The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
16-1
Princeton
1-6
No. 9 Softball uses nine-run fourth to blast Princeton, 15-2 (5 inn.)
03.02.2019 | Softball
The Longhorns offense managed to register 14 hits for the second consecutive contest
TEMPE, Ariz. – On Saturday morning in Sun Devil Classic action at Farrington Stadium, No. 9/10 Texas softball (16-1) continued to swing the hot bats by putting up a season-high 15 runs on 14 hits while rolling past Princeton (1-6), 15-2 (5 inn.).
Important Notes
- Texas' 15 runs were the most since beating Samford back on April 7, 2018, 15-2 (5 inn.), in the first game of a doubleheader at Red & Charline McCombs Field in Austin.
- The Longhorns have now won 10 consecutive games, marking the longest such streak for UT since winning 12 straight contests to open the 2016 campaign.
- UT has now run-ruled eight of its first 17 opponents to start the 2019 season. Texas managed just five run-rule victories during the entirety of the 2018 campaign.
- With six more two-out RBIs against Princeton, Texas has now registered 54-of-108 total RBIs (50%) with two outs in an inning.
Major Players
Sophomore catcher Lauren Burke led the UT offense by going 2-for-2 with a run and three RBIs, while junior first baseman Malory Schattle was 1-for-4 with a run scored, a HR and two RBIs and sophomore left fielder MK Tedder went 2-for-2 with three runs scored, a HR and a RBI. Freshman designated player McKenzie Parker was 2-for-4 with a run scored, a double and the first two RBIs of her collegiate career, junior shortstop Kaitlyn Slack was 1-for-2 with a double and a RBI, junior third baseman Shannon Rhodes was 1-for-3 with a run and a two-bagger and freshman pinch hitter Jaden Hoelker managed her first collegiate hit in the victory.
In the Circle
Sophomore right hander Ariana Adams improved to 3-0 overall after allowing one earned run on three hits with a walk and three strikeouts over a complete-game effort.
The Details
The Longhorns wasted little time getting things going on Saturday morning as redshirt junior center fielder Reagan Hathaway kicked things off in the top of the first with a leadoff single up the middle. With two down, Burke walked to put two aboard and set the stage for Slack who blasted a RBI double down into the left field corner to make it 1-0.
Sophomore second baseman Janae Jefferson kicked off another Texas outburst in the top of the third by beating out a leadoff bunt single. Rhodes stepped into the box and launched a shot to deep center that landed on the top of the wall before somehow spinning back into the field of play for a double to station a pair of Horns in scoring position. From there, Burke drove a sacrifice fly to deep center before Schattle delivered the inning's biggest shot on a two-out, two-run HR that rattled off the top of the wall in right before continuing over to make it 4-0. The advantage soon expanded to five as a Tedder walk and stolen base were cashed in on Parker's RBI double off the wall in right center.
Princeton got a leadoff single of its own in the bottom of the third as right fielder Madison Hamilton ripped a base knock up the middle. She eventually made it within 60 feet of pay dirt, but no further, as Jefferson handled a bouncer to end the threat.
A Tiger error opened the door for more for the Horns in the top of the fourth as freshman pinch hitter Elicia Espinosa reached to start the frame on a grounder through the second baseman's legs. With two on after a perfect Janna Roberts bunt single, Burke blasted a rocket through the right side of the infield for a RBI to make it 6-0. A run-scoring wild pitch, a Burke steal of home and a Parker RBI single improved the lead to 9-0. Espinosa hit a long fly ball to right field that was dropped at the wall allowing three UT runs to score. From there, another run-scoring wild pitch and a Burke RBI knock up the middle set the scoreboard count at 14-0 as Texas plated nine runs while sending 15 to the plate during the outburst.
With Adams in firm control of the Princeton line-up from the circle, Tedder made it 15-0 in the fifth by leading off the frame with a solo HR to center.
In need of a massive rally, the Tigers got the leadoff aboard in the bottom of the fifth as pinch hitter Gianna Mavica was hit by a pitch and third baseman Alex Viscusi followed with a walk. An errant UT throw on a bouncer and a RBI single from second baseman Hannah Lutz cut Princeton's' deficit to 15-2. That was as close as the Tigers would get, however, as a runner was thrown out at the plate, then a fielder's choice and a fly out ended the contest via run-rule.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Adams, Ariana (3-0)
L: Reynolds, Allie (1-3)
Batting:
2B: Rhodes, Shannon 1 ; Slack, Kaitlyn 1 ; Parker, McKenzie 1
HR: Schattle, Malory 1 ; Tedder, MK 1
RBI: Burke, Lauren 3 ; Slack, Kaitlyn 1 ; Schattle, Malory 2 ; Tedder, MK 1 ; Parker, McKenzie 2
SF: Burke, Lauren 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hathaway, Reagan 1 ; Espinosa, Elicia 2 ; Jefferson, Janae 1 ; Roberts, Janna 2 ; Rhodes, Shannon 1 ; Burke, Lauren 1 ; Hayter, Ki'Audra 1 ; Schattle, Malory 1 ; Tedder, MK 3 ; Parker, McKenzie 1 ; DerMargosian, Tuesday 1
SB: Burke, Lauren 1 ; Hayter, Ki'Audra 1 ; Tedder, MK 2
HBP: Hayter, Ki'Audra 1
Batting:
RBI: Lutz, Hannah 1
SH: Lutz, Hannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Mavica, Gianna 1 ; Viscusi, Alex 1
HBP: Mavica, Gianna 1
