No. 25 Softball freezes out Texas Southern, 5-3

Friday, February 27

Austin, Texas

5 p.m.

University of Texas

11-6

Texas Southern

3-7

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Texas Southern	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	3	9	2
Texas	2	2	0	0	1	0	X	5	7	2

02.27.2015 | Softball

Box Score

Senior pitcher Gabby Smith tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts in the victory

AUSTIN, Texas – Home runs from junior center fielder Lindsey Stephens and freshman Randel Leahy provided major support for senior Gabby Smith's 11-strikeout pitching effort as the No. 25 Longhorns (11-6) defeated Texas Southern, 5-3, on Friday evening in Texas Invitational play at Red & Charline McCombs Field.

Stephens was 2-for-3 at the dish with two runs scored, her team-leading fifth HR of the year and a RBI, Leahy was 1-for-3 with her first career HR and junior catcher Erin Shireman tripled and knocked in a pair as part of a perfect 2-for-2 performance. Over the first two games of the Texas Invitational, Shireman heads the UT charge by batting .800 (4-for-5) with a double, a triple and a pair of RBIs.

Smith picked up her first victory of 2015 from the circle, allowing one earned run on seven hits with two walks and a career-high-tying 11 strikeouts over 6.0 innings. Sophomore Lauren Slatten permitted two hits and struck out one in a single frame to earn her initial save of the campaign.

Texas Southern wasted no time taking the lead by striking for a pair of runs in the top of the first. An infield single and a UT fielding miscue starting the frame set the stage for the Lady Tigers by putting a pair aboard. A RBI single from catcher Chelsea Guenther and a sacrifice fly off the bat of second baseman Chaler Powell soon did the damage as TSU nabbed a quick 2-0 lead.

The Longhorns offense let it go in the bottom of the first, tying the contest at two-all as a Devon Tunning leadoff walk and a one-out Stephens single were summarily cashed in via a two-RBI Shireman triple to right.

A two-run outburst soon granted Texas a 4-2 advantage in the bottom of the second. Leahy picked up right where she left off in Friday's opener against Dartmouth by blasting her first career HR well over the center field wall. A pair of TSU miscues then combined to provide the Horns with another tally as Smith crossed the plate.

The Longhorns escaped a jam in the top of the third with no damage as a pair of walks and a two-out hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Texas Southern. Smith would fight out of trouble, however, inducing center fielder Brianna Simpson to ground out harmlessly to second as TSU left three stranded.

The Lady Tiger deficit shrunk to just a single tally in the fifth as Guenther scored on a Powell RBI double. That was all Smith would allow, however, as the Houston, Texas, native rebounded to strike out the side and raise her K total to nine through five innings.

Stephens immediately got the run back for the Horns during the bottom of the fifth, blasting her fifth HR of the season well over the right center field wall to make it 5-3.

With one final chance to extend the contest, TSU got off to a good start against reliever Slatten as Guenther led off the seventh with a single through the left side. She was immediately retired on a caught stealing as Shireman teamed with freshman shortstop Alyssa Angel to nail Guenther for a big first out. The play became more important as just seconds later Powell ripped a base knock past short into left field. That was all Texas Southern would get, however, as a strikeout and a groundout finished off Slatten's first save of the season.

Team Notes

Series: Texas is now 5-0 all-time against Texas Southern. The teams will face off again tomorrow afternoon at 4 p.m.

Lone Star State success: Texas is now 288-68-1 against teams from the state of Texas in the program's history.

Getting out of the gate: Texas has now scored 40 of its 106 total runs in the first two frames this season. Those runs account for 37.7% of the total scores.

Texas Invitational Dominance: In the 15 Texas Invitationals that the Longhorns have hosted, UT has compiled a 51-15-1 record and has won 23 of its last 24 games dating back to 2010.

Player Notes

Erin Shireman: The catcher went 2-for-2 with two RBIs in the contest. The junior connected on her first career triple in the first inning to plate two Longhorns. She now has 14 RBIs on the season, which is good for third on the team.

Lindsey Stephens: The All-American junior went 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs scored in the contest. The centerfielder leads the team in home runs (five) and runs (16) and is second on the team in RBIs (17).

Randel Leahy: The freshman connected on her first career home run with a shot to center in the second inning.

Gabby Smith: In her first start of the season, the senior tied her career high with 11 strikeouts, which marks the third time in her career that she has reached double digit strikeouts. Smith pitched six innings, while scattering seven hits, giving up three runs (one earned), and walking two. Smith is now 1-0 on the campaign. Also, her run in the second inning ended up counting as the winning score.