No. 3 Softball splits home doubleheader against No. 10 Louisiana

Tuesday, February 25

Austin, Texas

4:30 p.m. CT

University of Texas

15-2

#10/9 Louisiana

12-3

Louisiana

Texas

No. 3 Softball splits home doubleheader against No. 10 Louisiana

02.25.2020 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

The Ragin’ Cajuns took game one (3-2) before the Longhorns rebounded for a 2-1 win in the nightcap

AUSTIN, Texas – With winds swirling around Red & Charline McCombs Field on a chilly Tuesday night, No. 3 Texas softball (16-2) registered a split in a high-profile mid-week doubleheader against No. 10 Louisiana (12-4) with the Ragin' Cajuns taking the opener, 3-2, before the Longhorns rebounded for a 2-1 win in the nightcap.

Important Notes

The Longhorns are now 2-1 this season against ranked opponents with a win over No. 12 Tennessee at the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge and tonight's split against No. 10 Louisiana.
With the win in the nightcap, Texas handed Louisiana starter Summer Ellyson (7-1) her first loss of 2020.
Texas has now out-hit its opponent in all 18 games this season and is averaging 10.33 hits-per-game.
With the win, Texas head coach Mike White moved closer to the 500-win plateau as he now boasts 497 coaching victories in 10+ seasons.
Texas knocked in three of its four Tuesday night runs with two outs in an inning to raise its two-out RBI total to 63 over its opening 18 games. In all, 45% of the team's RBIs this year have come with two outs.
Texas posted three doubles during the Louisiana doubleheader to raise its season total to a NCAA Division I-leading 46 through 18 games. The school record of 91 doubles was set by the 2019 Longhorns.

Major Players

Game 1– Senior pitcher Miranda Elish (2-for-3, RBI); junior second baseman Janae Jefferson (2-for-3, two runs scored, double); senior center fielder Shannon Rhodes (1-for-3, walk, RBI)

Game 2 – Sophomore catcher Colleen Sullivan (2-for-3, RBI), Rhodes (1-for-3, double, RBI); junior first baseman Lauren Burke (2-for-3, run, double)

In the Circle

Game 1– Elish (7-2) allowed three earned runs on four hits with a walk and six K's in a tough complete game loss.

Game 2 – Sophomore Shea O'Leary (4-0) picked up the victory by permitting one earned run on four hits with no walks and three strikeouts over 6.2 innings. Elish earned her first save of the season by getting the last out of the contest with the tying run on first.

The Details

Game 1– With runs at a premium in the duel between Elish and Louisiana's Megan Kleist, it was the Longhorns that struck first in the bottom of the first. Back-to-back walks from Jefferson and Rhodes and a wild pitch put a pair in scoring position with no outs. Kleist got close to getting out of the jam with consecutive strikeouts, but Elish hit a RBI single to deep short to plate Jefferson for a 1-0 lead.

After registering just two base runners through the opening four frames, Louisiana christened the top of the fifth by putting a runner in scoring position as shortstop Alissa Dalton beat out an infield single to third and advanced 60 feet on a throwing error. Third baseman Melissa Mayeux soon followed with a base knock to left and suddenly, UL had runners at the corners with still only one out. That set the stage for designated player Bailey Curry as she drove a three-run HR to center to give the Ragin' Cajuns a 3-1 advantage.

In need of a rally, Texas got a one-out single from Jefferson to left in the bottom of the fifth and a two-out single from Burke to left center in the sixth. That's all UT could string together against Kleist, however, as the Horns' left stranded count grew to six.

Facing one final chance to extend or even walk-off the contest, Texas got a two-out rally going in the bottom of the seventh. As she so often does, Jefferson kicked things off by doubling down the left field line. Rhodes followed with a RBI single up the middle and suddenly, it was a one-run game. Unfortunately for the Horns, a check swing bouncer to first was handled by UL's Sarah Hudek to complete the Ragin' Cajuns' 3-2 victory.

Game 2 – After UL left a runner stranded at third during the top of the second, the Longhorns kicked off a scoring chance against starter Summer Ellyson in the bottom half. Burke started it by driving a double the other way to the wall in left center. Senior right fielder Kaitlyn Washington stepped up and hit a sharp bouncer into the hole on the right side for a single to put runners at the corners. That set things up for Sullivan, who ripped a RBI single to left to plate Burke from 60 feet away and make it 1-0.

UL nearly tied things up with two down in the top of the third. Second baseman Kaitlyn Alderink singled through the infield, and the ball was misplayed in the outfield as it rolled all the way to the wall. With Alderink racing around the base paths, a perfect relay to the plate cut down the runner to end the inning with no damage.

The Ragin' Cajuns did tie things up at 1-1 in the top of the fourth, however, as Curry hit a leadoff solo HR to left center.

With a runner on and two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Sullivan stepped up and blasted a drive to deep left. With a 10-15 mph wind blowing in from that direction, it appeared the wind might have knocked the ball down as UL's Kendall Tally made the inning-ending catch at the base of the wall.

The Longhorns might have been gifted with their own wind save starting the top of the fifth as right fielder Taylor Roman blasted a towering drive to left center, but Rhodes was able to nab it short of the track.

After Louisiana managed a one-out single to left with two down in the top of the seventh, the call was made to the bullpen to summon on Elish in relief. The move paid immediate dividends as the senior pitcher induced a harmless ground out to short for her first save of 2020 and an important Texas victory.