The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
7-3
Colorado State
4-6
Softball finishes Texas Classic with 11-4 win over Colorado State
02.15.2015 | Softball
Sophomore pitcher Tiarra Davis earns the win with 4.1 innings of four-hit relief
AUSTIN, Texas – On Sunday afternoon at Red & Charline McCombs Field, the Longhorns (7-3) wrapped up their participation in the Texas Classic in style by registering a season-high 15 hits while blasting past Colorado State (4-6), 11-4.
The Burnt Orange & White offense hit at a .391 clip with 13 extra-base hits during the five-game weekend and outscored its five opponents by a total of 41-15. Four Texas pitchers also combined to limit the opposition to a miniscule .186 batting average over 33 innings of work with 32 strikeouts. By totaling three or more runs in a single inning on three occasions against the Rams, Texas has now scored three-plus runs in a single frame 13 times this season in 10 match-ups.
Junior first baseman Holly Kern continued her remarkable weekend, going 2-for-3 at the plate with a HR and three RBIs. The Plano, Texas, native batted .438 during the event with three doubles, a HR and 15 RBIs and has now reached base in eight straight contests.
UT sophomore shortstop Devon Tunning continued a pair of personal streaks with a 3-for-5, two-run, two-double, three-RBI performance. The Montgomery, Texas, native has now reached base in all 10 games to begin the 2015 campaign and has hit successfully in five straight. During the Texas Classic she led the team in batting average (.636), slugging percentage (.909), walks (six) and on-base percentage (.765).
Sophomore second baseman Kelli Hanzel raised her weekend average to .545 by going 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs, while sophomore left fielder Stephanie Wong (.467 during the Texas Classic) went 2-for-4 with a RBI. Senior right fielder Marlee Gabaldon managed two more hits in raising her weekend mark to .429.
In the circle sophomore Tiarra Davis (3-1) earned the win with 4.1 innings of four-hit relief. The Henderson, Texas, native powered the pitching staff over the weekend by posting a 3-0 mark with a 0.43 ERA and 15 K's over 16.1 frames. In making her first career start in the circle for the Horns, freshman Kristen Clark permitted four earned runs on two hits with four walks and a strikeout over 2.2 innings.
After Clark rolled through the Colorado State line-up one-two-three in the top of the first, Texas' offense jumped all over starting pitcher Larisa Petakoff in the bottom half. With Tunning at first following a lead-off single, junior center fielder Lindsey Stephens reached via catcher's interference. That miscue set the stage for more Kern offensive fireworks as she drove a three-run shot to left field to make it 3-0. Junior designated player Erin Shireman and Gabaldon followed with singles. That duo soon found itself on the move, racing around to score runs four and five on Hanzel's ringing double to the wall in left center field.
Colorado State immediately responded with a threat of its own in the top of the second. A hit batter and a pair of walks loaded the bases with one retired. Clark registered a big K by catching pitcher Molly Randle swinging for the second out. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, second baseman Madison Kilcrease just beat out a slow roller up the first base line for a single as catcher Jaelyn Manzanares scored from 60 feet away and cut CSU's deficit to 5-1. With shortstop Haley Hutton at the plate, Clark uncorked a high pitch that reached the backstop. Freshman catcher Randel Leahy raced back quickly to corral the ball and tossed to the plate where Clark was waiting. The Richmond, Texas, product applied the tag on CSU first baseman Danielle Wikre to escape the jam with no further damage.
The Rams continued to chip into Texas' lead in the top of the third, putting up three runs on two hits and a pair of walks. A Wikre RBI double ended Clark's stay in the circle as the decision was made to summon in Davis from the bullpen. Center fielder Shae Rodriguez rudely greeted the reliever with a two-RBI single to right, cutting Colorado State's deficit to just a single tally at 5-4.
Texas' offense missed a golden opportunity to put more on the board in the bottom of the third as a single and two walks packed the bases with two down. Unfortunately for the Horns, CSU reliever Randle recorded an inning-ending K as UT's left on base count expanded to five through three frames.
Things would remain close for much longer, however, as four consecutive hits from Gabaldon, Hanzel, Davis (RBI single) and Tunning (two-RBI double) blew the game back open in UT's favor during the fifth as the lead expanded to four runs at 8-4.
With the Texas offense now in full gear, the Longhorns batted around for the second consecutive inning during the sixth, managing three runs on three hits. A three-base Colorado State error, a Tunning RBI double and Wong's RBI single each plated runs to set the final UT offensive output at 11 tallies.
From there Davis allowed a two-out walk to Manzanares in the top of the seventh, but that was it as Texas finished off its seventh win of 2015.
Postgame Quotes
Head Coach Connie Clark:
On finishing strong: "We just talked about that in our huddle. You know that's actually one thing the team brought up that I didn't bring it up. They brought it up first, they want to make sure that they finish strong, and I think that they are talking about collectively on the weekend going back and taking a look at all games. I think we started strong and finished strong today. You're right, the middle part, wow big lull, but you know it's Sunday, you have a lot of games under your belt. The weather (cloudy on Sunday), you feel a little lazy, you feel a little sore and tired. But I think we did finish well today, but they were talking about Friday just going out and taking care of business and playing every inning. I like that, I think that is something that we can get a little better on, but I like that they pointed it out."
On Holly Kern: "My goodness, she saw the ball, she was seeing volleyballs all weekend. It was really pretty amazing. I'll have to look at the final lines on her, but certainly she will be up for, you know in the mix for national player of the week. She is somebody that we knew coming into the season, you knew the four hole was a good spot for her. You know it's not that easy being that person right behind Lindsey Stephens. You know that's the one everybody is talking about in the preseason. You know Lindsey is going to be great for us, but you need somebody solid behind and she just saw the ball really well. Good to see her deliver this weekend."
Junior first baseman Holly Kern:
On how the weekend went: "I feel really good about this weekend, not just me but everybody. Offensively we were just on point. There are a couple of things we need to work on, but overall we did a good job finishing. Tiarra (Davis) did great today, it was a good bounce back from last weekend. We are seeing the ball really well. People are getting on base, and we are just making things happen."
On Texas' next weekend: "We'll just keep rolling into next week. We have three practice days, I think, before California. We are going to see some good teams out in California, so it will be a good challenge. We saw some great teams this weekend and some good pitching, so we have to keep the momentum, keep working hard in practice this week and go out and show California what we are made of."
Texas Team Postgame Notes
Series – Texas remains undefeated all-time against Colorado State, 6-0. The Longhorns went 2-0 against the Rams in the 2015 Texas Classic.
Jumping out of the gate – With five runs in the first inning, the Longhorns now have scored 19 runs in the opening frame.
Playing long ball – With Holly Kern's first inning home run, the Longhorns now have 10 home runs on the season through 10 games. This year's team is now tied for third-best in program history for home runs through the opening 10 games on the schedule (2006, 2009, 2012-14).
Swinging the stick – Texas assembled a season high in hits with 15 against the Rams. For the weekend, the Longhorns batted .391 and out-hit opponents 50-22. On the season, Texas is hitting .338 as a team.
Big innings – After scoring at least three runs in three innings against Colorado State, the Longhorns now have plated at least three runs in an inning 13 times this year and in seven of 10 total games. In the Texas Classic, Texas had six "big" innings.
Ring-a-round the lineup card – The Longhorns sent nine batters to the plate in the first, fifth and sixth innings. UT has accomplished that feat seven times this season.
Base thieves – Stephanie Wong (two) and Lindsey Stephens both stole bases in the game. The Longhorns are now 11-for-11 in stolen bases this season.
Player notes
Holly Kern – The junior first baseman continued her torrid play in the Texas Classic with a first inning, three-run home run over the center field fence. In the five games played this weekend, Kern had 15 RBIs, four runs scored, three doubles and a home run.
Devon Tunning – With a lead-off single, the sophomore has reached safely in each game this season and extended her hitting streak to six games. In the game, the Longhorn shortstop went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, two doubles, and a run scored. For the weekend, she led the team in batting average (.636), hits (seven), runs (six), slugging percentage (.909), on-base percentage (.765), and walks (six).
Erin Shireman – The catcher had a hit in the first inning to reach the 50-career hit milestone. She racked up three hits in the game and six over the weekend. The junior is tied for the team lead in batting average this season at .414.
Kelli Hanzel – The sophomore went 2-for-3 against the Rams with two RBIs and a run scored. Hanzel hit .545 over the past five games with three RBIs, three runs and two doubles.
Stephanie Wong – The sophomore outfielder recorded two stolen bases in the game. She is now a perfect 5-for-5 on the season and 17-for-17 in her career. Against the Rams, the Austin native went 2-for-4 with an RBI. In the five games in the Texas Classic, Wong hit .467 (7-for-15) with four runs scored and three RBIs. Wong is tied for the batting average lead for the Longhorns this season (.414).
Tiarra Davis – The southpaw came in relief of the starter Kristen Clark and spun 4.1 innings in picking up the win. The sophomore went 3-0 on the weekend while posting a miniscule 0.43 ERA and 15 strikeouts.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Davis, Tiarra (3-1)
L: PETAKOFF, Larisa (1-1)
Batting:
2B: WIKRE, Danielle 1
RBI: WIKRE, Danielle 1 ; RODRIGUEZ, Shae 2 ; KILCREASE, Madison 1
Base Running:
RUNS: HUTTON, Haley 1 ; CLARK, Savannah 1 ; MANZANARES, Jaelyn 1 ; WIKRE, Danielle 1
HBP: MANZANARES, Jaelyn 1
Batting:
2B: Tunning, Devon 2 ; Hanzel, Kelli 1
HR: Kern, Holly 1
RBI: Tunning, Devon 3 ; Wong, Stephanie 1 ; Kern, Holly 3 ; Hanzel, Kelli 2 ; Davis, Tiarra 1
SH: Ceo, Stephanie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Tunning, Devon 2 ; Stephens, Lindsey 1 ; Kern, Holly 1 ; Leahy, Randel 1 ; Gabaldon, Marlee 1 ; Angel, Alyssa 1 ; Hanzel, Kelli 1 ; Krpec, Mickenzi 1 ; Ceo, Stephanie 2
SB: Wong, Stephanie 2 ; Stephens, Lindsey 1
HBP: Krpec, Mickenzi 1
