The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Houston
Softball preview: at Houston and vs. UTSA [April 3-4, 2018]
04.02.2018 | Softball
The Longhorns step out of Big 12 play with mid-week contests against the Cougars and Roadrunners
Texas Game Notes at Houston & vs. UTSA
TEXAS (19-13) at Houston (22-12) and versus UTSA (15-15) | April 3-4 | Cougar Softball Stadium, Houston, Texas & Red & Charline McCombs Field, Austin, Texas
Schedule:
Tuesday, April 3
6:30 p.m. CT TEXAS at Houston – TV: UHCougars.com (requires a paid subscription) – LINK
Wednesday, April 4
5:30 p.m. CT UTSA at TEXAS – TV: 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: Houston, Texas (Cougar Softball Stadium) & Austin, Texas (Red & Charline McCombs Field)
Live Stats: Tuesday: LINK; Wednesday: LINK
Television: Tuesday's match-up at Houston is available to access via web stream video through a premium paid subscription fee at UHCougars.com. Wednesday's home contest against UTSA will be aired live on Longhorn Network with Tyler Denning (play-by-play) and Megan Willis (color) expected on the call.
Radio: Texas' games are scheduled 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:
- 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 117 total plate appearances and currently ranks in the tie with just one other player (Zamari Hinton - Sacramento State - 110 plate appearances) as the "toughest player to strikeout in all of NCAA Division I softball."
- UT sophomore outfielder Kaitlyn Washington was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Week (April 2) for hitting .500 with three HR's and seven RBIs during the road sweep of Iowa State. The Humble, Texas, native has really picked up her offensive production recently with a .455 average, six extra-base hits (three HR's) and eight RBIs over the last seven contests.
- Scoring in the first inning leads to success for Texas in 2018 as the Longhorns are a perfect 9-0 when tallying in the opening frame. Over the last six contests (versus Kansas and Iowa State), UT has scored in the opening inning five times and totaled 18 runs.
- Texas is 6-0 in Big 12 play for the fifth time in program history and for the first time since 2013. The last time UT started off the league season at 7 or 8-0 was 2013, while the only time it has started 9-0 was in 2011 on the way to a 12-0 start.
- Texas is currently riding a season-long seven-game winning streak. It's the first winning skein of at least seven games in length for the Horns since going 12-0 to begin the 2016 season.
- 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 12 contests, leading the squad with a .472 average (17-for-36) over that stretch while posting an active career-long 12-game reached base streak.
- Texas sophomore shortstop Kaitlyn Slack and junior outfielder Bekah Alcozer are also heating up at the plate. Over the past seven games, Slack is hitting .368 overall with two extra-base hits and eight RBIs, while Alcozer is batting .316 with two doubles, two HR's and a team-best 10 RBIs.
- Texas has had much of its success this season hitting with two outs in an inning. In all, the Longhorns have scored 56 of their 113 total runs (50%) and registered 51 of their 102 total RBIs (50%) with two outs in a frame.
- The Longhorns pitching staff as a whole has been lights out over its last 14 contests, registering a miniscule 1.64 ERA with six complete games, five shutouts, five saves and 82 strikeouts over 94 innings while limiting opponents to a .217 average. Paige von Sprecken (0.70 ERA, 4-1, 23 K, 30 IP) and Brooke Bolinger (1.14 ERA, 5-2, 38 K, 30.2 IP) have been a terrific 1-2 punch, while Erica Wright has registered four saves over that stretch.
- Over Texas' last 18 games, redshirt junior pitcher Erica Wright has been strong from the circle, posting a 1.81 ERA with a 2-0 record, five saves and 18 strikeouts over 27 IP while limiting opponents to a .190 batting average.
- Redshirt junior pitcher Erica Wright is making the save her own personal statistic so far in 2018 as the Huntington, Texas, native has already registered a Big 12-leading FIVE SAVES (second in the NCAA). She's already tied the UT single-season record of five held by Amy Bradford (2002) & Christa Williams (1998) and is one from equaling the UT career record of seven held by Blaire Luna (2010-13) and Erin Tresselt (2007-10).
- With the third release of the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) on Monday, Texas discovered that its perfect 3-0 week (with a sweep of Iowa State) had resulted in an one-point jump as the Longhorns rose to No. 25 in the latest RPI. Texas has also played the TOUGHEST NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE IN NCAA DIVISION I (out of 296 teams), while UT's overall schedule strength is ranked No. 9.
- Janae Jefferson is Texas' most dependable hitter with runners in scoring position at a remarkable .444 (12-for-27) overall. That's even more impressive considering the Longhorns as a team are batting just .236 with RISP in 2018.
- Texas' schedule has been absolutely brutal so far in 2018 with 15 of its games coming against teams ranked or receiving votes in the national polls. UT is just 6-9 in those contests, but posted wins over No. 9/8 Arizona, No. 20 Michigan and No. 25 Texas State and lost to No. 1 Washington (2-1) and No. 18/17 South Carolina (1-0, 8 inn.) by a run.
- Out-hitting the opposition has proven to be a predictor of success thus far for the Longhorns in 2018 as Texas is 15-2 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 15-4 when holding opponents to fewer than three runs and 4-9 when the opposition scores three or more runs.
