The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
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Kansas
No. 17 Softball downs Kansas, 6-2
04.03.2010 | Softball
April 3, 2010
LAWRENCE, Kan. -- The No. 17 Texas Softball team used a stellar pitching performance by freshman Blaire Luna and a four-hit effort by freshman rightfielder Taylor Hoagland to knock off Kansas, 6-2, Saturday afternoon. The win moved the Longhorns to 31-8 on the year and 4-0 in Big 12 play, while the Jayhawks dropped to 16-19 overall and 0-4 in league action.
Luna (18-4) picked up the victory for the Horns after firing a no-hitter for five innings, being replaced by senior Erin Tresselt and returning to the game to throw the final 1.1 innings. Luna surrendered one hit in the seventh, allowing no runs on one hit, walking one and fanning 12 in the win. Kansas starter Allie Clark suffered the loss after allowing six runs on nine hits, walking three and striking out three in 6.0 innings of work.
Texas jumped out to a quick 1-0 edge in the first with freshman rightfielder Taylor Hoagland starting the frame with a single and stealing second to move into scoring position. She advanced to third on a groundout and came around to score on sophomore third baseman Nadia Taylor's RBI single through the left side.
The Horns added a second run in the third when sophomore first baseman Lexy Bennett drew a one-out walk, advanced to second when Hoagland was thrown out on a steal attempt and scored on junior catcher Amy Hooks' RBI single.
Texas tacked on a third tally in the fourth, starting the inning with a single through the middle by senior designated player Tallie Thrasher. A sacrifice bunt moved senior pinch runner Kori Cook to second and she advanced to third on a passed ball. Senior centerfielder Brittany Chalk scored Cook from third when she laid down a squeeze bunt that put UT ahead, 3-0.
Hoagland widened the margin in the fifth with her seventh home run of the year, pushing the Texas edge to 4-0 with a solo shot to straightaway centerfield.
The Longhorns posted two more runs in the sixth when junior pinch hitter Shelby Savony launched a two-run home run to give Texas a 6-0 lead. The roundtripper was Savony's team-best 10th homer of the year and her third pinch-hit longball of the season.
After Luna was lifted, Kansas recorded four hits and plated two runs off of Tresselt in the sixth before Luna re-entered. Marissa Ingle recorded the first run with a solo homer and an RBI single by Brittany Hile moved the score to 6-2.
Texas returns to action on Tuesday, April 6 when it plays host to Texas Tech. First pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. Central.
POST-GAME NOTES
- Texas' win against improved its all-time record against Kansas to 17-12 and extended its winning streak against the Jayhawks to five games.
- Blaire Luna's victory was the 18th of her career, moving her into a tie for ninth-place all-time at Texas with Christy Guidorizzi (1997-98).
- Luna has now thrown 29.0 consecutive scoreless innings, dating back to the second inning of her outing against Nebraska (March 28, 2010)
- Taylor Hoagland's four-hit performance tied the UT single-game record for hits in a game. Hoagland is one of 11 Longhorns to accomplish the feat and the third this season (Raygan Feight vs. Iowa State on Feb. 20, 2010 and Nadia Taylor vs. Kansas on April 2, 2010)
- Texas has now hit 57 home runs on the year, which is two away from the school record of 59 that the Horns hit in 59.
POST-GAME QUOTES
Head coach Connie Clark
On sweeping the series: It's always important to get wins on the road. I liked our energy level today. We came out and made a few adjustments. We saw different pitching from them, so we made adjustments with that as well. Overall, we had some good things happen and were able to come away with the win.
On the team's offensive balance: The balance is great. It is exciting for our staff, the team and for the fans because you never really know who is going to come through on a given day. Everybody has the ability to contribute. Several balls today went down as hits, but they were screaming line drives to the right side that were caught. On top of the hits on the scoreboard, we had a lot of really good at-bats today.
On Blaire Luna's performance: She is amazing. I think you can compare her to the best that we have ever had in our program, especially in their first year. She continues to go out and get better and make small adjustments. I think her mindset is getting better and she is gaining confidence. She is tough to beat and she has tremendous movement. Not very many pitchers are as good up as they are down and she is great with both pitches.
