No. 11 Softball blasts four HR’s in 10-0 (6 inn.) victory over Texas State

Wednesday, April 3

Austin, Texas

6 p.m. CT

University of Texas

32-8

Texas State

19-16

Texas State

Texas

No. 11 Softball blasts four HR’s in 10-0 (6 inn.) victory over Texas State

04.03.2019 | Softball

Box Score

Sophomore Mary Iakopo hit two HR’s, including a three-run shot to end the game via run-rule in the sixth

AUSTIN, Texas – A season-high-tying four HR's, including two from sophomore catcher Mary Iakopo, backed a two-hit shutout by freshman Shealyn O'Leary as No. 11 Texas softball (32-8) rolled past Texas State on Wednesday night in front of a season-high 1,069 fans at Red & Charline McCombs Field, 10-0 (6 inn.).

Important Notes

Tonight's run-rule win was Texas' 14th of the season, tying the school record held by the 2011 & 2014 Longhorns squads.
With six more scoreless innings of work, O'Leary lowered her ERA to 0.55, just 0.01 from tying UCLA's Rachel Garcia (0.54) for the NCAA Division I lead.
After Wednesday night's power effort, Texas has now blasted four HR's in a single game on two occasions this season. The last occurrence was at No. 6/5 Tennessee on March 15.
The Longhorns registered three doubles against Texas State to give UT 70 for the season, just 16 from equaling the school record of 86 doubles established by the 2012 Longhorns.

Major Players

Three different players hit HR's for the Longhorns on Wednesday as Iakopo led the charge with a 2-for-3, three-run, two-HR (now has a team-high eight HR's this season), four-RBI effort. Junior designated player Miranda Elish blasted her sixth HR as part of a 2-for-2, run scored, double, HR, two-RBI performance, while senior right fielder Bekah Alcozer hit her fourth HR while going 1-for-2 with a run scored and three RBIs. Sophomore second baseman Janae Jefferson went 2-for-4 with two runs scored to lift her Big 12 Conference-leading batting average to .459. Junior third baseman Shannon Rhodes was 2-for-3 with a RBI, junior left fielder Kaitlyn Washington was 2-for-3 with a run and her ninth double and junior shortstop Kaitlyn Slack was 1-for-2 with her fourth two-bagger of 2019.

In the Circle

O'Leary (12-1) took a perfect game bid into the fifth before settling for an eventual two-hit shutout over 6.0 innings with a walk and two strikeouts on just 70 pitches.

The Details

Texas wasted no time grabbing an early lead against Texas State as the Longhorns struck for a pair of runs in the first. With redshirt junior center fielder Reagan Hathaway already aboard on a leadoff walk, Elish stepped to the plate and blasted a two-out, two-run HR to right center for a 2-0 advantage.

With O'Leary having retired the first nine Bobcats she faced, the Burnt Orange & White added another on the scoreboard in the third as Iakopo hammered a solo HR to left.

Texas State's offense broke up O'Leary's perfect game bid with one-out in the fifth as catcher Haleigh Davis walked. A potential no-hitter was also gone one batter later as TXST first baseman ArieAnn Bell chopped a ball just over third and on to the outfield grass. The Bobcats eventually had two runners in scoring position with one out, but O'Leary got out of the jam with a strikeout and a liner back to the circle.

A clutch, two-out RBI single from Rhodes boosted the Longhorns to a 4-0 advantage in the bottom of the fifth.

The Bobcats eventually got another runner to third with two down in the top of the sixth after center fielder Christiana McDowell blooped a double just inside the chalk down the left field line. O'Leary danced out of danger, however, by inducing a foul out to third from shortstop Tara Oltmann.

From there, Texas' offense quickly put an end to things in the bottom of the sixth. First, Alcozer followed up a Washington double and a McKenzie Parker walk with a three-run blast to left center. Next, Hathaway and Jefferson managed consecutive singles to set the stage for Iakopo as the Carson, Calif., launched a three-run blast just inside the left field foul pole to end the game via run-rule.