-run home run down the leftfield line to end the game 8-0.
Craig and Hooks highlighted the Texas offense in the game with two hits each, while Craig registered five RBI and two runs scored.
Texas returns to action on Friday, April 2 when it travels to Kansas for game one of a two-game Big 12 series. First pitch is slated for 4 p.m. Central.
POST-GAME NOTES
- Texas' win improved its all-time record against Texas State to 24-9.
- Loryn Johnson's double against the Bobcats was the 212th hit of her career, moving her into second place on Texas' all-time hit chart. The double was the 38th of her career, which ranks third-best in the UT career record books.
- Blaire Luna picked up her 16th career victory against Texas State, moving her into a tie for 10th place all-time at Texas on the win charts. She currently shares the position with Lizi Sowers (2003-05).
POST-GAME QUOTES
Head coach Connie Clark
On the team looking fresh after last night's doubleheader: I wish I knew what the magic was. They had a lot of energy. I think it's mainly a product of being at home. Any time you get to play at home, you feed off the energy and the fans and I think that was probably the biggest piece.
On what got Courtney Craig out of her slump: I think she has done a good job since we got back from the California tournament because that's where she had really been struggling. Her and Coach Hill had some one-on-one time and worked through some things offensively, but it is all about confidence. I think she was able to make some adjustments mechanically, but more than anything, we tried to tell her that no matter what, she is going to be a difference maker. We wanted to play some other people in California, but we knew that we would go right back to her in conference; she's such a steady player for us.
On playing the majority of the team: We are trying not to clear our bench because they haven't got a lot of playing time, we are trying to clear our bench because we have a lot of girls who can contribute and I think there's a difference there.
Sophomore outfielder Courtney Craig
On how it felt to get the victory after losing to Texas State last week: It tasted sweet. We had fire in our eyes and we were ready to go. It feels good to play on our home turf.
On breaking her slump: I think I am comfortable to get up to bat again, focus and see the pitches better.
Freshman pitcher Blaire Luna
On tonight's rematch: I didn't get overly concentrated on who we were playing. I just went out there and did my thing. Mentally, I tried to stay pitch-to-pitch.
On whether the previous loss against Texas State had any effect on her game: Not really. I guess I kind of used the last game as a motivation to hit my spots, otherwise something like that will happen again. I tried to use it to my advantage.
On maintaining composure in the 6th inning: I wasn't focused on throwing a no-hitter. I tried to stay pitch-to-pitch and hitting my spots, which has been something that I have had trouble with lately. It was definitely important to stay ahead of the count.
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