The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Sam Houston State
No. 9 Softball falls in NCAA Austin Regional opener to Sam Houston St., 2-1
05.17.2019 | Softball
Sophomore catcher Mary Iakopo blasted her team-leading 10th HR in the defeat
AUSTIN, Texas – On Friday afternoon in front of a sellout crowd of 1,305 fans at Red & Charline McCombs Field, a two-run, sixth-inning HR helped Sam Houston State (35-21) pull the upset of No. 9 Texas softball (41-15) in NCAA Austin Regional action, 2-1.
Important Notes
- The Longhorns will now face Texas A&M in an elimination contest on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. CT.
- Sophomore catcher Mary Iakopo blasted her team-leading 10th HR in the loss. With the blast, the Carson, Calif., native became the first Longhorns hitter since Lindsey Stephens (15 HR's) in 2016 to reach double figures.
- With singles against Sam Houston State, sophomore first baseman Lauren Burke and sophomore second baseman Janae Jefferson each extended their streaks of reaching base safely to eight games, the longest for both players in 2019. Jefferson has also hit safely in a season-high eight consecutive contests.
Major Players
Iakopo went 1-for-2 with a walk, her team-leading 10th HR and a RBI. Burke (1-for-3), Jefferson (1-for-3) and sophomore right fielder MK Tedder (1-for-2, walk) managed singles in the contest.
In the Circle
Freshman Shealyn O'Leary (13-2) suffered the loss in relief, allowing one run on two hits over two-thirds of an inning. In 5.1 frames as the starter, senior Brooke Bolinger permitted one unearned run on just one hit with a walk and three strikeouts, while junior Miranda Elish struck out two during a single frame of relief.
The Details
After leaving a pair stranded in the bottom of the third, Texas got on the board first via the long ball in the fourth. Iakopo stepped to the plate with one out and crushed a Lindsey McLeod offering down the left field line to grant the Longhorns a 1-0 advantage.
UT missed a golden chance to add to its lead in the fifth after putting two aboard on one-out walks from Tedder and freshman pinch hitter McKenzie Parker. Burke stepped to the dish and ripped a hard line drive, but right to SHSU second baseman Brooke Malia. The Bearkat infielder quickly flipped the ball to second for a huge, inning-ending double play.
Sam Houston State took advantage of a key Texas infield error on a dropped line drive as shortstop Tiffany Thompson drove a one-out O'Leary offering over the center field wall to grant SHSU a 2-1 lead.
Needing to rally, Texas put two on with one out in the sixth as Jefferson delivered a bunt single, was sacrificed to second and Iakopo was intentionally walked. McLeod made the pitches she needed in the tense situation, however, getting back-to-back pop-ups to raise UT's left stranded total to five.
The Longhorns couldn't string anything together in their last at-bat as No. 7, 8 & 9 in the line-up were retired in order to complete the contest.
