The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
#25/RV Texas State
Softball preview: vs. #25/RV Texas State [March 21, 2018]
03.20.2018 | Softball
The Longhorns (12-13) welcome in the ranked Bobcats (22-7) for a mid-week non-conference showdown
Texas Game Notes vs. Texas State
#25/RV Texas State (22-7) at TEXAS (12-13) | March 21 | Red & Charline McCombs Field, Austin, Texas
Schedule:
6 p.m. No. 25/RV Texas State at TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK – LINK
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)
Promotions: First 200 fans through the gates will receive a FREE "All 4 Texas" T-Shirt; $3 General Admission tickets
Ticket Information: LINK
Parking: Purchase in advance for the East Campus Parking Garage through CLICK & PARK - LINK
Live Stats: Available here: LINK
Television: Wednesday's game is slated for live broadcast on Longhorn Network with Tyler Denning (play-by-play) and Megan Willis (color) on the call.
Radio: Texas' game is slated for radio broadcast via FREE web stream with Andrew Haynes on the call through 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:
- With the first release of the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) on Monday, Texas came in at No. 37 overall but discovered that it has played the TOUGHEST NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE IN NCAA DIVISION I (out of 296 teams) so far this season. UT's overall schedule strength is ranked No. 4.
- Texas and Texas State will be meeting for the 51st time in series history on Wednesday with the Longhorns holding a 37-13 advantage. A rivalry has erupted between the two teams over the last three seasons with each squad boasting four wins, while five of the last seven meetings have been settled by one run. The Bobcats have won four of the last six contests, including three-of-four in 2017 before Texas eliminated Texas State from the NCAA College Station Regional. Former Longhorns pitching legend Cat Osterman continues to serve as the associate head coach on TSU's staff.
- Texas' schedule has been absolutely brutal so far in 2018 with 14 of its first 20 games coming against teams ranked or receiving votes in the national polls. UT was just 5-9 in those contests, but posted wins over No. 9/8 Arizona & No. 20 Michigan and lost to No. 1 Washington (2-1) and No. 18/17 South Carolina (1-0, 8 inn.) by a single run. Wednesday's game against No. 25 Texas State will be its 15th in 26 games this season against ranked/receiving vote squads.
- Texas' pitching has been very strong over the last seven contests, posting a combined 1.57 ERA (Paige von Sprecken - 0.50 ERA in 14 IP, Brooke Bolinger - 1.37 ERA in 15.1 IP) with a K-BB ratio of 39 to 9. Unfortunately, UT's offense has been struggling to score runs (12 tallies total) over that stretch as the team is just 4-3 overall with two 1-0 defeats.
- 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 90 total plate appearances and currently ranks in the tie with five other players as the "toughest player to strikeout in all of NCAA Division I softball."
- Janae Jefferson is Texas' most dependable hitter with runners in scoring position at a remarkable .435 (10-for-23) overall. That's even more impressive considering the Longhorns as a team are batting just .203 with RISP in 2018.
- Texas sophomore catcher Taylor Ellsworth is beginning to put things together as the plate after a slow start to 2018. Since hitting the eventual game-winning solo HR at UTSA on March 7, the Georgetown, Texas, product is hitting .400 overall (8-for-20) with three extra-base hits and three RBIs. Over the first 18 games of the season, she batted just .135 (7-for-52) with two HR's and four RBIs.
- After starting off the 2018 season on fire at the plate and then cooling off, freshman second baseman Janae Jefferson has started heating back up over the last five contests, leading the squad with a .438 average (7-for-16) over that stretch while posting a five-game hitting streak.
- Texas freshman third baseman MK Tedder is making a habit of showing tremendous patience at the plate. So far through 25 games, the Hoover, Ala., native has drawn a team-leading 16 walks and ranks in a tie for third in the category in the Big 12 Conference. All that patience has also helped lead to a Texas-leading on-base percentage of .405.
- Texas has had much of its success this season hitting with two outs in an inning. In all, the Longhorns have scored 34 of their 65 total runs (52%) and registered 29 of their 56 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-6 (.500) 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 nearly half of UT's seven 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 8-2 when tallying more hits, 1-9 when out-hit by an opponent and 3-2 when the hits are tied.
- Three appears to be the magic number relating to wins for Texas this season as the Longhorns are 10-4 when holding opponents to fewer than three runs and 2-9 when the opposition scores three or more runs.
- Texas will look to have more success this season in one-run games than it did during 2017 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). With a 2-1 loss to No. 1 Washington (Feb. 21), a 3-2 win over Virginia Tech (Feb. 24), a 1-0 triumph at UTSA (March 7), a 1-0 (8 inn.) loss at #18/17 South Carolina, a 1-0 win at College of Charleston (March 17) and a 1-0 loss to Georgetown (March 18), Texas is 3-3 in such contests this year but has now lost 15 of its last 19 one-run games dating back to 2017.
