Softball Preview: Iowa [March 15-17, 2014]

TEXAS (16-13, 0-0) vs. IOWA (4-10, 0-0)

Non-conference series

March 15-17, 2014

Red & Charline McCombs Field - Austin, Texas

GAMEDAY QUICK FACTS

• TELEVISION: All three games will be televised nationally by Longhorn Network. Alex Loebb (pxp) and Megan Willis (analyst) will call Saturday's game. On Sunday, Loebb will be joined by Cat Osterman (analyst) and on Monday, Carter Blackburn (pxp) will have the call with Osterman as the analyst.

• RADIO: Terry Lewis will call the action for the internet radio broadcast on www.TexasSports.com.

THE SERIES: TEXAS VS. IOWA

Texas and Iowa have met twice before this weekend's three-game series. The Longhorns and Hawkeyes have each won a game in the head-to-head series, as the two split a doubleheader on Feb. 7, 2009.

LAST TIME THEY MET - Feb. 9, 2009

Iowa got out to a quick 2-0 lead in game one on a second-inning two-run homer by Quinn Morelock. Texas responded with a run of its own on a solo homer by Loryn Johnson in the fourth, but Iowa kept the pressure on down the stretch, plating single tallies in the sixth and seventh to close out the game 4-1.
Iowa got on the board first in the second game with a solo homer in the third, but Texas answered with an RBI single by freshman third baseman Nadia Taylor and a bases loaded hit-by-pitch RBI by junior rightfielder Tallie Thrasher.
Texas advanced to the Time Warner Cable Texas Invitational championship after freshman shortstop Alexis Bennett hit a walk-off solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to defeat Iowa, 3-2.
Longhorns' junior righthander Torrey Schroeder (2-0) threw 7.0 innings surrendering two runs on three hits, walking one and fanning four.
Brittany Weil (2-1) was saddled with the loss for Iowa in game two after earning a complete game victory in game one. Longhorns' sophomore starter Brittany Barnhill (1-1) suffered the loss in the first game, lasting just 2.0 innings and allowing two runs.
Loryn Johnson headlined the Horns' lineup on the day with three hits, one RBI and a run scored. Bennett added two hits, two walks, one run scored and an RBI.

A FAMILIAR FACE RETURNS TO THE FORTY ACRES

Iowa head coach Marla Looper returns to Austin for the first time since departing the Forty Acres after the 2010 season. Looper spent 11 seasons (2000-2010) as an assistant coach at The University of Texas.
The fourth-year Hawkeyes coach served as the Horns' defensive coach, first-base coach, pitching coach, base running and short-game coach, while also working as the team's Nike representative and camp director during her UT tenure.
Playing at Florida State as a junior and senior under assistant coach Connie Clark, Looper was a pitching standout for the Seminoles. She earned All-America honors as a junior in 1993. She led Florida State to NCAA Tournament showings in 1993 and 1994, including a berth in the 1993 Women's College World Series.
At Texas, Looper helped the Longhorns earn three trips to the Women's College World Series (2003, 2005 and 2006), capture four Big 12 Conference regular-season titles (2002, 2003, 2006 and 2010), win three Big 12 Tournament Championships (2002, 2003 and 2005) and make nine NCAA Tournament appearances (2000, 2002-03, 2005-10).
During Looper's stint as pitching coach, Texas' pitching staffs led the nation in earned run average in three of her final four seasons at that position. In 2006, UT posted a 0.81 ERA, a year after posting a program-best 0.60 ERA in 2005. Unanimous national player of the year Cat Osterman paced the nation in 2006 in ERA (0.37) and strikeouts per seven innings, setting an NCAA record with her 15.4 mark. Three years prior, the 2003 pitching staff led the nation with a 0.61 earned run average, anchored by Osterman and sophomore All-Big 12 selection Amy Bradford.
Looper coached Osterman to three All-America honors and a pair of National Player of the Year awards, as well as a spot on the gold-medal winning 2004 U.S. Olympic Team. Looper also helped mold three All-Big 12 Conference pitching selections (Osterman, Bradford, Charla Moore) and one catching selection (Megan Willis).

LAST TIME OUT

The Longhorns got 12 runs on 18 hits from its offense and 22 combined strikeouts from starting pitchers Tiarra Davis and Gabby Smith on Tuesday, as UT completed a seven-day road swing with a doubleheader sweep of North Texas. Texas began the opening contest with six runs right out of the chute to pace itself to a 10-2 thumping of the Mean Green before escaping with a 2-1 victory in the back half of the twin-bill.
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.
Texas got its first pair of back-to-back home runs of the season from freshman Stephanie Wong and senior Mandy Ogle in the top of the first inning of game one.
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 getting on base to 30-straight games. 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.
Sophomore Rachel Scott and freshman Taylor McAllister saw extended playing time in game one, 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.

HOME SWEET HOME

The Longhorns return to Red & Charline McCombs Field after playing seven games in six days away from Austin. UT went 1-4 at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif. before sweeping a doubleheader at North Texas in Denton on Tuesday. Texas has won its last five games at McCombs Field, where it is 7-4 this season.

LET'S PLAY THREE!

Now that Texas has gotten through the tournament season portion of its schedule. it will play its first three-game series of the 2014 campaign when Big Ten foe Iowa rolls in for single games on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

CLARK AND LOOPER REUNITE:

Fourth-year Iowa head coach Marla Looper makes her return to Austin for the first time since departing the Forty Acres. Looper served as Connie Clark's assistant coach for 11 seasons (2000-2010) and also pitched at Florida State (1993-94) while Clark was an assistant coach there.

A TEXAS TRIO

Since being etched in as Texas' 1-2-3 hitters on the lineup card against Cal Poly on Feb. 20, Taylor Thom, Brejae Washington and Lindsey Stephens are hitting a combined .477 (73-for-153) and have provided 41 of the team's 84 RBIs (47.6 percent) during that span. Entering the weekend, the three are atop of the Big 12 in hits this season. Stephens leads the league with 41 hits, while Thom and Washington are tied for second with 38.

GETTING ON

Sophomore Lindsey Stephens comes into the weekend holding the program's second-longest streak of games reaching base, which currently stands at 30-consecutive games dating back to the final game of last season. Senior Brejae Washington also carries a streak of reaching base in 20-straight games.

SLUGGING STEPHENS

The second-year power hitter is slugging a team-best .844 this season. Stephens is currently ranked in eight offensive categories in the Big 12 this season, including first in hits (41), home runs (10), RBIs (39) and total bases (81).

LONG BALL ATTACK

The Longhorns have smashed 24 home runs in 29 games, which is the second-most in the league. Oklahoma leads the Big 12 with 34 round-trippers this spring. Texas has been on a tear at the plate over its last seven games, as it has blasted six home runs by four different players during that stretch.

THE 1-2 PUNCH

Junior RHP Gabby Smith and freshman LHP Tiarra Davis have emerged as the routine starting pitchers for the Longhorns. Either Smith or Davis has started for UT in each of the last 16 games. During that stretch, the two have combined for a 10-5 record with 87 strikeouts over 95.1 innings of work.

GOING THE DISTANCE

Smith and Davis each tossed complete game victories on Tuesday in the doubleheader at North Texas. The two combine for 15 complete games this season, including 11 in UT's last 16 games.

WONG WOWS

Freshman Stephanie Wong has made an immediate impact in her first year at Texas. Over the last 12 games, she has started 11 times in left field. The rookie from Austin is hitting .396 (21-for-53) with two home runs, 11 RBIs and six runs scored.

STATS OF NOTE

Texas is 13-0 when scoring six or more runs and is 12-0 when holding opponents to two runs or less.
The Longhorns are outscoring their opponent in every inning, including a 32-24 edge in the first inning.
Brejae Washington is tied for first in program history with 28 sacrifice hits.
Taylor Thom is tied with Lexy Bennett for most RBIs in a UT career with 155.

NEXT UP FOR UT

The Longhorns will host in-state rival Houston on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at Red & Charline McCombs Field. Texas defeated the Cougars, 5-1, at last week's Judi Garman Classic. Houston (12-10) will be coming off an 11-day layoff when it takes the field on Wednesday.

MOMENT OF SILENCE

Prior to Sunday's first pitch, there will be a moment of silence for former longtime associate athletics director and co-director of Sports Medicine Tina Bonci, who lost her battle with cancer last week. During her 28 years at Texas, the University developed an interdisciplinary model for health care that focuses on clinical, research and educational initiatives that have preventive, health-restoring and performance-enhancing potential. Bonci and her staff were instrumental in maintaining and promoting the health of female student-athletes, who claimed 21 NCAA championship titles in seven different sports during her tenure.

HONORING NATIONAL ATHLETIC TRAINING MONTH

March is National Athletic Training Month. To honor that, Texas Softball will welcome back certified athletic trainer and UT Athletic Training program graduate Kathy Dieringer to throw out a ceremonial first pitch on Sunday afternoon. Dieringer is the director for District 6 of the National Athletic Trainers' Association and a longtime supporter of the athletic training program at UT.

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics