The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
7-8
Washington
12-1
No. 25/25 Softball drops hard-fought contest to No. 3/2 Washington, 3-2
02.21.2014 | Softball
Davis takes third-straight complete game loss; Stephens hits sixth homer of the season.
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. – Freshman left-handed pitcher Tiarra Davis tossed her third-straight complete game, but No. 25/25 Texas Softball could not overcome No. 3/2 Washington's second inning output, as it lost 3-2 on Friday at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
The difference in the game was felt in the second inning when the Huskies capitalized on two Texas errors, which led to all three of their runs.
In the fourth inning, sophomore Lindsey Stephens came up and provided another big swing for her teammates, as she crushed a two-run home run with senior Taylor Thom aboard. Stephens' sixth home run cut the deficit to a run and gave the Longhorns hope at a comeback.
The Huskies threatened to recoup the advantage in the sixth when they set up runners on the corners with two outs, but Davis was able to work out of the jam by getting Jennie McNeill to ground out to Thom.
UT placed the game-tying run on base in both the sixth and seventh innings. After Thom popped out to begin the sixth, senior Brejae Washington ripped a single before Stephens was beamed with a pitch, which awarded her first base. Washington would later be forced out at third when sophomore Holly Kern grounded into a fielder's choice. With two runners still on for the Horns, Davis was put down on strikes.
After Davis set the side in order in the top half of the seventh, the Longhorns had one last chance to catch up to the Huskies. Celebrating her birthday on Friday, junior Marlee Gabaladon was entered to pinch hit for freshman Stephanie Wong, who tracked down a fly ball and made a tremendous catch in the top half of the frame. Gabaldon worked a full count walk to get things going for Texas. Wong reentered to run at first base and would eventually make her way to second on freshman Devon Tunning's ground out. Sophomore Stephanie Ceo moved the tying run to 60 feet from home plate on a base hit, but UW's Kaitlin Inglesby was able to get Thom to ground out to first.
Davis took her third consecutive one-run loss in as many complete game efforts. Against the Huskies, she fanned away three hitters on strikes, while allowing six hits and two hits. She was charged with just one of the three runs. Her record in the circle fell to 1-4 on the season.
No.25/25 Texas falls to 7-8 on the season and will continue competition at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Saturday morning when it faces Fresno State at 11:30 a.m. CT.
POSTGAME NOTES
- Texas is now 7-14 in all-time games against Washington.
- UT is 3-3 in games against ranked opponents this season.
- The Longhorns are now 0-8 when scoring five runs or less and are 0-5 in one-run games.
- Freshman Tiarra Davis tossed her third consecutive complete game(2/14 vs. IPFW, 2/16 vs. Kentucky, 2/21 vs. Washington). All three have been one-run losses for the Longhorns. In all three of those losses, two of UT's runs were not charged to Davis's line.
- Sophomore Lindsey Stephens hit a home run for the second-straight game. She now has six this season and seven in her career.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Inglesby, Kaitlin (4-1)
L: Davis, Tiarra (1-4)
Batting:
RBI: Hayward, Victoria 1 ; Gano, Courtney 1
SH: McNeill, Jennie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jones, Whitney 1 ; Creger-Zier, Marki 1 ; Gano, Courtney 1
SB: Jones, Whitney 1
Batting:
HR: Stephens, Lindsey 1
RBI: Stephens, Lindsey 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Thom, Taylor 1 ; Stephens, Lindsey 1
CS: Thom, Taylor 1
HBP: Stephens, Lindsey 1
