The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
15-13
North Texas
16-6
Softball finishes road swing strong with twinbill sweep of North Texas
03.11.2014 | Softball
The Longhorns score 12 runs on 18 hits; Davis and Smith strike out 22 batters
Box Scores (PDF): Game 1 | Game 2 | Twitter
DENTON, Texas – Texas Softball got explosive offense and 22 combined strikeouts from starting pitchers Tiarra Davis and Gabby Smith on Tuesday, as it completed a seven-day road swing with a doubleheader sweep of North Texas. The Longhorns began the opening contest with six runs right out of the chute to pace themselves to a 10-2 thumping of the Mean Green before escaping with a 2-1 victory in the back half of the twin-bill.
With the victories, UT ends a four-game skid and heads back to Austin with a winning streak, as it prepares to host its first three-game series of the season when Iowa visits McCombs Field this weekend. Texas is now 16-13 overall and 5-0 in true road games this spring while North Texas has a four-game win streak snapped, dropping the Mean Green to 16-7.
Senior Taylor Thom reached base six times on the day, going 4-for-6 with a pair of walks and was a home run away from batting for the cycle in game one. Her leadoff triple off the left field wall set the table for UT's six-run output in the top of the first inning of the first game.
Texas got its first pair of back-to-back home runs this season when freshman Stephanie Wong blasted a three-run bomb before senior Mandy Ogle followed with a solo home run. For Wong, it was her third long ball of her rookie campaign, while for Ogle it was the second straight game she homered, giving her three on the season.
In the rematch, sophomore Lindsey Stephens hit her Big 12-leading 10th home run of the year when she led off the top of the sixth inning with a solo blast, which proved to be the game-winning run. Stephens reached base in both games, bringing her streak of reaching base to 30-straight games, dating back to the final game of last season. The second year power hitter holds the second longest streak of reaching base in consecutive games in program history.
Senior Brejae Washington had two hits and three walks on the day to extend her on-base streak to 20-straight games.
In the circle, Davis struck out a season-high 13 batters and collected her eighth complete game of the season while Smith notched her seventh complete game of the year and rung up nine North Texas hitters to match her season-high in strikeouts.
Before Davis went to work, her team sent 12 batters to the plate to get her six runs.
Davis pitched comfortably and held the Mean Green hitless until the fourth inning when Danielle Hoff led off the frame with a single. UNT would then work the momentum to get an RBI double from Jordan Terry for the Mean Green's first run. Later in the frame, North Texas would score its only other run of the game when Kenzie Grimes walked with the based loaded to force in a run.
With the game at a comfortable lead for UT, sophomore Rachel Scott and freshman Taylor McAllister saw extended playing time, giving them an opportunity to play in front of their families and friends from the North Texas area.
Scott went 3-for-3 at the plate and took over left field while McAllister took over the offensive player position and pounded out a base hit in the top of the seventh inning. Her single nearly earned her the first RBI of her career, but Stephens was thrown out at second base by an on-point throw from center field.
Game two proved to be a pitching duel between Smith and UNT's Madison Thompson. Like in Davis' outing in the first game, Smith did not give up a hit until the fourth inning, which ironically was to Hoff. Smith was able to pitch out the inning by putting the next three batters down and then continued to run a scoreless line into the bottom of the seventh inning.
Over the course of the game, the wind picked up drastically, making it difficult for Smith to use her velocity as intended. Holding a two-run lead in the final inning, Smith found herself in a jam. North Texas cut the Longhorn lead to a one-run game with two outs when Spencer Ferrell hit a come-backer to Smith to score Kat Strunk and keep the bases loaded.
Smith put Hoff in a 1-2 hole and then got a called third strike from the home plate umpire, allowing her and her teammates to exhale and complete the doubleheader sweep.
Texas (16-13, 0-0) has wrapped up tournament play and will now return to Austin to get ready for its first three-game series of the 2014 campaign. The Longhorns will welcome non-conference foe Iowa for a three-game set beginning on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. All three games will be televised nationally on Longhorn Network.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Davis, Tiarra (5-6)
L: KIRK, Ashley (10-3)
Batting:
2B: Thom, Taylor 1
3B: Thom, Taylor 1
HR: Wong, Stephanie 1 ; Ogle, Mandy 1
RBI: Thom, Taylor 1 ; Washington, Brejae 3 ; Stephens, Lindsey 1 ; Davis, Tiarra 1 ; Wong, Stephanie 3 ; Ogle, Mandy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Thom, Taylor 2 ; Washington, Brejae 1 ; Stephens, Lindsey 1 ; Shireman, Erin 1 ; Wong, Stephanie 1 ; Scott, Rachel 1 ; Ogle, Mandy 2 ; Hanzel, Kelli 1
Batting:
2B: TERRY, Jordan 1
RBI: TERRY, Jordan 1 ; GRIMES, Kenzie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HOFF, Danielle 1 ; TERRY, Jordan 1
CS: MILLER, Jackie 1
