The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Friday, April 21
Austin, Texas
4:30 p.m.
University of Texas
vs
Iowa State
Softball preview: vs. Iowa State [April 21-23, 2017]
04.20.2017 | Softball
The Longhorns step back into Big 12 action this weekend by hosting the Cyclones in a three-game set
Texas Game Notes vs. Iowa State
Iowa State (16-31, 1-11 Big 12) at Texas (24-18, 3-6 Big 12) | April 21-23 | McCombs Field, Austin, Texas
Schedule:
Friday, April 21
4:30 p.m. CT Iowa State at TEXAS – Longhorn Network – 105.3 FM "The Bat" in Austin
Saturday, April 22
1 p.m. CT Iowa State at TEXAS – Longhorn Network – 105.3 FM "The Bat" in Austin
Sunday, April 23
11 a.m. CT Iowa State at TEXAS – Longhorn Network – 105.3 FM "The Bat" in Austin
Location: Austin, Texas (Red & Charline McCombs Field)
Ticket Information: LINK
Live Stats: LINK
Television: The games against Iowa State are slated for live broadcast on Longhorn Network with Alex Loeb (play-by-play) and Megan Willis (color) on the call. Links to view online are included on the above schedule.
Radio: Texas' contests are scheduled for radio broadcast via web stream with Andrew Haynes on the call via this LINK. The Texas broadcast can also be heard locally in Austin on "The Bat" 105.3 FM in the local and surrounding areas, part of the Austin Radio Network supported by the flagship radio station of the Longhorns, 104.9 FM "The Horn."
Base Knocks:
- A quartet of Texas' freshmen made quite an impression on the proceedings last weekend at Texas Tech as rookies Tuesday DerMargosian, Taylor Ellsworth, Kaitlyn Washington and Malory Schattle combined to register 18 of the Longhorns 40 total hits, score 10 of UT's 24 runs and register three of Texas' doubles and six of its 21 combined RBIs. The quartet each started all three match-ups and combined for a .391 batting average (18-for-46) with Washington (.467 on 7-for-15, four RBIs) and Ellsworth (.429 on 6-for-14) leading the group. The same quartet started against Texas Southern on Wednesday and combined for a pair of hits, including an Ellsworth double and RBI, in seven at-bats.
- Over the last five games, senior third baseman Celina Felix has been doing some solid work with the bat. The Montclair, Calif., native is hitting .286 (6-for-21) with two doubles, her FIRST two-multi-hit games of the season and three RBIs during that stretch. Felix's bat is a MAJOR need for the Longhorns the rest of the way, so her recent production is a very positive sign for the offense.
- Texas holds a staggering 48-1 overall series advantage against this weekend's Big 12 opponent Iowa State dating back to March 30, 1997. UT has won the last 28 meetings in the series with the Longhorns' lone defeat coming in Austin on April 24, 2005, 1-0. The Burnt Orange & White have won each of the last 12 match-ups at McCombs Field and are 21-1 at home against the Cyclones.
- The Longhorns enter this weekend's Iowa State series on a modest four-game winning streak. The occurrence marks the third time this season that Texas has won at least four consecutive contests. Previous occurrences were four straight victories from Feb. 11 vs. Maryland to Feb. 17 vs. Louisiana Tech and a season-best six straight wins from Feb. 18 vs. Indiana to Feb. 25 vs. No. 15/13 Tennessee.
- Texas freshman outfielder Kaitlyn Washington was named the Big 12 Conference's Player of the Week on April 18 following her impressive weekend efforts at Texas Tech. The Humble, Texas, product led the way for the Burnt Orange & White against the Red Raiders by hitting at a .467 clip (7-for-15) with two runs scored, three doubles and four RBIs. The award marks the first league accolade of Washington's career on the Forty Acres and the second weekly honor for the Longhorns in 2017 after senior Tiarra Davis' previous nod as the Big 12 Pitcher of the Week back on February 28. Washington extended her career-long hitting streak to four games by going 1-for-3 in Wednesday's win over Texas Southern.
- Putting three or more runs on the scoreboard seems to be the magic number for Longhorns success in 2017 as Texas boasts a solid 22-4 mark when its offense totals three runs or more but is just 2-14 when crossing the plate less than three times.
- The injury bug has bitten the Longhorns recently as freshman infielder Jade Gortarez remains week-to-week with a foot injury, while sophomore outfielder Reagan Hathaway has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2017 season with a knee injury suffered in the opener against No. 11/9 Oklahoma (April 7).
- Texas' schedule has been incredibly difficult to this point in 2017 as 16 of UT's 25 opponents played currently possess winning records, seven are currently ranked in the USA Today/NFCA coaches poll and 13 of them own at least 25 wins. Included are four teams with 35 or more victories, No. 3 Arizona (41-3), No. 5 Minnesota (38-3), No. 8 Oklahoma (38-7) and No. 11 Tennessee (39-5). Overall, the Longhorns' opponents (as of April 18) are 616-387-2 (.614) as UT has played the ninth-toughest schedule in NCAA Division I.
- The Burnt Orange & White have played 21 of their 42 contests against teams (HALF OUR GAMES!) that were ranked or receiving votes in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) or ESPN.com/USA Softball polls at time of playing, while 11 of those tilts have been against top 15-rated foes.
- One-run games haven't been kind to the Longhorns thus far in 2017 as Texas owns just a 4-9 record in such contests. In fact, the Burnt Orange & White have lost nine of their last 10 one-run games (beat Houston 2-1 in 8 inn. on April 2) while nine of UT's last 13 overall defeats have all come by just a single tally.
- Redshirt sophomore pitcher Erica Wright looks like she's returning to form after missing all of the 2016 season because of injury. Over her last 10 appearances in the circle (Loyola Marymount, Cal State Fullerton, McNeese State, Oklahoma State, UTSA, Houston, Texas State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas Southern), the Huntington, Texas, native has allowed just 17 combined hits over 49.0 innings of work (0.35 hits-per-inning), struck out 52, registered three complete-game one-hitters and posted a miniscule ERA of 1.29. She also recently tied her career-high for consecutive scoreless innings by tossing 15.0 straight shutout frames (from March 14 at Loyola Marymount until March 25 at Oklahoma State), hurled a remarkable 12.2 hitless innings from the second frame of the OSU game through the first inning of the Houston DH opener and struck out a season-high 12 over a career-high nine innings of work at Texas Tech (April 13).
- During Texas' series finale at Oklahoma State (March 26), freshman catcher Taylor Ellsworth added her name to the school record book by tying former Longhorns standout Taylor Thom's single-game record for hits (established April 23, 2011 at Texas Tech) by going a perfect 5-for-5 at the plate. Since starting against No. 21/19 Arizona State back on February 25, the Georgetown, Texas, native is hitting .477 (31-for-65) with 14 runs scored, four doubles, her first three collegiate HR's, 16 RBIs and a 1.163 OPS. She's also recently posted a career-long seven-game hitting streak and reached by hit in 16 of her last 21 games.
- Texas has had a load of success with two outs in 2017, hitting .300 (122-for-407) while registering 86 of its 187 total RBIs (46%) with two outs in a inning. In all, 16 different Longhorns batters own two-out RBIs, led by 10 each from freshman infielder Jade Gortarez and senior first baseman Kelli Hanzel.
- Since the beginning of the 2015 season, the nucleus of this year's Longhorns squad has demonstrated a resilience and "never quit" attitude in fighting back from deficits. Texas owns 31 come-from-behind victories (those where UT trailed at ANY point in a game) and 13 total "true" walk-off wins combined, including three walk-offs this year to beat Louisiana Tech during the Texas Invitational on Feb. 17, 6-5, to down Notre Dame at the Mary Nutter Classic on Feb. 23, 4-3, and to beat Houston on April 2, 2-1 (8 inn.).
Players Mentioned
LHP/1B
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
C/1B
/ Softball
3B/SS
/ Softball
IF/OF
/ Softball
1B/2B
/ Softball
OF/C
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball