The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Florida
Luna leads No. 6/7 Softball to a 3-0 victory over No. 2/2 Florida in WCWS elimination game
06.02.2013 | Softball
June 2, 2013
Box Score | Box Score 
Texas Post-Game Quotes | Florida Post-Game Quotes
NCAA Post-Game Notes
OKLAHOMA CITY - Senior Blaire Luna threw a one-hit shutout and helped No. 4 national seed Texas (51-9) defeat No. 2 national seed Florida (58-9) 3-0 in a Women's College World Series elimination game Sunday afternoon at ASA Hall of Fame Stadium. Senior Kim Bruins hit a three-run home run in the third inning to provide all the offense the Longhorns needed.
Luna improved to 32-6 on the season, striking out 14 Gators in her 13th solo shutout of the season. The Gators' only hit wasa single by catcher Taylore Fuller in the fourth inning.
Texas plated all three runs in the third inning. After walks to Taylor Hoagland and Taylor Thom, Bruins hit her fifth home run of the season just over the left-field fence. Bruins now leads the WCWS with two home runs and UT has won all five games this season in which Bruins has homered.
Luna held the No. 2 Gators' offense at bay all game. Florida's biggest threat came in the third inning, when Luna was able to work around a walk and two hit batters to strike out Lauren Haeger with the bases loaded to end the inning.
Senior Torie Schmidt added two hits, and both Hoagland and Thom drew two walks and scored a run to pace the Texas offense.
Hannah Rogers took the loss for Florida, finishing the season with a 33-7 record. Rogers scattered five hits and four walks while fanning four.
Texas returns to action later Sunday at 6 p.m. CT against No. 7 national seed Tennessee (51-10) on ESPN2. If the Longhorns win, they will play the Lady Vols again Monday with the winner of that contest advancing to the WCWS championship series.
Post-Game Notes
- Texas has scored 11 runs in the 2013 Women's College World Series. The previous high for the team in this event was five runs scored in the 2003 WCWS.
- UT owns a .484 slugging percentage to its opponents .238 mark during this postseason.
- The Longhorns have outscored their opponents 40-17 during NCAA Tournament play this season.
- UT has scored 355 runs this season, the second most in a year in program history. The 2012 squad set the mark with 372 runs.
- The Longhorns went two-for-three on stolen bases, making them 17-for-18 in NCAA Tournament play. The team now has a school-record 125 stolen bases this season.
- Texas has never won more than two games during a WCWS. The 2003 and 2005 squads each recorded two triumphs.
- Blaire Luna threw the fourth one-hit shutout in WCWS play in Texas history (Cat Osterman twice, Christa Williams). It is also the fifth shutout by a Texas pitcher in a WCWS game. - Luna increased her season strikeout total to a single-year best 410. The mark is good for ninth in Big 12 Conference history during a campaign.
- Luna becomes just the third pitcher in Big 12 history to record 400 or more strikeouts in more than one season, joining Cat Osterman (four times) and Keilani Ricketts (twice).
- Luna now ranks second in program history in strikeouts during the Women's College World Series with 26 (Cat Osterman with 140).
- Luna is 6-1 this postseason with 68 strikeouts and a 1.59 earned-run average in 43 innings pitched. She is also 11-4 against ranked teams with a 1.76 ERA and 152 strikeouts.
- In today's game, Luna recorded 10 consecutive outs via strikeout from the second to fifth innings.
- Pitchers Kim Bruinsand Luna have combined to allow just one hit with the bases loaded in 13 opportunities this postseason (.077 opponent batting average).
- Bruins has six of the 10 Texas RBI in the 2013 Women's College World Series. The three RBI for Bruins today is a school record for RBI during a WCWS game.
- Bruins has five home runs and 43 RBI this season. In her previous three seasons at Texas, she posted four home runs and 38 RBI combined.
- In the 2013 season, Texas is 5-0 when Bruins hits a home run.
- Torie Schmidt became the sixth player in Texas history with two or more hits in a WCWS game, and the second this tournament as freshman Stephanie Ceo accomplished the feat against Arizona State on Thursday.
- Junior Taylor Thom and senior Taylor Hoagland became the fifth and sixth players in Texas history to walk twice in a WCWS game.
