Softball secures Big 12 series victory by topping Kansas, 5-2

Saturday, March 24

Austin, Texas

12 p.m.

University of Texas

15-13, 2-0

Kansas

23-9, 0-2

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Kansas	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	1
Texas	2	1	0	0	2	0	X	5	7	0

Softball secures Big 12 series victory by topping Kansas, 5-2

03.24.2018 | Softball

Box Score

The Longhorns offense is batting .392 in the series against the Jayhawks with nine first-inning runs

AUSTIN, Texas – Seven different Longhorns managed hits while senior pitcher Paige von Sprecken and redshirt junior pitcher Erica Wright combined on a three-hitter as Texas softball (15-13, 2-0 Big 12 Conference) secured a league series win over Kansas (23-9, 0-2 Big 12 Conference) on Saturday afternoon at Red & Charline McCombs Field, 5-2.

So far against the Jayhawks, the UT offense is batting .392 overall as a team, with 20 combined hits, and has scored 13 total runs during the first two innings over the pair of match-ups.

At the plate, freshman third baseman MK Tedder (1-for-3), junior right fielder Bekah Alcozer (1-for-2), sophomore first baseman Malory Schattle (1-for-2) and sophomore shortstop Kaitlyn Slack (1-for-4) all contributed single RBIs.

Right-hander von Sprecken improved to 6-5 on the year after allowing two earned runs on two hits with two walks and four strikeouts over four innings. Wright picked up her third save of the campaign by tossing three frames of one-hit relief with four K's.

"A big thing we talked about pre-game was to not assume that it's going to be an easy cakewalk through this weekend," Texas head coach Connie Clark said. "(Kansas) is a quality ball club that has a nice record and has done some nice things this season. I thought we competed well again today. The insurance runs were huge for us. Tuesday (DerMargosian) did a great job of seeing a ball in the dirt and getting into scoring position. Obviously, she then came around, and to have Mal (Schattle) get the squeeze play down was big. We needed to really tack some more runs on. It was also a great combo today (in the circle) with Paige and Erica. They competed well, and it's nice to have a complete pitching staff, so that we could bring Erica in when we needed to."

Texas' offense picked up right where it left off on Friday night as the Longhorns started the bottom of the first by loading the bases on an error, a von Sprecken single off the pitcher's leg and a Tedder walk. With sophomore catcher Taylor Ellsworth battling at the plate, Kansas starter Sarah Miller uncorked a wild pitch to the backstop. That allowed freshman second baseman Janae Jefferson the opportunity to scamper home easily from third for a 1-0 lead. After an Ellsworth free pass, Alcozer stepped into the box and launched a deep sacrifice fly to left to boost UT's advantage to 2-0.

The Jayhawks answered right back in the top of the second as shortstop Shelby Gayre and designated player Jessie Roane walked to open the frame and were soon joined on the bags by third baseman Madison via a one-out hit-by-pitch. That set the stage for right fielder Annie Mehringer, as the No. 9 hitter in the KU line-up laced a double just inside the chalk down the left field line to plate a pair and deadlock the score at 2-2.

The back-and-forth contest continued into UT's half of the second as a perfect Jefferson bunt single and a stolen base put the rookie speedster in scoring position with two retired. Tedder headed to the plate with a chance to deliver a big hit and came through, blooping a RBI single into short left center to hand Texas back the lead at 3-2.

A hit batter and an Alcozer walk got UT back in business against Miller opening the bottom of the fifth. With runners at the corners and one retired, Schattle dropped a perfect bunt up the third base line as sophomore pinch runner DerMargosian slid home safely with UT's fourth score. Slack followed immediately with a RBI single into right center as the Longhorns finalized their offensive output at five runs.

That was all Texas would need with Wright in the circle for relief. The Huntington, Texas, native allowed a two-out bunt single in the top of the fifth, but retired the last seven Jayhawks she faced to seal UT's 5-2 victory.