The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Oklahoma
Seventh-inning rally comes up short as No. 6/7 Softball falls in series finale to No. 1/1 Oklahoma, 5-3
04.21.2013 | Softball
April 21, 2013
Box Score 
AUSTIN, Texas - Shelby Pendley hit two home runs and Brianna Turang added a two-run double to put No. 1/1 Oklahoma ahead 5-1 after the top of the sixth inning. No. 6/7 Texas rallied for a run in the bottom of the inning, one in the seventh and put the tying run on second base in the bottom of the seventh, but the Sooners held on for the 5-3 victory.
Junior Taylor Thom provided the offense for Texas, going two-for-two and driving in two runs on the day. Thom's first-inning homer matched her single-season career high with 11, set in 2011 during her freshman campaign.
Oklahoma senior pitcher Keilani Ricketts earned her second victory of the weekend, improving to 22-1 on the season while striking out six and allowing three runs on five hits. Michelle Gascoigne came in for the final two outs, earning her second save of the campaign. Senior Blaire Luna (22-3) started her third consecutive game of the series, conceding four earned runs in five and one-third innings for just her third loss of the season. Senior pitcher Kim Bruins relieved Luna in the sixth, allowing no hits to keep the Longhorns in the game.
The nation's No. 1 team won the series 2-1, notching victories on Friday and Sunday. Texas won Saturday's contest 4-2.
Oklahoma matched its Saturday run total in the opening inning to take the early 2-0 lead. Following a pair of strikeouts, Pendley hit her 14th home run of the season over the right field wall to put the Sooners up 1-0. Ricketts walked and Luna wasn't able to handle the grounder from Jessica Shults to put two runners on. Brittany Williams then poked a single through the middle to score Ricketts. Destinee Martinez reached on an infield single to load the bases, but Luna escaped further damage by forcing Callie Parsons into a pop out.
The Longhorns answered with a run to cut the lead to 2-1. Identical to the Oklahoma first, Texas started the frame with two strikeouts. The next batter, Thom, hit a solo blast to the deepest part of the park in center field to make it 2-1. Mandy Ogle was hit by a pitch, but was stranded on first after Karina Scott struck out.
After leaving a combined five runners on base in the second and fourth innings, Oklahoma plated two more runs in the fifth to take a 4-1 lead. Shults led off with a walk and was replaced by pinch runner Erica Sampson on first. Martinez hit a one-out single to center, moving Sampson to second. Callie Parsons was safe on a fielder's choice, when the Longhorns forced Sampson out at third. Turang followed with a two-run double through the left-center gap, scoring Martinez and Parsons to make it 4-1. Lauren Chamberlain struck out to end the frame.
The Sooners added one more in the sixth when Pendley hit her second solo home run of the day, marking her seventh career multihome run game.
Texas battled back with one more run in the sixth to make it 5-2. Taylor Hoagland led off with a triple off the left-center field wall. Two batters later, Thom hit a sacrifice-fly to left field, allowing Hoagland to score to make it 5-2. Ogle grounded out to end the threat.
In the Longhorns' last chance in the seventh, the home team added one more run but the rally came up short, falling 5-3. Scott reached first on Ricketts' second hit-by-pitch of the game and the pinch-runner Rachel Scott reached second on Bruins' infield single to the shortstop. After a fielder's choice from Stephanie Ceo, Torie Schmidt laced a single off Ricketts' leg and into right field, scoring Scott to make it 5-3. Saturday's starter for Oklahoma, Gascoigne, came in to relieve Ricketts with one out. Pinch hitter Erin Shireman drew a full-count walk to load the bases. Hoagland popped up to the third baseman and Washington struck out to end the rally.
Texas travels to Lubbock for a three-game series with Texas Tech Friday-Sunday. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Post-Game Quotes
Assistant coach Corrie Hill
On what was said in the locker room after the game: We talked about how proud we were of the team. We did a great job competing. Our goal is to be there in Oklahoma City right next to OU. They're a great ball club.
We talked about how we needed to learn from this scenario. There's nothing else we felt like we can do from this point except get better. The lefties at the bottom of the order did a fantastic job getting on base and really pushing to extend that [seventh] inning. [Erin] Shireman had a nails at-bat for a freshman to take that walk to load the bases and we talked about how we wouldn't want to be in any other place than in that pressure position and having the top of our order up to bat.
On the take-away from the series: I wouldn't call it disappointing. It was a little bit grueling because we went out there and practiced hard this week. We were well-prepared for them and they were well-prepared for us.
Great competition all the way through with our RPIs being No. 1 and No. 3. It was a good tradeoff back and forth and it will help us come postseason play. We also talked about how the game had a championship feel. It was like a regional or super regional feel. Because we've been through that now, we feel like that will help us postseason.
On the comeback: When [Kim] Bruins came in the game and got on the mound and really started to get the game back under control at that point, our team gathered some momentum. They were sparked in the dugout and they were all talking about getting on base and making things happen and building the comeback.
There was some talk about games in the past that we've been through and there were some big comebacks last year. The Texas A&M game and the Tennessee game, specifically with Brejae Washington coming up to hit and winning that in the last inning, so there was a lot of good talk going on in the dugout.
Junior C Mandy Ogle
On losing the series: It's disappointing. Like Coach Clark said, they're a great team and we're a great team. It just came down to who came out on the day and I think both of us came out on the day, but Oklahoma got the hits when they needed it early on.
On what to take away from the series: I don't think we should forget about this series. Losing this hits us all pretty hard, but I think it's going to light a fire underneath us and we're going to come out next weekend and work hard.
Senior 3B Taylor Hoagland
On her pop up in the bottom of the seventh: I've hit many times, and today it just wasn't in my favor.
On staying competitive against OU: They're a great ball club and we're a great ball club. I think we recognized that this weekend, I think we recognized that we can hang with them.
On the disappointment after loss: How it felt against Oregon last year, it's about the same. That's how it feels.
On pressure of her at-bat in the seventh: I was just trying to stay within myself. I just tried to tune out everybody else. I could hear the crowed getting loud and could hear everything getting crazy. I was just trying to think about me, my swing, and the ball.
On lesson learned this weekend: I think the lesson in this weekend was the team piece. We see that we are that team; it's our time. We're not going to take it for granted.
On battling back in the seventh: It's hard to come back against any team, not just OU, when they put five runs on the board. To come back the way we did in the bottom of the seventh and to rally together and have faith in each other showed us that we are capable of doing that. We were so close. We had bases loaded with one out, you can't really have a better situation than that.
Post-Game Notes
- Senior Taylor Hoagland extended her reaching base streak to 53-straight games with a triple in the sixth inning. Hoagland has reached base in all 45 games this season, and the last eight of 2012.
- Hoagland holds a .649 on-base percentage this season. The UT single-season record is .510, by Lexy Bennett in 2011. The Big 12 Conference mark is .594 by Amber Flores (Oklahoma/2009).
- Hoagland's run scored in the sixth inning was her 50th of the season. Hoagland has scored 50 or more runs in a year three times (2012, 2011 and 2013). She joins Lexy Bennett (2012/53; 2011/51) as the only Longhorns in program history to reach the 50-run plateau.
- Junior Taylor Thom's solo home run in the first inning tied her single-season career high as it was her 11th long ball of the campaign. She also hit 11 home runs as a freshman in 2011.
- Thom's home run and sacrifice fly gave her 50 runs batted in this season, tied with Loryn Johnson (2009) for the second most in a campaign in program history. Lexy Bennett holds the single-season mark with 57 RBI in 2012.
- Thom increased her career RBI total to 119, good for sixth on the Texas career chart. She is four behind Jodi Reeves (1997-2000) for fifth place. Lexy Bennett (2009-12) is the UT all-time leader with 155 RBI.
- Thom ended the series with a .500 batting average (four-for-eight), one run scored and four driven in.
- Thom picked up another multiple-hit performance Sunday with a home run and single. It was her team-leading 15th multihit game of the campaign.
- Junior catcher Mandy Ogle threw out her single-season career-high 10th would-be base stealer in the third inning. Ogle's previous year best was nine caught stealing in 2012.
- Senior Blaire Luna allowed her ninth and 10th home runs of the season in the first and sixth innings, on solo long balls to Shelby Pendley.
- Of Luna's 37 runs allowed this season, 15 have been via home runs (40.5 percent).
- Luna finished the contest with five strikeouts. It was her first start this season not recording at least eight whiffs.
- Despite the setback, the Longhorns are 9-2 in Big 12 play, good for the program's best 11-game mark since an 11-0 record in 2011. Texas has had two or fewer losses through 11 league games just five times: 2013, 2011, 2010, 2006 and 2003.
- Texas hit two home runs off of Keilani Ricketts during the series. She entered the campaign having allowed just three long balls.
- UT's overall record of 39-6 is the third best through 45 games in program history, trailing only the 2011 and 2006 squads, which held identical 41-4 marks.
