Softball blasts past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 8-0 (5 inn.)

Wednesday, February 28

Austin, Texas

6 p.m.

University of Texas

7-8

Texas A&M - Corpus Christi

5-10

Team	1	2	3	4	5	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Texas A&M-CC	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	4
Texas	5	2	0	1	X	8	9	1

Softball blasts past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 8-0 (5 inn.)

02.28.2018 | Softball

Box Score

Eight different Longhorns managed hits during the run-rule triumph over the Islanders

AUSTIN, Texas – On a muggy and overcast Wednesday night at Red & Charline McCombs Field, eight different Longhorns batters registered hits and five recorded RBIs as Texas softball (7-8) rolled past Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (5-10) in five innings, 8-0.

Junior designated player Bekah Alcozer led the UT offensive charge by going 2-for-2 with two doubles and a pair of RBIs. Junior right fielder Kay Kay Hayter was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and three stolen bases, senior first baseman Paige von Sprecken was 1-for-1 with two RBIs, sophomore left fielder Kaitlyn Washington was 1-for-2 with a RBI, sophomore shortstop Kaitlyn Slack was 1-for-2 with a RBI and senior pinch hitter Kristen Clark registered her first career collegiate hit and RBI on a fourth-inning single to finalize the score at 8-0.

In the circle for the Burnt Orange & White, redshirt junior Erica Wright improved to 2-2 overall by striking out four over 4.0 innings of one-hit work. In her first action on the Forty Acres, freshman Ariana Adams allowed one hit, walked one and struck out one while closing out the contest in the fifth.

"Really (tonight), we were just honestly focused on ourselves," Texas head coach Connie Clark said. "This time of year you come off those big tournaments, and we have been playing so much that we don't get many practice opportunities. Even tonight in the mid-week, you're working through some things that you need to get after. The only thing I was a little worried about was 'don't take this team lightly.' We've got to keep the pedal down. We've got to continue to work on those individual things and grow.

"It's just about the growth process for these young athletes and trying to get a lot of different looks. Obviously, we finally got Kristen (Clark) an at-bat. We have been trying to get her one. She's got a really good mentality at the plate, one of our seniors too, and is someone that I think can come in in a clutch situation for us. Quite honestly, (her hit) knocked in the game winning run to end the game early. Getting pinch hitters in, different looks and obviously got Ari Adams her first outing. There were just some good things in regards to piecing things together tonight."

The Longhorns offense kicked right into gear during the first inning with Hayter getting things going on a perfect one-out bunt single. With the Nacogdoches, Texas, native standing at third on a stolen base and a Texas A&M-Corpus Christi throwing error, sophomore catcher Taylor Ellsworth drew a walk to station runners at the corners. That set the stage for some base running fireworks as the duo each stole a base to hand UT a 1-0 advantage. The lead soon doubled as von Sprecken drove an Ashley Smith pitch up the middle to plate Ellsworth easily for a 2-0 lead. The hit parade continued, after a MK Tedder walk, as Slack drove a RBI single to left and Alcozer followed with a two-RBI double to right center as the Longhorns raced in front, 5-0.

Islander second baseman Destiney Diaz became her team's first base runner off Wright by lining a one-out single just inside the third-base bag in the second. That was all Texas A&M-CC would get, however, as UT's right-hander induced a pop-up to second and registered her third strikeout of the night to end the inning.

Texas added two more runs to the scoreboard during the bottom of the second as another Islander error, a Hayter stolen base and an Ellsworth single to left got UT's outburst underway. With runners at the corners and still no outs, von Sprecken boosted the lead to 6-0 on a sacrifice fly to left. Washington stepped into the box and promptly blooped a RBI single just over Texas A&M-CC second baseman Diaz's glove to plate another as the Horns jumped to a seven-run advantage.

Wright retired six consecutive batters until a fielding miscue on Texas' infield granted the Islanders a one-out, fourth-inning base runner. With shortstop Kaylon Dunn at second following a stolen base, UT's starter successfully got out of the inning by getting first baseman Kandace Johnson and Diaz to pop-up harmlessly to short and third, respectively.

Needing just one run to bring the run-rule into play, Texas got it in the bottom of the fourth. With sophomore pinch hitter Malory Schattle standing in scoring position after a single through the left side, Clark came to the plate and delivered her first collegiate hit and RBI on a base knock to left as Schattle scored to make it 8-0.

From there, Adams entered the circle for the first time in her Texas career in an attempt to close out the game. The Magnolia, Texas, native allowed a lead-off single and a two-out walk, but nothing else as a fielder's choice play at third ended the abbreviated contest in just five innings.