The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Wednesday, April 26
Austin, Texas
6 p.m.
University of Texas
vs
North Texas
Softball preview: vs. North Texas [April 26, 2017]
04.25.2017 | Softball
The Longhorns briefly step out of league play to host the Mean Green at 6 p.m. CT
Texas Game Notes vs. North Texas
North Texas (24-23) at Texas (25-20) | April 26 | McCombs Field, Austin, Texas
Schedule:
Wednesday, April 26
6 p.m. CT North Texas 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 game is slated for live broadcast on Longhorn Network with Tyler Denning (play-by-play) and Megan Willis (color) on the call.
Radio: Texas' contest is 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:
- The Texas bullpen has been nearly untouchable over the last six games with four pitchers (all except redshirt sophomore Erica Wright) combining to hold the opposition scoreless over the last 16.0 innings of relief dating back to the sixth inning of the win at Texas Tech on April 14. Sophomore Brooke Bolinger has tossed six of those scoreless frames, while junior Kristen Clark has contributed 5.2 shutout innings. In fact, the last time the Texas bullpen allowed more than one run in a game was in the 2-1 (9) loss to Texas State back on April 5, 11 games ago.
- Texas leads the all-time series against North Texas by a 13-1 count, including a perfect 11-0 record in Austin. UT has also won the last six meetings dating back to its only loss to the Mean Green on March 16, 2010, in Denton, Texas, 1-0. The Longhorns won last year's contest at McCombs Field on May 4, 2016, by a 4-2 count.
- Numerous Longhorns hitters enter Wednesday's game against North Texas on streaks. Freshman catcher Taylor Ellsworth is tied for her career-long hitting streak at seven games, while junior catcher Randel Leahy and senior third baseman Celina Felix have each hit in five straight. Felix has also reached base safely in eight straight contests, while Ellsworth is at seven, sophomore outfielder Bekah Alcozer is at six and Leahy at five straight games.
- Over the last eight games, senior third baseman Celina Felix has been doing some solid work with the bat while reaching base safely in every contest. The Montclair, Calif., native is hitting .281 (9-for-32) with two doubles, her first two-multi-hit games of the season and six RBIs during that stretch while posting a season-long five-game hitting streak. 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 has had a load of success with two outs in 2017, hitting .302 (132-for-437) while registering 92 of its 196 total RBIs (47%) with two outs in a inning. In all, 16 different Longhorns batters own two-out RBIs, led by 12 from senior first baseman Kelli Hanzel and 10 from freshman infielder Jade Gortarez.
- One-run games haven't been kind to the Longhorns thus far in 2017 as Texas owns just a 4-10 record in such contests. In fact, the Burnt Orange & White have lost 10 of their last 11 one-run games (beat Houston 2-1 in 8 inn. on April 2) while 10 of UT's last 15 overall defeats have all come by just a single tally.
- Texas freshman outfielder Kaitlyn Washington was named the Big 12 Conference's Player of the Week on April 18 following her impressive weekend at Texas Tech (April 13-15). 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. Since the start of the Texas Tech series seven games ago, Washington has hit safely in six of those contests with four multi-hit efforts, a .393 batting average, four doubles and four RBIs.
- Putting three or more runs on the scoreboard seems to be the magic number for Longhorns success in 2017 as Texas boasts a solid 23-4 mark when its offense totals three runs or more but is just 2-16 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 26 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, Arizona (45-4), Minnesota (43-3), Oklahoma (41-8) and Tennessee (41-6). Overall, the Longhorns' opponents (as of April 18) were 616-387-2 (.614) as UT has played the 16th-toughest schedule in NCAA Division I.
- The Burnt Orange & White have played 21 of their 45 contests against teams (ALMOST 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.
- 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 11 appearances in the circle (Loyola Marymount, Cal State Fullerton, McNeese State, Oklahoma State, UTSA, Houston, Texas State, Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Texas Southern, Iowa State), the Huntington, Texas, native has allowed just 23 combined hits over 54.0 innings of work (0.43 hits-per-inning), struck out 56, registered three complete-game one-hitters and posted a miniscule ERA of 1.43. 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).
- 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
DP/OF
/ Softball
LHP
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
LHP/1B
/ Softball
C/1B
/ Softball
3B/SS
/ Softball
IF/OF
/ Softball
1B/2B
/ Softball
OF/C
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball