The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Baylor
No. 10 Softball preview: Baylor
05.02.2019 | Softball
The Longhorns wrap-up the regular season by hosting the Big 12-rival Lady Bears.
No. 10 Texas (39-12, 10-6 Big 12) hosts Baylor (18-29, 2-14 Big 12) | May 4-5 | Red & Charline McCombs Field, Austin, Texas
Schedule:
Saturday, May 4
6 p.m. CT Baylor at #10 TEXAS – FOX SPORTS NET
- "White Out" game – Fans are encouraged to wear white, while the first 250 fans will receive FREE "White Out" t-shirts
- Celebrate our "Salute to Service"
- Kids runs the bases postgame
Sunday, May 5
1 p.m. CT Baylor at #10 TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
- "SENIOR DAY" festivities will be held pregame starting at approximately 12:43
- Fans can get postgame autographs
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: Both games against Baylor are SOLD OUT. Fans can check StubHub for any single-game ticket availability.
Live Stats: LINK
Television: Saturday's game will be televised live by FOX Sports Net with Dave Barnett (play-by-play) and Cheri Kempf (color) on the call. Sunday's game will be broadcast live on Longhorn Network with Alex Loeb (play-by-play) and Megan Willis (color) on the call.
Radio: All Texas games home & road 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 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 leads the all-time series against Baylor by a 30-22 total, including 16-7 in Austin. BU has won eight of the last 10 meetings overall, but the Horns beat the Lady Bears in Waco, 2-0, back on March 27 as freshman Shealyn O'Leary tossed a perfect game.
- Of the top six squads listed in the latest RPI, only No. 1 Oklahoma (13) has more wins over current RPI Top 25 teams than Texas softball's 10 victories. UT has beaten No. 10 Minnesota, No. 12 Tennessee, No. 13 Oklahoma State, No. 15 Ole Miss (twice), No. 16 Kentucky, No. 21 Texas Tech (twice) and No. 24 Tulsa (twice).
- A win on Saturday over Baylor would boost the Longhorns to the 40-win mark for the 12th time in program history and the first time since winning 51 games back in 2013.
- With 83 doubles through 51 games (1.63 doubles-per-game), the Longhorns are closing in on breaking the school single-season mark of 86 doubles set by the 2012 team. Maintaining its current pace over the next three games, Texas would finish its scheduled 54-game regular-season slate with approximately 88 doubles. UT IS TIED FOR 10TH IN NCAA DIVISION I IN TOTAL DOUBLES.
- Texas was listed at No. 6 in the latest release of the NCAA's Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) on Monday. UT has played the THIRD-TOUGHEST schedule in the nation and owns 27 victories over current RPI Top 100 opponents (10 over RPI Top 25).
- The Longhorns pitching staff currently ranks THIRD IN THE NATION in shutouts with 19. Virginia Tech and Oklahoma lead NCAA Division I with 21, while Texas is third, followed by Florida and Drake in a tie for fourth with 18 blankings each.
- Since March 31 at No. 21/16 Oklahoma State, sophomore catcher Mary Iakopo has been on fire at the plate, leading the Longhorns with a .526 average (20-for-38), 11 runs scored, four HR's and 12 RBIs while slugging .895. She's also reached base safely in 10 straight (streak currently going) and 12-of-13 games over that stretch. Iakopo batted a ridiculous .800 (8-for-10) overall during the three-game series against No. 1 Oklahoma.
- The Longhorns haven't lost a mid-week non-conference contest since April 1, 2018, against Texas State. Since that game, UT has won 11 straight (the total includes the March 18 match-up at Lipscomb that was played on a Monday). UT is 8-0 in non-conference mid-week contests this season.
- Texas freshman pitcher Shealyn O'Leary currently LEADS ALL OF NCAA DIVISION I IN ERA AT 0.50, 0.14 ahead of UCLA standout Rachel Garcia. The rookie starter has allowed just six earned runs in her first 84.0 innings of collegiate work.
- Texas owns 12 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. 6/5 Tennessee, No. 18/21 Kentucky, No. 15/17 Arizona State, No. 22/RV Minnesota, No. 21/16 Oklahoma State and No. 15 Texas Tech (two wins).
- Freshman pitcher Shealyn O'Leary rarely walks anyone, rating first in the Big 12 and third in NCAA Division in walks-per-seven innings at 0.83. She's walked only 10 in 84 innings.
- Sophomore second baseman Janae Jefferson is truly remarkable during Big 12 play, owning 50 career hits over her first 34 league contests (she led the Big 12 in 2018 with 32 hits). That's an average of 1.5 hits-per-Big 12-game. She's also reached base safely in 28-of-34 career Big 12 contests!
- Look out for Texas during the fourth inning as the Longhorns have now outscored opponents in the frame, 80-13. Overall, UT has scored 29% of its total runs in the fourth inning this season.
- With 54 stolen bases so far, this marks the most swipes for a Texas team over its first 51 games of a season since stealing 79 over that stretch back in 2014 (went 82-of-99 that year).
- Watch out for Texas with two outs in an inning. So far through 51 games, the Burnt Orange & White are batting .312 (137-of-439) with 106 two-out RBIs (43% of the team's total RBIs have come with two outs this season). Kaitlyn Washington leads the team with 18 two-out RBIs.
- Texas' offense has out-hit opponents in 39-of-51 games this year while averaging 8.0 hits-per-game. The Longhorns have lost six of the 11 games in which they've been out-hit - No. 8/7 LSU, No. 22/RV Minnesota, No. 21/16 Oklahoma State, No. 15 Texas Tech and No. 1 Oklahoma (twice).
- The Longhorns have been strong this season with runners in scoring position, hitting .314 (142-of-452) in such instances. Lauren Burke leads the team with 21 hits while Janae Jefferson leads in average (.452) in such situations.
- Texas sophomore second baseman Janae Jefferson now has enough at-bats to qualify for the Longhorns career record book. With a .403 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 have developed for the Longhorns in 2019. UT is 31-1 in games when scoring first (only loss to No. 1 Oklahoma), 14-2 when scoring in the first inning and 33-6 when out-hitting opponents.
