The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Friday, May 19
College Station, Texas
4 p.m.
University of Texas
vs
Texas State
Softball preview: NCAA College Station Regional [May 19-21, 2017]
05.17.2017 | Softball
The Longhorns head to College Station to open NCAA Tournament action on Friday against Texas State
Texas NCAA Tournament Media Supplement
Texas State (41-15) vs. Texas (31-24) | NCAA College Station Regional | May 19-21 | Aggie Softball Complex, College Station, Texas
Schedule:
Friday, May 19
4 p.m. CT TEXAS vs. Texas State – Longhorn Network – 105.3 FM "The Bat"
6:30 p.m. CT Texas Southern at #12/11 Texas A&M – ESPN3
Saturday, May 20
1:30 p.m. CT Game No. 3 (Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2)
4 p.m. CT Game No. 4 (Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2)
6:30 p.m. CT Game No. 5 (Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3)
Sunday, May 21
1:30 p.m. CT Game No. 6 (Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5)
4 p.m. CT Game No. 7 (rematch of Game 6 - if necessary)
Location: College Station, Texas (Aggie Softball Complex)
Ticket Information: LINK
Television: Texas' opening regional contest against Texas State is scheduled for live broadcast on Longhorn Network with Tyler Denning (play-by-play) and Erin Miller (analyst) on the call.
Radio: All Texas regional games 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:
- Texas is making its 18th overall and 13th consecutive NCAA Regional appearance with this weekend's trip to College Station, Texas, for the NCAA College Station Regional. The Longhorns are 49-35 overall in NCAA Tournament play and 35-23 in NCAA Regionals with six regional titles (1998, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2013).
- Texas enters this weekend holding a 10-22 record this season against a combined 17 teams that made the NCAA Tournament Field of 64. The Longhorns posted victories over Louisiana Tech (two), Notre Dame, No. 20/22 Missouri, No. 15/13 Tennessee, Cal State Fullerton (two), McNeese State, Texas Southern and No. 17/13 Baylor. In all, 10 of Texas' 22 losses to NCAA Tournament teams this year came by just one run, while 16 of those defeats were by three or fewer runs.
- The Longhorns are very familiar with this weekend's opposition at the NCAA College Station Regional. Texas has already faced off this season against both Texas State (lost 2-1 in Austin on March 1 and 2-1 in 9 inn. in San Marcos on April 5) and Texas Southern (won 5-0 in Austin on April 19). UT last battled Texas A&M in the Lafayette Regional in 2016, splitting a pair of match-ups (won 5-0, lost 9-3). The Burnt Orange & White are 21-21 all-time against the Aggies (7-9 in College Station), 36-12 against Texas State (1-1 at neutral sites) and 8-0 against Texas Southern (0-0 at neutral sites).
- Junior catcher Randel Leahy has been one of Texas' hottest hitters lately, over the last 18 games dating back to April 9 against #11/9 Oklahoma, leading the Longhorns with a .393 batting average (11-for-28) with five runs scored, five extra-base hits and nine RBIs with a 1.164 OPS.
- Over the last 18 games, senior third baseman Celina Felix has been doing some solid work with the bat while reaching base safely in 14 of those 18 match-ups. The Montclair, Calif., native is hitting .290 (18-for-62) with four doubles, a triple, two HR's, her first five-multi-hit games of the season and a team-leading 15 RBIs during that stretch while posting a season-long seven-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.
- One-run games haven't been kind to the Longhorns thus far in 2017 as Texas owns just a 4-11 record in such contests. In fact, the Burnt Orange & White have lost 11 of their last 12 one-run games (beat Houston 2-1 in 8 inn. on April 2) while 11 of UT's last 19 overall defeats have all come by just a single tally.
- Putting three or more runs on the scoreboard seems to be the magic number for Longhorns success in 2017 as Texas boasts a solid 28-4 mark when its offense totals three runs or more but is just 3-20 when crossing the plate less than three times.
- Hitting HR's and out-hitting an opponent appear to play a major role in Burnt Orange & White wins/losses in 2017 as Texas is 18-2 when hitting at least one bomb and 13-22 without a HR. Texas is 29-5 when out-hitting the opposition and just 2-18 when its opponent puts up more hits on the scoreboard.
- Getting off to a quick start is also important for the Longhorns in 2017 as Texas is 24-5 when scoring first and 14-5 when scoring at least once in the opening inning. If the opposition scores first, UT is just 7-19 and only 4-11 when and opponent tallies in the initial frame.
- With four strikeouts in Texas' loss to No. 6 Oklahoma in the Big 12 Tournament (May 12), senior pitcher Tiarra Davis reached a personal milestone by becoming just the fifth pitcher in Texas program history to reach the 500-strikeout mark. She currently (500 K's) trails only former Longhorns pitchers Cat Osterman (2,265), Blaire Luna (1,428), Meagan Denny (988) and Christa Williams (678) in career strikeouts.
- By virtue of her three at-bats during the win over North Texas on April 26, freshman catcher Taylor Ellsworth finally reached the minimum number of at-bats per Big 12 Conference regulations (2.0 AB per team game played) to enter the overall league statistics. Ellsworth currently ranks fourth in conference in batting average (.407) and 10th in on-base percentage (.429).
- One thing Texas' coaching staff certainly did this season was put together a challenging schedule as the program's NON-CONFERENCE ONLY slate was listed as the FIFTH-TOUGHEST in all of NCAA Division I according to the most recent release of the RPI. Included among that schedule were 13 games against nationally-ranked teams including such powerhouse programs as UCLA, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington, Tennessee and Baylor.
- Texas has had a load of success with two outs in 2017, hitting .297 (156-for-526) while registering 108 of its 223 total RBIs (48%) with two outs in a inning. In all, 16 different Longhorns batters own two-out RBIs, led by 16 from senior third baseman Celina Felix, 13 from senior first baseman Kelli Hanzel and 10 each from junior catcher Randel Leahy and freshman infielder Jade Gortarez. Amazingly, 13 of Hanzel's 18 RBIs and 16 of Felix's 22 RBIs this season have come with two outs in a frame.
- 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. Since the start of the Texas Tech series 17 games ago, Washington has hit safely in nine of those contests with five multi-hit efforts, six doubles and six RBIs.
- 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 32 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
C/1B
/ Softball
3B/SS
/ Softball
IF/OF
/ Softball
1B/2B
/ Softball
C
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball