The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Sam Houston State
No. 11 Softball preview: Texas Invitational
02.21.2019 | Softball
The Longhorns host their second tournament of the season while welcoming in Tulsa, Ole Miss and Sam Houston State
Texas Game Notes - Texas Invitational
No. 11 Texas hosts the Texas Invitational | Feb. 22-24 | Red & Charline McCombs Field, Austin, Texas
Schedule:
Friday, February 22
11:00am Ole Miss vs. Tulsa – LONGHORN NETWORK
1:30pm Ole Miss vs. Sam Houston State – LONGHORN NETWORK
4:30pm Sam Houston State vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
7:00pm Tulsa vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
(tape delayed until 9:30 p.m. CT)
Saturday, February 23
10:00am Sam Houston State vs. Ole Miss – LONGHORN NETWORK
(tape delayed until 7:30 p.m. CT)
1:00pm Ole Miss vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
(tape delayed until 9:30 p.m. CT)
3:30pm Tulsa vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
(tape delayed until 11:30 p.m. CT)
6:00pm Sam Houston State vs. Tulsa – LONGHORN NETWORK
(tape delayed until 1:30 a.m. CT on Feb. 24)
Sunday, February 24
10:00am Ole Miss vs. TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
12:30pm Tulsa vs. Sam Houston State – LONGHORN NETWORK
(tape delayed until 4 p.m. CT)
TEXAS CLEAR BAG POLICY: Please note that there is a Clear Bag Policy in effect for fans when attending Texas Athletic events. For more details, please visit this LINK
PARKING: Fans can purchase parking in the East Campus Garage for $5 here: LINK
Location: Austin, Texas (Red & Charline McCombs Field)
Ticket Information: LINK
Live Stats: Available for every game of the Texas Invitational here: LINK
Television: Every game at the Texas Invitational is slated for broadcast on Longhorn Network (some are tape delayed – see above schedule) with two separate crews - Tyler Denning (play-by-play) and Erin Miller (color) & Alex Loeb (play-by-play) and Megan Willis (color) on the call.
Radio: Texas' games are slated for radio broadcast via web stream with Andrew Haynes on the call via this LINK. The Texas broadcasts can also be heard locally this weekend 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 Horns are off to a strong start both at the plate and in the circle this season. UT is currently second in the Big 12 and 26th in the NCAA in batting average (.345), while leading the league and rating 19th in the country in ERA (1.34).
- Texas' four transfers from Oregon have wasted no time making an immediate impact as Miranda Elish, Shannon Rhodes, Mary Iakopo and Lauren Burke have combined for a .403 average (27-for-67) with 15 runs scored, six doubles, a triple, ALL FOUR TEXAS HR'S and 20 RBIs over eight games.
- Junior pitcher Miranda Elish has proven to be quite the "dual threat" so far in 2019 as she currently ranks second in the Big 12 in both batting average (.500) and ERA (0.41). She's also currently riding a six-game hitting streak.
- Texas has a number of player who are riding streaks in the early season. Check them out below:
Kaitlyn Washington - eight-game reached base streak
Mary Iakopo - seven-game hitting streak
Miranda Elish - six-game hitting streak
Lauren Burke - five-game hitting streak
- Spelled M.I.R.C.L. but pronounced "Miracle" by the team, it serves as a motto of sorts for the Longhorns in 2019. It's an acronym for the words Mission, Intent, Respect, Confidence and Leadership. Five words for the Texas squad to focus on everyday.
- New publication Softball America had three Longhorns listed in their inaugural Top 100 National Player Rankings: No. 13 Miranda Elish, No. 17 Janae Jefferson and No. 57 Shannon Rhodes.
- Some trends are already beginning to develop for the Longhorns in 2019. UT is 6-0 in games when scoring first, 4-0 when scoring in the first inning and 7-0 when out-hitting opponents. During Texas' only loss so far to No. 8/7 LSU, the Tigers both scored first and out-hit the Longhorns.
- The Longhorns have been strong so far this season with runners in scoring position, hitting .346 (28-for-81) in such instances. Janae Jefferson leads the squad with five hits in those situations.
- Watch out for Texas with two outs in an inning. So far through eight games, the Burnt Orange & White are batting .362 (25-for-69) with 19 two-out RBIs (40% of the team's total RBIs have come with two outs this season). Redshirt junior center fielder Reagan Hathaway and junior utility Shannon Rhodes lead the team with four two-out RBIs each.
- Texas needs to find a way to win more of the close games to have success in 2019. Over the past two seasons (2017-18), UT went a combined 19-28 in one- or two-run decisions (10-18 in one-run games). Last year, the Longhorns lost a total of 12 games by two-runs-or-less during a 33-26 season, nine of those coming against nationally-ranked teams. UT is already 1-0 in such games this year after posting a 4-3 comeback win over No. 18/21 Kentucky.
