The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Colorado State vs. Wisconsin
Softball Preview: the Texas Classic [Feb. 9-11, 2018]
02.08.2018 | Softball
The Longhorns open the 2018 campaign by hosting Incarnate Word, Wisconsin & Colorado State
Complete Texas Game Notes - Texas Classic
Texas hosts the Texas Classic | Feb. 9-11 | Red & Charline McCombs Field, Austin, Texas
Schedule:
Friday, February 9
11:00am Colorado St. vs. Wisconsin
1:30pm Incarnate Word vs. Colorado State
4:30pm Incarnate Word vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
7:00pm Wisconsin vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
Saturday, February 10
10:00am Incarnate Word vs. Colorado St.
1:00pm Colorado St. vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
3:30pm Wisconsin vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
6:00pm Wisconsin vs. Incarnate Word
Sunday, February 11
10:00am Colorado St. vs. Wisconsin – LONGHORN NETWORK
12:30pm Incarnate Word vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
TEXAS CLEAR BAG POLICY: Please note that there is a new Clear Bag Policy in effect for fans when attending Texas Athletic events. For more details, please visit this LINK
Location: Austin, Texas (Red & Charline McCombs Field)
Ticket Information: LINK
Parking: Purchase in advance for the East Campus Parking Garage through CLICK & PARK - LINK
Live Stats: Available for every game of the Texas Classic here: LINK
Television: Every Longhorns game at the Texas Classic is slated for live broadcast on Longhorn Network with Tyler Denning (play-by-play) and Megan Willis (color) on the call.
Radio: Texas' games are slated for radio broadcast via web stream with Andrew Haynes on the call via this LINK. The Texas broadcasts can also be heard locally this weekend in Austin on 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 owns an INCREDIBLE season-opening winning streak dating all the way back to the initial varsity season for the program in 1997. The Longhorns have won ALL 21 of their season openers, including high-profile wins over No. 3 UCLA (2007), Florida State (2009), No. 20 DePaul (2010), Louisville (2011) and No. 17 LSU (2014). During that stretch, Texas has registered 13 shutouts and outscored its opponents by a combined 141-11. The streak grew during the 2017 season as UT knocked off Colorado State in the Texas Classic, 8-0 (5 inn.).
- Texas sophomore catcher Taylor Ellsworth was honored for her work during a NFCA All-Region First Team and All-Big 12 Conference First Team-level 2017 campaign by being selected as one of 50 student-athletes named to the prestigious USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List. The award will be presented on May 29. Texas remains the only softball program in the nation to have secured the honor more than twice as former Longhorns pitching legend Cat Osterman earned the trophy in 2003, 2005 and 2006.
- Texas enters 2018 on a two-game winning streak in its home-hosted Texas Classic, having posted a 3-2 record in 2017 at the event (two wins over Colorado State, win over Maryland and two losses to No. 16 Minnesota). The Longhorns have won 12 of their last 15 games in Texas Classic play dating back to 2015.
- Entering her 22nd season as Texas head coach, Connie Clark is quickly closing in on another milestone. She begins the 2018 campaign with 840 career wins, needing just 10 more to reach the 850-victory mark. She currently ranks #25 on the list of winningest active coaches (at four-year colleges) with at least five years of NCAA Division I experience.
- The Longhorns added a pair of promising transfers this past offseason to a solid four-member freshman signing class as junior infielder/outfielder Ki'Audra (Kay Kay) Hayter and junior infielder Ciera Schick joined the program. Hayter recently helped Butler Community College to the 2017 NJCAA Division I national title by hitting .462 overall with 84 runs scored, 51 RBIs and 45 stolen bases, while Schick played in six contests at Arizona State in 2016 but batted .344 overall with 32 RBIs during her scholastic career while helping Los Osos H.S. to three-straight CIF Southern Section Division I Championships appearances.
- In a recent team vote, senior catcher/utility player Randel Leahy and junior outfielder Bekah Alcozer were elected team captains for the 2018 season. Leahy has played in 115 career games (88 starts) with a .272 career average, 27 extra-base hits and 56 RBIs, while Alcozer has played in 66 games (33 starts) and led the Longhorns in HR's with six in 2017.
- Texas will look to have more success this season in one-run games than it did during the 2017 campaign as the Longhorns went just 4-12 last year in contests decided by a single tally. In all, Texas finished the year by dropping 12 of its last 13 one-run contests with the only win over that stretch coming in a 2-1 (8 inn.) victory over Houston (April 2).
- Texas opens the 2018 season among those teams "receiving votes" in both the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association and ESPN.com/USA Softball polls. In the the USA Softball rankings, the Longhorns picked up 10 points to sit in 35th position, while UT got a single point in the NFCA poll to rate in a tie for 43rd.
- Next week, Texas will head outside the continental United States to play for the first time in program history by venturing to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for the third-annual Puerto Vallarta Collegiate Classic. During the trip, the Longhorns will battle Rutgers, No. 3 Oregon, No. 14/15 Mississippi and Houston.
