The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Saturday, May 5
Waco, Texas
6:30 p.m.
University of Texas
at
#19/18 Baylor
Softball preview: at No. 19/18 Baylor [May 5-6, 2018]
05.04.2018 | Softball
Texas heads to Waco to close out the regular season against the Lady Bears
Texas Game Notes at No. 19/18 Baylor
TEXAS (30-21, 10-6 Big 12) at No. 19/18 Baylor (33-14, 10-6 Big 12) | May 5-6 | Getterman Stadium, Waco, Texas
Schedule:
Saturday, May 5
6:30 p.m. TEXAS at No. 19/18 Baylor – FOX Sports Southwest Plus - LINK
Sunday, May 6
2 p.m. TEXAS at No. 19/18 Baylor – Baylor All-Access - LINK
Location: Waco, Texas (Getterman Stadium)
Ticket Information: LINK
Television: Saturday's game will be broadcast on FOX Sports Southwest Plus with Dave Barnett (play-by-play) and Jill Dorsey (color) on the call. Sunday's game will be available via webstream through Baylor All Access with John Morris (play-by-play) and Jordan Strickland (color) on the call.
Radio: Both games are 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:
- The third overall seed in the upcoming Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship is at stake this weekend. Simply put, if Texas sweeps Baylor in both games, the Longhorns are the No. 3 seed. If UT loses either of the two games, the Lady Bears are the three seed.
- With her current .413 overall batting average, freshman second baseman Janae Jefferson would finish with the sixth-best mark in a single season and the second-highest mark by a UT freshman in program history. Lexy Bennett established the school record back of .438 back in 2011, while the school record for a rookie was set by Lindsay Gardner back in 2000 at .421.
- Texas sophomore first baseman Malory Schattle made a terrific diving catch in foul ground during the top of the sixth inning in game two against UIW on May 2. What she didn't know was that her effort would be featured as part of the "Good Things That Happened" segment later that night on "SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt."
- Texas freshman second baseman Janae Jefferson currently TOPS THE BIG 12 (counting league games only) with a staggering .566 average (30-for-53). The Humble, Texas native has successfully reached base in ALL 16 OF HER CAREER BIG 12 GAMES coming into this weekend's last two league games at #19/18 Baylor. The Humble, Texas, native has also hit safely in 15-of-16 league match-ups and in each of the last 11 dating back to March 30 at Iowa State. Her 30 league hits are the most by any Longhorns player in a single league campaign in history.
- Texas senior captain Randel Leahy has been on a tear while starting the last four games, batting .462 (6-for-13) over that stretch with two multi-hit games and the walk-off single to finish an 8-0 (6 inn.) run-rule win over UIW.
- Texas' schedule has been absolutely brutal so far in 2018 with 23 of its games coming against teams ranked or receiving votes in the national polls. UT is just 7-16 in those contests, but owns wins over No. 9/8 Arizona, No. 20 Michigan, No. 24/19 Oklahoma State and No. 25 Texas State while losing games to No. 1 Washington (2-1), No. 18/17 South Carolina (1-0, 8 inn.), No. 24/25 Texas State (2-1) and No. 3 Oklahoma (5-4, 8 inn.) by a single run.
- At 10-6 in Big 12 play, the 2018 Longhorns already own more league victories than they posted during the entire 2017 Big 12 campaign (seven wins). UT has also clinched a spot in the upcoming Phillips 66 Big 12 Championship in Oklahoma City, Okla.
- Watch out for sophomore catcher Taylor Ellsworth (3-for-5, .600) and sophomore left fielder Kaitlyn Washington (3-for-4, .750) with the bases loaded in 2018 as the duo has combined for half of UT's 12 total hits in those situations.
- Texas has had much of its success this season hitting with two outs in an inning. In all, the Longhorns have scored 91 of their 179 total runs (51%) and registered 84 of their 164 total RBIs (51%) with two outs in a frame.
- The Longhorns defense has been strong all season long. Despite typically starting nothing but freshmen and sophomores at all four infield spots, behind the plate and in left field, Texas rates 15th in all of NCAA Division I and second in the Big 12 in fielding percentage at .975 (currently rates third in UT history). The single-season school record is .980 set back in 2011.
- l Scoring in the first inning leads to success for Texas in 2018 as the Longhorns are 14-4 when tallying in the opening frame. The first inning is far-and-away Texas' most prolific scoring frame as UT has registered 51 of its 179 runs during that inning (30%). Over the last 25 contests, UT has scored in the opening inning 14 times while totaling 41 runs.
- Texas senior pitcher Paige von Sprecken has been terrific in the circle for the Longhorns this season, currently LEADING THE BIG 12 IN OVERALL SHUTOUTS WITH EIGHT (as of April 30). She also ranked second in the league in complete games (15), fourth in opponent batting average (.199) and ERA (1.77), seventh in strikeouts (86) and tied for ninth in wins (10).
- At the plate, Texas senior pitcher/first baseman Paige von Sprecken has registered a Big 12 Conference-leading 18 doubles in 2018 (11th in the NCAA) to move into second all-time in the category in UT single-season history. The Yorba Linda, Calif., product needs two more to equal Lindsey Stephens' 2016 program record of 20 doubles.
- The Longhorns pitching staff as a whole has been strong over its last 33 contests, registering 22 wins (four one-run losses over that stretch), a miniscule 1.71 ERA with 17 complete games, 12 shutouts, six saves and 196 strikeouts over 220.2 innings while limiting opponents to a .209 average. Paige von Sprecken (1.35 ERA, 7-5, 11 complete games, six shutouts, 56 K, 82.2 IP) and Brooke Bolinger (1.41 ERA, 9-4, 83 K, 69.1 IP) have been a terrific 1-2 punch, while Erica Wright has registered four saves.
- 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 .367 average, 12 extra-base hits (three HR's) and 13 RBIs over the last 26 contests.
- After starting off the 2018 season on fire at the plate and then cooling off, freshman second baseman Janae Jefferson has heated back up over the last 31 contests, leading the squad with a .495 average (49-for-99) over that stretch while reaching safely in 30 of 31 games (a career-best 16 in a row at one point).
- Redshirt junior pitcher Erica Wright is making the save her own personal statistic so far in 2018 as the Huntington, Texas, native has registered FIVE SAVES (12th 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).
- Janae Jefferson is Texas' most dependable hitter with runners in scoring position at a remarkable .450 (18-for-40) overall. That's even more impressive considering the Longhorns as a team are batting just .248 with RISP in 2018.
- Out-hitting the opposition has proven to be a predictor of success thus far for the Longhorns in 2018 as Texas is 25-5 when tallying more hits, 2-14 when out-hit by an opponent and 3-2 when the hits are tied.
