The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
BYU
No. 11 Softball preview: Tennessee Invitational & at Lipscomb [March 15-18, 2019]
03.14.2019 | Softball
The Longhorns head to the "Volunteer State" for their annual Spring Break Trip
Texas Game Notes - Tennessee Invite & at Lipscomb
No. 11/13 Texas (22-5) at the Tennessee Invitational & at Lipscomb | March 15-18 | Lee Softball Stadium, Knoxville, Tenn. & Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium, Nashville, Tenn.
Schedule:
TENNESSEE INVITATIONAL
Friday, March 15
2 p.m. CT #11/13 TEXAS vs. BYU (10-11)
4:30 p.m. CT #11/13 TEXAS at #6/5 Tennessee (19-3) – SEC NETWORK+
Saturday, March 16
11 a.m. CT #11/13 TEXAS vs. BYU
Sunday, March 17
12 p.m. CT #11/13 TEXAS at #6/5 Tennessee – SEC NETWORK+
Monday, March 18
5 p.m. CT #11/13 TEXAS at Lipscomb (15-7-1)
Location: Knoxville, Tenn. (Lee Softball Stadium) & Nashville, Tenn. (Draper Diamond at Smith Stadium)
Ticket Information: at Tennessee – LINK: at Lipscomb – LINK
Live Stats: For both games against Tennessee – LINK; for Monday's game at Lipscomb – LINK; No live stats are expected to be available for either game against BYU.
Television: Texas' Friday and Sunday's games against No. 6/5 Tennessee are scheduled for live web stream on SEC Network+.
Radio: All Texas' games are slated for radio broadcast via 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:
- Texas freshman pitcher Shealyn O'Leary and Tennessee rookie catcher Ally Shipman were both standouts on the same high school team at Valencia H.S. in Valencia, Calif.
- With 40 stolen bases so far this year, this marks the most swipes for a Texas team over its first 27 games of a season since stealing 47 over that same stretch back in 2014 (went 82-of-99 that year).
- Redshirt junior outfielder Reagan Hathaway is currently tied (as of March 11) with Megan Stevens from Cal State Northridge for the NCAA Division I lead in doubles with 12. The single-season Texas program record is 20, held by former Longhorns Lindsey Stephens (2016) and Paige von Sprecken (2018).
- Look out for Texas during the fourth inning as the Longhorns have now outscored opponents in the frame, 52-7. Overall, UT has scored 30% of its total runs in the fourth inning this season.
- Sophomore second baseman Janae Jefferson currently leads the Big 12 Conference & rates second in all of NCAA Division I in hits with 39 (as of March 11). The Humble, Texas, native trails national leader Lindsay Rood of California (40) by just one hit.
- Texas owns eight wins over teams that were either ranked or receiving votes in one/both the NFCA or USA Softball polls at time of playing. Included on the resume are victories over No. 18/21 Kentucky, No. 15/17 Arizona State and No. 22/RV Minnesota.
- Several Longhorns have already reached or are set to join the 100 CAREER-HIT-CLUB this season. Sophomore second baseman Janae Jefferson (113 hits) and junior first baseman Kaitlyn Washington (102 hits) have recently reached the mark, while junior catcher Taylor Ellsworth (93 hits) and redshirt junior outfielder Reagan Hathaway (92 hits) are closing in.
- With 11 run-rule wins already in 2019, the Longhorns are just three from tying the 2011 & 2014 Texas squads (14) for the most run-rule victories in a single-season in school history.
- Watch out for Texas with two outs in an inning. So far through 27 games, the Burnt Orange & White are batting .343 (80-of-233) with 73 two-out RBIs (47% of the team's total RBIs have come with two outs this season). Shannon Rhodes leads the team with 10 two-out RBIs.
- With 52 doubles through 27 games (1.93 doubles-per-game), the Longhorns are well ahead of the pace needed to break the school single-season mark of 86 doubles set by the 2012 team. Maintaining its current pace over the next 29 games, Texas would finish a 56-game regular-season schedule with approximately 108 doubles.
- Freshman pitcher Shealyn O'Leary recently posted a stretch of 42.1 innings without allowing an earned run (from 2/10 against Boston College in her collegiate debut to 3/9 against Texas Southern) and currently leads the Big 12 Conference while ranking fifth in NCAA Division I in ERA (0.48).
- Texas' offense has out-hit 23-of-27 opponents this year while averaging 8.8 hits-per-game. The Longhorns have lost two of the three games in which they've been out-hit - No. 8/7 LSU and vs. No. 22/RV Minnesota.
- The Longhorns have been strong this season with runners in scoring position, hitting .336 (92-of-274) in such instances. Lauren Burke leads the team with 14 hits and a .412 average (14-for-34) in such situations.
- Freshman pitcher Shealyn O'Leary is off to a perfect 7-0 opening to her collegiate career. With that effort, she has now surpassed former Longhorns pitchers Blaire Luna (2010) and Meagan Denny (2005) as the only Texas freshman pitcher to ever start her UT career at 6-0 or better. O'Leary has also allowed just THREE EARNED RUNS over her first 43.2 collegiate innings of work.
- Texas sophomore second baseman Janae Jefferson now has enough at-bats to qualify for the Longhorns career record book. With a .412 career batting average, she currently sits FIRST all-time in UT history ahead of second-place Lexy Bennett's (2009-12) career mark of .385.
- Some trends are developing for the Longhorns in 2019. UT is 15-0 in games when scoring first, 10-1 when scoring in the first inning and 20-3 when out-hitting opponents.
