The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
#18/17 South Carolina
Softball preview: at #18/17 South Carolina [March 13, 2018]
03.12.2018 | Softball
The Longhorns kick-off their annual Spring Break trip with a visit to Columbia, S.C.
Texas Game Notes at #18/17 South Carolina
TEXAS (9-10) at #18/17 South Carolina (21-3) | March 13 | Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field, Columbia, S.C.
Schedule:
5 p.m. CT TEXAS at #18/17 South Carolina – SEC Network – LINK
Location: Columbia, S.C. (Carolina Softball Stadium at Beckham Field)
Ticket Information: LINK
Live Stats: LINK
Television: Tuesday's game is slated to be broadcast live on the SEC Network with Matt Schick (play-by-play) and Kayla Braud (color) on the call.
Radio: Texas' game is slated for radio broadcast via FREE web stream with Andrew Haynes on the call via this LINK. The Texas broadcasts can also be heard locally 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:
- In her 23rd season (22nd as varsity coach) as Texas head coach, Connie Clark is quickly closing in on another milestone. She now owns 849 career wins, needing just one 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.
- Texas and South Carolina will be meeting for the fifth time in program history on Tuesday with the teams tied in the overall series at 2-2. USC took the most recent meeting on Feb. 17, 2017, in Austin, 9-4. This will mark the first time UT has ever faced the Gamecocks on the road in Columbia, S.C.
- A pair of Longhorns have solid streaks going heading into Tuesday. Freshman third baseman MK Tedder has reached in nine consecutive games and is on a career-high four-game hitting streak. Redshirt junior pitcher Erica Wright is currently riding a streak of 9.0 straight scoreless innings dating back to Feb. 23 vs. Wichita State.
- Texas' schedule has been absolutely brutal so far in 2018 with 13 of its 19 games coming against teams ranked or receiving votes in the national polls. UT is just 5-8 in those contests, but owns wins over No. 9/8 Arizona & No. 20 Michigan and lost to No. 1 Washington by a single run (2-1). Add in the visit to No. 18/17 South Carolina on Tuesday and those numbers rise to 14 of 20 games.
- Longhorns freshman second baseman Janae Jefferson seems to be averse to the strikeout as the Humble, Texas, native has yet to K this season over 66 total plate appearances and currently ranks in the tie with 37 other players as the "toughest player to strikeout in all of NCAA Division I softball."
- Texas freshman third baseman MK Tedder is making a habit of showing tremendous patience at the plate. So far through 19 games, the Hoover, Ala., native has drawn a team-leading 13 walks and ranks in a tie for second in the category in the Big 12 Conference. All that patience has also helped lead to a Texas-leading on-base percentage of .453.
- Texas' 3-1 win over No. 9/8 Arizona on March 3 proved notable for several reasons: It marked the first victory over a Top 10 opponent since beating No. 8 Georgia (5-0) at the Cathedral City Classic on Feb. 19, 2015. It was also UT's first win over the Wildcats since knocking off No. 1 Arizona (1-0, 9 inn.) back on March 19, 2006.
- Texas has had much of its success this season hitting with two outs in an inning. In all, the Longhorns have scored 28 of their 54 total runs (52%) and registered 24 of their 46 total RBIs (52%) with two outs in a frame.
- Texas sophomore infielder Malory Schattle is turning into quite the dependable threat off the bench in 2018 as the Salado, Texas, native is 3-for-5 (.600) in pinch-hit appearances thus far this season with pinch hits against No. 15/18 Ole Miss, Houston (double) and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. She owns half of UT's six overall pinch hits in 2018.
- Out-hitting the opposition has proven to be a predictor of success thus far for the Longhorns in 2018 as Texas is a perfect 8-0 when tallying more hits, 0-8 when out-hit by an opponent and 1-2 when the hits are tied.
- Look out for the Longhorns during the third inning as Texas has posted 17 of its 54 (31%) total tallies in the frame over their first 19 games of 2018, almost twice as many as in the next most prolific inning (second - 10 runs).
- Three appears to be the magic number relating to wins for Texas this season as the Longhorns are 8-2 when holding opponents to fewer than three runs and 1-8 when the opposition scores three or more runs.
