Softball takes series opener by shutout at No. 22 Kansas, 6-0

Friday, March 27

Lawrence, Kan.

5 p.m.

University of Texas

21-9, 1-0

Kansas

29-3, 0-1

Texas

Kansas

Softball takes series opener by shutout at No. 22 Kansas, 6-0

03.27.2015 | Softball

Box Score

Freshman hurler Erica Wright scatters four hits, strikes out nine in first Big 12 Conference action

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Texas softball (21-9, 1-0 Big 12 Conference) christened league play in style on a chilly Friday night at Arrocha Ballpark, getting a four-hit shutout from freshman pitcher Erica Wright and home runs off the bats of junior catcher Erin Shireman and junior pinch-hitter Holly Kern to blank Kansas (29-3, 0-1 Big 12) in the opener of a three-game series, 6-0.

With the triumph, the Longhorns moved to 15-5 all-time in Big 12 openers and have now won eight consecutive league lid-lifters dating back to 2007. In the process, UT also handed Jayhawk pitcher Alicia Pille her first loss of the season after she started the 2015 campaign at a perfect 18-0.

"I thought we came out with a good game plan against Pille, specifically since she started," Texas head coach Connie Clark said. "We started off hot, and I think that was pretty significant to set the tone for the game. That was one of the most impressive pieces, along with Erica Wright's performance. I thought she attacked the strike zone as well as she has all year. It was good to see her get started off with a lot of confidence in conference play.

"We saw Templin (reliever Sophia) come in and shut us down for a little bit. We were trying to make adjustments, and she gave us fits, being so slow and spinny. Some people made better adjustments than others. Obviously, that's the fun part of a three-game series. You get to go look at some video, and you get to talk about making those chess moves and adjustments. I don't think we showed them all our cards tonight, which is great and bodes well for us in the series."

Shireman led an eight-hit offensive output by going 2-for-4 at the dish with her seventh HR of the year and three RBIs. Sophomore first baseman Kelli Hanzel was 2-for-3 with a run scored and her sixth steal, sophomore left fielder Stephanie Wong doubled while improving her career-long streak of reaching base safely to 13 games and Kern delivered her fourth HR of the campaign via a solo drive in the sixth. Junior center fielder Lindsey Stephens (sacrifice fly) and senior right fielder Marlee Gabaldon (1-for-2) were each credited with a single RBI in the triumph.

In the circle for the Horns, Wright improved to 9-4 this season, scattering four hits, walking two and striking out nine while registering a shutout in her very first Big 12 Conference contest.

Patience at the plate proved a major factor in a major first-inning scoring outburst for the Longhorns as Texas made the unbeaten Pille throw 34 pitches while securing a commanding 4-0 advantage. After sophomore shortstop Devon Tunning led off the game with a walk (extending her streak of reaching base to a career-best 15 games), Stephens soon joined her teammate on the base paths via a one-out free pass. With two retired after a Texas flyout to center, Shireman stepped to the plate, and on a 2-0 pitch, hammered her seventh HR of the season over the left field wall to give the Burnt Orange & White a quick 3-0 lead. Hanzel kept the assault going, hustling down the line to beat out an infield single and moving to second on a throwing miscue. With a runner in scoring position, Gabaldon blooped a RBI single down the left field line to plate Hanzel and make it a four-run lead.

Staked to a big early advantage, Wright vitally kept the Jayhawks from managing any sort of answer to the UT outburst in the bottom of the first. Despite permitting a one-out walk, the Huntington, Texas, product registered a strikeout, a pop-up that was caught behind the plate and a fly out to right center.

Texas continued improving upon its lead during the top of the second as a Tunning walk, a Wong double and a Stephens sacrifice staked the Horns to a 5-0 advantage.

Kansas finally registered its initial hit of the contest with two down in the bottom of the third as right fielder Lily Behrmann chopped a single through the right side of the infield. She never advanced from that spot, however, as Wright got shortstop Chaley Brickey to fly out to Wong in left to conclude the frame.

With Jayhawk reliever Sophia Templin having quieted the Longhorns' bats following the quick start, KU's offense managed its first serious threat against Wright during the bottom of the fifth. Catcher Jessie Roane got things underway by bouncing a one-out base knock through the right side. Second baseman Taylor McElhaney was hit by a pitch, moving the first Jayhawk runner as far as second base in the contest. Following a KU swipe of third to position runners at the corners, Wright got the Horns out of the inning undamaged by getting Behrmann swinging for strikeout number six.

Having escaped the fifth-inning jam unscathed, Texas immediately added to its advantage in the sixth as pinch-hitter Kern blasted a lead-off solo HR to center, her fourth big fly of the season, expanding the gap to six tallies.

Faced with one final opportunity in the match-up, Kansas left fielder Shannon McGinley got the Jayhawks off to a positive start by lacing a single down the left field line. Wong did a good job in left racing over near the foul line, however, to hold her KU counterpart from turning the base knock into extra bases. After Wright posted her seventh K of the contest, a Roane infield pop-up resulted in a collision that allowed a ball to fall in for a hit, putting two Jayhawks on with still just one retired. UT's hurler refused to let Kansas sustain anything further, though, closing out the game in style with strikeouts number eight and nine to conclude the victory.