Softball takes down No.12/12 Baylor in Big 12 Opener

Saturday, March 22

Waco, Texas

11:00 AM

University of Texas

19-15, 0

Baylor

23-5, 0

Texas

Baylor

Softball takes down No.12/12 Baylor in Big 12 Opener

03.22.2014 | Softball

Box Score

Ogle blasts three-run home run; Davis collects eighth win in 11th complete game effort

Box Score (PDF) | Twitter

WACO, Texas – Senior Mandy Ogle hit her fourth home run of the season with two runners on base in the top of the fourth inning to power Texas Softball to a 4-1 victory over No. 12/12 Baylor in its Big 12 Conference opener on Saturday afternoon at Getterman Stadium. Freshman LHP Tiarra Davis started for the third straight game and tossed her 11th complete game of the season to improve her record in the circle to 8-7 on the year.

Texas boosted its overall record to 19-15 on the season and opened Big 12 play with a victory for the seventh straight year and won its Big 12 road opener for the fourth consecutive year. With the win over the No. 12/12 Lady Bears, the Longhorns are now 4-6 against nationally-ranked opponents in 2014.

Baylor fell to 23-5 on the year and to 0-1 in league play, while redshirt senior pitcher Whitney Canion's record slipped to 12-4 this season.

Canion and Davis put on a pitcher's duel for the first three innings before Texas and Baylor put up runs in the fourth.

After leaving runners at second base in each of the first three innings, Ogle stepped up with freshman Stephanie Wong and sophomore Holly Kern in scoring position with one out and blasted a 1-1 pitch from Canion over the left field wall.

Ogle went 2-for-4 on the day to pick up her fourth multi-hit game of the season. She began the day with a stand-up double to right-center field and nearly hit a second round-tripper in the seventh inning, but came down short.

Baylor would respond when it came to the plate in its half of the fourth, as Ari Hawkins hit a leadoff home run to make it a one-run game.

The homer surrendered by Davis was her only blemish on the day. She retired nine of the first 10 batters she faced and gave up only two hits and two walks over the seven innings she threw, while striking out four Lady Bears.

Following her leadoff bunt single in the fourth inning, Wong went on to reach base the next two times she went to the plate, having a single up the middle in the fifth and working a walk in the seventh.

Wong would later score when Davis came to the plate in the seventh. The UT starting pitcher added an insurance run with her RBI single up the middle, allowing Wong to come all the way from second base.

Texas restructured the top half of its batting lineup, moving senior Brejae Washington back to the leadoff spot for the first time since Feb. 12. Sophomore Lindsey Stephens moved up from the three-spot to the No. 2 hole, while senior Taylor Thom dropped to No. 3 and Wong batted cleanup.

Washington and Stephens extended their on-base streaks, to 25 and 35-consecutive games, respectively.

Texas and Baylor will close out the two-game set on Sunday night at Getterman Stadium. Game time is slated for 6:00 p.m. and will be nationally televised on ESPNU.

POSTGAME NOTES

-Brejae Washington batted in the leadoff spot for the eighth time this season and for the first time since Feb. 12 against UTSA.

-Washington singled in the third inning to reach base for the 25th-straight game. After reaching first with that single, she stole her 22nd base of the season and 119th of her career. She has now successfully stolen a base in her last 27 attempts.

-Taylor Thom batted in the No. 3 spot for the first time this season

-Thom stole her 18th base of the season and 59th of her career. She is now one away from tying Lindsay Gardner for 5^th all-time in program history.

-Lindsey Stephens batted in the No. 2 spot for the first time this season. She walked in the top of the fifth inning, putting her on base for the 35th-straght game dating back to last season.

-Stephanie Wong batted in the cleanup role for the first time this season and went 2-for-3. She reached base in each of her final three times at the plate and had her sixth multi-hit game of the year.

-Tiarra Davis pitched in her fifth-straight game and made her third consecutive start. She retired the first eight hitters she faced before surrendering a walk to Justine Young in the bottom of the third inning with two outs.

-Davis struck out four hitters. She fanned away Sarah Smith in the bottom of the fourth for her 100th strikeout of the season.

-Davis threw her 11th complete game of the season and moved over the .500 mark (8-7) for the first time since she was 1-0.

-Mandy Ogle went 2-fo-4 for her fourth multi-hit game of the season. She hit her fourth home run of the season and the 12th of her career in the top of the fourth inning.