The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
South Carolina
No. 6/7 Softball downs South Carolina 11-2 in NCAA Austin Regional action
05.18.2013 | Softball
May 18, 2013
Box Score | Box Score 
Texas Post Game Quotes | South Carolina Post-Game Quotes
AUSTIN, Texas - No. 6/7 Texas scored in every inning and cruised to an 11-2 five-inning victory over South Carolina in the third game of the NCAA Softball Austin Regional on Saturday at Red & Charline McCombs Field.
UT's 11 runs are the most for the Longhorns during an NCAA Tournament contest in program history. The squad also matched its season high with 15 hits. Leading the way on offense was senior Taylor Hoagland, who went two-for-two with four batted in and three scored. Classmate Kim Bruins set her career high with four hits and scored once. Hoagland tied the Longhorn record for most RBI during a regional contest while Bruins matched the UT regional record for hits in a game.
In the circle, senior Blaire Luna (27-5) recorded the win for the Longhorns. She allowed only three hits with fanned six while pitching all five innings. Julie Sarratt (12-8) suffered the loss for the Gamecocks, pitching two-and-one-third innings and allowing eight hits and seven runs, six earned. Katie Marks came in for an inning-and-a-third and gave up two runs on four hits. Lakyn Shull completed the South Carolina pitching effort with two runs and three hits in one frame.
Hoagland got the Texas offense off to a strong start by hitting a solo home run on the second pitch of the game.
The South Carolina offense started the bottom of the first with a free pass to Samie Garcia. With one out, Dana Hathorn singled to left and an error advanced the runners to second and third. Luna pitched her way out of the bind, though, by striking out Kristen Struett and getting Chelsea Hawkins to foul out to catcher Mandy Ogle.
Texas loaded the bases in the second inning and made it a 3-0 advantage with a Hoagland two-RBI single up the middle. With one out, Brejae Washington tripled to center field to bring Hoagland home and put the Longhorns ahead 4-0.
UT loaded the bases again in the third inning and took a 7-0 lead. With one out, singles to right field and up the middle by Gabby Smith and Stephanie Ceo, respectively, brought in two runs. With the bases still loaded, Hoagland hit a sacrifice fly to right to plate Karina Scott.
The Gamecocks got on the board in the bottom of the third when Alaynie Page hit a two-run homer to center field to go down 7-2.
The top of the fourth had the Longhorns plate two more runs for a 9-2 edge. The frame started with a double down the right-field line by Taylor Thom, who advanced to third after a base hit by Bruins. Rachel Scott came in to pinch run for Bruins. With one out, Schmidt grounded out to third, but Thom beat the tag at home plate to go up 8-2. Rachel Scott advanced to second on the play and scored when Karina Scott dropped a fly ball to right field that fell in and pushed the lead to 9-2.
With one out in the top of the fifth inning, Hoagland was walked and a single by Washington pushed Hoagland to second. Thom stepped up and singled to right to bring Hoagland home and advance Washington to third. A single by Bruins scored Washington and Texas closed the inning up 11-2.
With the eight-run-rule after five innings, the Gamecocks needed to score in the bottom of the fifth to keep playing, but Texas' defense didn't budge. A foul out and two groundouts ended the game.
Texas will play on Sunday at 1 p.m. CT in the NCAA Austin Regional championship game. A victory moves the Longhorns into the NCAA Super Regional round. South Carolina will play again on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT against the winner of the Houston versus Army contest.
Post-Game Notes
- Senior Taylor Hoagland holds a .626 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 long ball was her 14th of the year, giving her sole possession of third on the Texas single-season chart. Hoagland owns the top three spots on the program list with 18 in 2012, 15 in 2011 and 14 in 2013.
- Hoagland's homer was also the fifth of her career during NCAA Tournament play.
- Hoagland owns 58 career home runs, two behind Oklahoma's Jessica Shults (2010-present) for the Big 12 Conference all-time record.
- Hoagland's three runs gave her 61 this season, surpassing her own UT single-season record of 59 scored, in 2012.
- Hoagland drove in four runs, tying the Texas record for the most during an NCAA Regional contest. The last UT player to accomplish the feat was Nadia Taylor against Auburn on May 19, 2012.
- Hoagland's four RBI gave her 44 this season, tied for the fifth most in a year in program history. Lexy Bennett (2012) owns the record with 57 in 2012.
- Hoagland's walk gave her 171 in her career, one behind Texas A&M's Megan Gibson (172/2005-08) for the all-time Big 12 mark.
- After her zero-for-three performance at Oklahoma State on May 4, Hoagland is hitting .636 (seven-for-11) with four walks.
- Junior Taylor Thom's RBI single in the fifth inning gave her 57 runs batted in this year, tying Lexy Bennett(2012) for the UT single-season record.
- Thom's two hits gave her 65 this season, tied for sixth on the Texas single-season list.
- Junior Brejae Washington stole a base in the first to give her 29 this season. The total is good for third on the UT single-season list. She owns the school single-season record with 38 swipes in 2011.
- Washington has hit triples in back-to-back games, bringing her career total to 16, the most in Texas history and tied for the fourth most in Big 12 Conference history. Lisa Klam (Texas A&M/1999-2002) owns the league record with 28 career triples.
- Washington is up to seven triples this season, tied for the sixth most in a year in Big 12 history. Karen Persinger (Missouri/1996) owns the mark with 12.
- Washington owns 66 hits this season, tied for the fifth most in a year in program history. Lindsay Garner (2000) owns the record with 83 hits.
- Senior Kim Bruins is hitting .833 (five-for-six) with two runs scored so far this postseason. She entered the 2013 NCAA Tournament with four career postseason hits.
- Bruins set her career high with four hits in the contest. The four hits also tied Tamara Poppe (May 16, 2003) for the Texas record for most hits in an NCAA Regional contest.
- Freshman Stephanie Ceo has driven in runs in both games of the NCAA Tournament Austin Regional, giving her RBI in consecutive contests for the third time in her career.
- Texas won its first two NCAA Regional contests for the first time since 2006, when it topped UTSA 4-0 and Indiana 3-0.
- The Longhorns will play for the regional championship for the sixth time in the last nine years.
- UT has scored 331 runs this season, the second most in a year in program history. The 2012 squad set the mark with 372 runs.
- The Longhorns' 11 runs scored were the most during an NCAA Tournament game in program history. On May 19, 2012, UT pushed across 10 runs versus Houston for the previous record.
- Texas' stolen base in the first inning gave the team 111 this season, good for second on the single-season record chart. The 2013 squad is just three behind the 2011 team's single-year UT record of 114.
- The bottom three hitters in Texas' lineup combined to go four-for-six with three runs scored and three driven in.
- The top four hitters in UT's order combined to go 10-for-13 with six runs scored and seven runs batted in.
- Eight of Texas' nine starting batters had a hit in the contest.
