The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
29-19, 8-4
Oklahoma State
25-22, 5-10
Softball rebounds with run-ruled, 12-1, win over Oklahoma State to even series
04.26.2014 | Softball
The Longhorns win 12th game by run rule on season; Stephens blasts second grand slam.
Box Score (PDF) | Twitter | Highlights
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Softball run-ruled the Oklahoma State Cowgirls, 12-1 in five innings on Saturday afternoon at Red & Charline McCombs Field to even the weekend Big 12 Conference series. The Longhorns are now 29-19 on the season and 8-4 in the Big 12 while the Cowgirls drop to 25-22 and 5-10.
Seven different Longhorns recorded hits on the afternoon, but the big blast was by sophomore Lindsey Stephens, crushing a grand slam in the third inning. The grand slam was Stephens' 15th home run of the season and pushed her RBI total to 62, both of which lead the Big 12 Conference. Senior Brejae Washington went 1-for-2 on the afternoon with an RBI and two runs scored. The hit was the 245th of Washington's career, tying her with Lexi Bennett for the program's all-time hits record.
Freshman Tiarra Davis bounced back from Friday's rough outing, hurling four innings of one-run, two-hit ball. The rookie southpaw struck out three batters and didn't allow a walk in the contest. She helped her own cause at the plate by going 1-for-2 with a pair of RBIs and a walk. Davis is now 15-10 on the 2014 season and 7-4 in Big 12 play.
Texas broke the scoreless tie by posting a five spot in the bottom of the third inning. Senior Mandy Ogle opened a two-hit day with a base hit up the middle to get thing started. With an out recorded, sophomore Stephanie Ceo continued her consistent hitting out of the nine-hole by pounding out a single up the middle before Washington was hit by a pitch. With the bases loaded, Stephens hit her second grand slam of the season to help Texas jump out to a 4-0 lead. The Longhorns extended the advantage to a 5-0 cushion when Davis singled to left to left to score senior Taylor Thom, who was walked and advanced on a wild pitch.
The Longhorns wasted no time in adding more offense in the next inning by plating seven to enact the run rule. Leading 5-1, the first three batters in the lineup reached base. Washington singled to left to score freshman Mickenzi Krpec and give Texas the 6-1 advantage. Back-to-back wild pitches by OSU's Whitney Whitehorn (4-8) scored two more Longhorns. After reloading the bases with one out, Davis, freshman Kelli Hanzel and freshman Devon Tunning walked to force in a run apiece, breaking the game wide open at 11-1. The Longhorns' final run came on another OSU wild pitch to score junior Marlee Gabaldon.
Texas goes for the series win on Sunday morning at 11:30 a.m. CT in the series rubber match against Oklahoma State at McCombs Field. The game will be televised nationally on Longhorn Network.
POSTGAME NOTES
Team Notes
- Texas leads the all-time series with Oklahoma State 26-14
- The Longhorns are now 14-7 against the Cowgirls in Austin
- Texas scored five runs in the third inning and seven runs in the fourth inning. The Longhorns have now scored 4+ runs in an inning 21 times in 2014.
- Have hit four grand slams during the 2014 season (Thom, Stephens two apiece)
- Twelve runs scored marks the ninth game this season that Texas has scored in the double digits
- Texas has won 12 of their 29 victories on the run rule (third-most run-ruled games in program history)
- In the series, Texas' bottom third of the order (hitters 7-9) have recorded eight of the team's 14 hits.
- Tied Lexi Bennett for the program record for hits in a career with 245
- Hit her 2nd grand slam of the season (vs. Cal Poly, Feb. 20)
- Grand slam was her 15th home run of the season, moving her into a tie for second-most in program history (Taylor Thom, 2013 and Taylor Hoagland, 2011) and three behind the program record (Taylor Hoagland, 2012 – 18)
- Four RBIs pushed her season total to 62, placing her 4 away from the program record for most RBIs in a season (Taylor Thom, 2013 – 66)
- Reached base for the 49th straight game (second-longest in program history, Hoagland – 57), including all 48 games this season
- Sixth multi-RBI game on the season
- Started her 17th straight game in the circle
- Eighth start in which she surrendered 2 or less hits
- Ninth multi-hit game of the season
- Scored for the second-straight game as a pinch runner
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Davis, Tiarra (15-10)
L: Whitehorn, Whitney (4-8)
Batting:
HR: Mikkelson, Tiffany 1
RBI: Mikkelson, Tiffany 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mikkelson, Tiffany 1
Batting:
HR: Stephens, Lindsey 1
RBI: Washington, Brejae 1 ; Stephens, Lindsey 4 ; Davis, Tiarra 2 ; Hanzel, Kelli 1 ; Tunning, Devon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Washington, Brejae 2 ; Stephens, Lindsey 1 ; Thom, Taylor 2 ; Gabaldon, Marlee 1 ; Ogle, Mandy 1 ; Krpec, Mickenzi 1 ; Tunning, Devon 1 ; Ceo, Stephanie 2 ; Smith, Gabby 1
HBP: Washington, Brejae 1
