The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
4-0
Colorado State
3-1
No. 6 Softball run-rules both Colorado State & Wichita State
02.08.2020 | Softball
The Longhorns have now registered five consecutive run-rule wins for the first time in program history
AUSTIN, Texas – On Saturday at Red & Charline McCombs Field in front of the largest February home crowd in Texas softball history (1,260), No. 6 Texas (5-0) made it five straight run-rule wins for the first time in program annals by racing past Colorado State (12-3, 5 inn.) and Wichita State (9-1, 5 inn.).
Important Notes
- The attendance of 1,260 marked the highest February home attendance for a game in Texas program history. The old record was 1,251 to see Texas battle UT Arlington way back on Feb. 7, 1998.
- The Longhorns have now out-scored their 2020 opposition by a combined total of 60-6. The 60 runs tie the 2012 Texas squad for the most runs after the first five games of a season in UT history.
- This marks the first time that Texas has ever registered five straight run-rule wins at any point in a season.
- Texas is hitting .471 overall as a team during the Texas Classic with 22 extra-base hits, including 14 doubles, and a 1.318 OPS.
- Texas has now scored in 15-of-23 total team at-bats this season and has registered at least three runs in a frame on 11 of those occasions.
- Senior pitcher/designated player Miranda Elish continues her torrid pace at the plate by hitting .778 overall with three doubles, three HR's and 11 RBIs.
Major Players
vs. Colorado State – Senior pitcher Miranda Elish (1-for-2, two runs, HR, three RBIs); senior pinch hitter Kaitlyn Washington (1-for-1, double, three RBIs); junior catcher Mary Iakopo (1-for-2, two runs, walk, RBI); junior second baseman Janae Jefferson (2-for-3, run); senior center fielder Shannon Rhodes (2-for-3, run, double)
vs. Wichita State – Iakopo (2-for-2, run, double, HR, four RBIs); Rhodes (2-for-3, two runs, RBI); sophomore catcher Colleen Sullivan (1-for-3, two RBIs); freshman designated player Courtney Day (1-for-2, walk, run, RBI)
In the Circle
vs. Colorado State – Elish improved to 2-0 on the season by allowing just one hit and striking out eight over 4.0 innings of work.
vs. Wichita State – Sophomore Shea O'Leary scattered five hits and allowed one earned run with six strikeouts over 5.0 frames.
The Details
vs. Colorado State –
Texas' offense sprung to life in the bottom of the second as consecutive Sullivan and Elish walks, a sacrifice bunt and an Iakopo groundout to third combined to plate the Longhorns first run of the contest. A run-scoring wild pitch, a Camille Corona RBI groundout and a Reagan Hathaway RBI finalized the output at four runs as nine Texas batters came to the plate during the frame.
After Colorado State went down in order with four strikeouts over the opening two frames, CSU second baseman Kaitlyn Cook granted her squad some life leading off the third by driving a long single off the top of the wall in left center. The runner eventually advanced all the way to third on a pair of passed balls, but was left stranded as Elish battled back to strikeout the side.
The UT advantage expanded to 5-0 in the bottom of the third as junior right fielder Lauren Burke stepped up with the bases loaded and chopped a RBI bouncer to first.
With Jefferson (bunt single) and Rhodes (double) already aboard in the bottom of the fourth, Elish crushed a towering three-run drive over the wall in left center to make it 8-0. From there, Washington missed a grand slam by approximately a foot on a drive to right, and junior pinch hitter MK Tedder dropped a pinch-hit RBI single onto the grass in right to finalize the Texas offensive output at 12 runs.
Facing a pair of UT relievers, CSU managed to string together three runs off five walks in the top of the fifth, but could get no closer as the Longhorns wrapped up its fourth straight win.
vs. Wichita State –
Facing a rematch against the Shockers, Texas quickly jumped to a 5-0 advantage during the bottom of the first on the strength of two walks and three hits, including a Courtney Day RBI single. The big blow of the frame came off Iakopo's bat as the Carson, Calif., native launched a three-run, two-out HR to left.
Wichita State got a little two-out rally going against O'Leary in the top of the fifth as consecutive two-out singles from left fielder Wylie Glover and second baseman Sydney McKinney put Shockers at the corners. Third baseman Ryleigh Buck stepped up and lifted a dying liner to right that barely eluded a diving attempt by MK Tedder to plate a run and cut WSU's deficit to 5-1.
The Longhorns immediately answered back in the bottom of the fifth, ending the game via run-rule by posting a four-spot on an error, a walk and four base hits. With Hathaway aboard on a leadoff WSU fielding miscue at short, consecutive singles from Jefferson, Rhodes (RBI) and Sullivan (two RBIs) boosted the gap to 8-1. Two batters later, Iakopo stepped to the plate and brought the proceedings to an end with a RBI double off the center field wall.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Elish, Miranda (2-0)
L: GILMORE, T (0-1)
Batting:
RBI: MICHELENA, A 1 ; PETERSON, N 1 ; ACOSTA, J 1
Base Running:
RUNS: SHADOWEN, T 1 ; SERNA, D 1 ; COOK, K 1
Batting:
2B: Rhodes, Shannon 1 ; Washington, Kaitlyn 1
HR: Elish, Miranda 1
RBI: Hathaway, Reagan 1 ; Tedder, MK 1 ; Elish, Miranda 3 ; Iakopo, Mary 1 ; Burke, Lauren 1 ; Corona, Camille 1 ; Washington, Kaitlyn 3
SH: Day, Courtney 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jefferson, Janae 1 ; Rhodes, Shannon 1 ; Popelka, Alyssa 1 ; Elish, Miranda 2 ; DerMargosian, Tuesday 1 ; Iakopo, Mary 2 ; Burke, Lauren 2 ; Washington, Kaitlyn 1 ; Slack, Kaitlyn 1
SB: Slack, Kaitlyn 1
HBP: Burke, Lauren 2
