The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Georgia
No. 12 Softball falls No. 10 Georgia, 9-0
05.09.2010 | Softball
May 9, 2010
AUSTIN, Texas -- The No. 12 Texas Softball team managed just two hits as No. 10 Georgia upended the Longhorns, 9-0 in five innings, Sunday afternoon at McCombs Field. The loss dropped UT to 41-11 on the year, while the Bulldogs improved to 42-10.
Senior starter Erin Tresselt (6-2) suffered the loss for the Horns after allowing six runs on seven hits and striking out four in 2.0 innings of work. Freshman righthander Kim Bruins fired the final 3.0 innings and allowed three runs on four hits, walked three and struck out one. Georgia hurler Alison Owen (12-1) earned the victory for UGA, scattering two runs, walking three and fanning five in a complete-game shutout.
The Bulldogs took a quick 2-0 edge in the first when Taylor Schlopy was hit by a pitch to start the frame and Megan Wiggins followed with a two-run home run to left centerfield.
Georgia tacked on three more runs in the second, using a leadoff single by Brittney Hubbard to start the rally and a single by Schlopy to put runners at the corners. A double to leftfield by Wiggins scored Hubbard before a UT error allowed Schlopy to race home. The Bulldogs plated their final run on a sacrifice fly by Alisa Goler that scored Wiggins from third.
In the third, UGA pushed two more runs across to push its lead to 7-0. Kristyn Sandberg led off the inning with a double and pinch runner Sara Sikes advanced to third on a single by Hubbard. A two-run single by Ashley Pauly scored both runners to balloon the Georgia lead to seven.
Georgia added a single run in the fourth on a leadoff solo homer by Goler and widened the lead to 9-0 when Hubbard stole third and scored on a UT error in the fifth.
Texas freshman rightfielder Taylor Hoagland reached on a bunt single in the first inning and sophomore first baseman Lexy Bennett notched Texas' second hit of the game when she doubled off the wall in the third. Hoagland and Bennett each drew a walk in their only other plate appearances.
Texas returns to action when it takes on No. 10 Georgia on Monday, May 10. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. Central on ESPNU.
POST-GAME NOTES
- Texas' game with Georgia was the first ever meeting between the two teams.
- The run-rule loss marked only the second time Texas has lost via run-rule this season. The Horns fell to then-No. 3 UCLA, 9-1 on Feb. 26, 2010.
- The loss marked the fourth time Texas has been shutout this season, with three of those losses coming against ranked opponents.
POST-GAME QUOTES
Head coach Connie Clark
On the seniors: They have been a great class. They have helped us both on and off the field. Each of them is a strong leader, and we will miss them very much next season.
On the performance today: Today was about coming out and figuring out our pitching depth behind Blaire Luna. Senior day seemed like the perfect window to examine both of them. I think they need to work on some things, but it has been a while since either one of them has seen any action on the mound. They grinded it out, but I saw some good things.
On the offensive game: That was the only thing I was a little disappointed in. We were not solid at any point of the game. But I do think the loss was a reminder that if they want to win, they have to play confidently, and I believe that tomorrow they will have moved past this and come out ready to represent Texas Softball.
Senior pitcher Erin Tresselt
On starting today: I was excited because it was senior day and that's the perfect day to get to start.
On the outcome: You have to take the good stuff from today. I had a few strikeouts and was a little unlucky. Georgia came out strong and they deserved the win. We'll bounce back by tomorrow. We won't dwell on it.
On the conference title and senior day: I think we deserved the title. We've put a lot of work in this season. It was one of our major goals. Senior day has been that much more sweet knowing that we took the title. Today's game may not have gone the way we wanted it to, but it is hard to feel down when your team just won the Big 12.
Senior pitcher Kim Bruins
On her performance: It was a tough situation. I haven't been in the game in a while, so I had to go out there and try and find my rhythm but it worked out alright.
On senior day: It was good to be out on the field and to get some innings in. More importantly, I think today's game was great for our NCAA preparation. We gave Blaire Luna a break, and we got to see batters who are very good indicators of the challenges we have yet to come.
On her senior class: It is kind of a sad day reflecting on everything. I teared up a bit today. We are a very tight-knit group, and it is very sad to see them go.
On the game overall and the attitude of the team: We would have liked it to be a win, but even though things didn't turn out the way we wanted, we have our eyes on the future. The momentum is still there. The fire is fueling within this team and tomorrow is a brand new day.
Senior shortstop Loryn Johnson
On senior day: It has been a long four years. I know today didn't quite go the way we had hoped, but we reached a lot of goals that we had when we started this year. Today we needed to see our other pitchers get pitching time, and we needed to see how we would respond defensively behind them.
On her family's presence: I wouldn't be the person I am today without them. I'm really happy to have them all here.
On this class' legacy: We were the first class that hadn't won a championship or even make it to one in a while. This season we corrected that. That was our major goal, and from here on out we are going to be working hard to see how far we can take this momentum.
On today's game: Defensively, we didn't step up as well as we should have today. And we also needed to produce runs. We will take today and learn from it, and come out that much stronger tomorrow.
