The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
22-3
Texas Southern
8-12
No. 3/2 Softball hits four HR’s to blast Texas Southern, 13-5 (6 inn.)
03.07.2020 | Softball
Junior first baseman Lauren Burke registered the first two-HR game of her career in the victory
AUSTIN, Texas – On Saturday morning in Longhorn Invitational action at Red & Charline McCombs Field, No. 3/2 Texas softball (22-3) bashed four HR's, and equaled a season-high with 16 total hits, while rolling past Texas Southern (8-12), 13-5 (6 inn.).
Important Notes
- Junior first baseman Lauren Burke registered the first multi-HR effort of her career by blasting two-run shots in both the first and second innings. With four total HR's in 2020, the Eugene, Ore., native has already topped the HR totals from both her freshman (at Oregon – three HR's) and sophomore (two HR's) campaigns.
- Junior second baseman Janae Jefferson improved her season-high streak of reaching base safely to 15 games. The Humble, Texas, native is also 5-for-5 with two RBIs on the weekend while reaching in all six of her official plate appearances against Liberty and Texas Southern.
- In the contest, 11 different Longhorns posted at least one hit, while the squad managed nine extra-base hits.
- With the benefit of 16 hits, Texas improved its NCAA Division I-leading team batting average to .381.
- By rallying from a 5-2 deficit in the second inning, Texas now owns eight come-from-behind victories this season after trailing at any point in a game.
- On the initial pitch of the bottom of the sixth, freshman pinch hitter Grace Green blasted her first career collegiate HR to end the game by run-rule.
Major Players
Burke (2-for-2, three runs, walk, two HR's, four RBIs); Jefferson (2-for-2, two runs, triple, RBI); freshman pitcher Courtney Day (3-for-4, two doubles, two RBIs); junior catcher Mary Iakopo (2-for-3, two runs, HR, two RBIs); freshman pinch hitter Camille Corona (1-for-1, run, double, two RBIs); freshman pinch hitter Grace Green (1-for-1, run, HR, RBI)
In the Circle
Day improved to 5-0 overall by allowing three hits and striking out four over 4.1 innings of relief. Junior right hander Ariana Adams started the contest in the circle, permitting three earned runs on two hits with two walks and a K over 1.2 frames.
The Details
After a quick 1-2-3 Adams inning in the top of the first, Texas utilized the long ball to grab an early lead in the bottom half. With Jefferson aboard after a leadoff infield single, Burke stepped up and blasted her third HR of the season to right to make it 2-0.
Texas Southern fought right back to take the lead in the top of the second. First, a leadoff walk was cashed in by first baseman Tevanae Tate on a RBI triple to the wall in right center. Then, with runners at the corners and one down, a wild pitch brought Tate across from 60-feet away to dead-lock things at 2-2. From there, RBI singles by TSU's Haley Castro and Daryn Haslam and a Texas error combined to plate three more to give the Lady Tigers a 5-2 advantage.
Iakopo started UT's rally immediately in the bottom of the second by leading off the frame with a towering solo HR to left center. Following a two-out Jefferson triple to left center, Burke blasted her second HR of the day with a two-run shot to right center to tie the contest up at 5-5.
With reliever Day having come on and settled things down from the circle, Texas grabbed the advantage back in the fourth. After consecutive singles from redshirt senior center fielder Reagan Hathaway and senior shortstop Kaitlyn Slack to start the inning, and a wild pitch, Jefferson launched a sacrifice fly to left center. Burke walked, and then Day followed by driving a two-RBI double off the right-field wall to boost Texas in front, 8-5.
The Longhorns scored four more times in the fifth to make it 12-5 with the big blows coming on an Iakopo RBI single and Corona's pinch-hit, two-RBI double to right.
The end came suddenly, on the first pitch of the bottom of the sixth, as Green blasted her first collegiate HR to right to finalize a run-rule triumph.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Day, Courtney (5-0)
L: RODRIGUEZ, N (0-1)
Batting:
3B: TATE, Tevana 1
RBI: HASLAM, Dary 1 ; TATE, Tevana 1 ; CASTRO, Hale 1
Base Running:
RUNS: RODRIGUEZ, M 1 ; TATE, Tevana 1 ; BILBAO, Juli 1 ; BELL, A'Lecc 1 ; CASTRO, Hale 1
SB: ROBINS, Zari 1 ; BILBAO, Juli 1
HBP: HASLAM, Dary 1 ; BILBAO, Juli 1
PO: ORTIZ, Emma 1
Batting:
2B: Corona, Camille 1 ; Day, Courtney 2 ; Elish, Miranda 1
3B: Jefferson, Janae 1
HR: Burke, Lauren 2 ; Green, Grace 1 ; Iakopo, Mary 1
RBI: Jefferson, Janae 1 ; Corona, Camille 2 ; Burke, Lauren 4 ; Day, Courtney 2 ; Green, Grace 1 ; Iakopo, Mary 2
SF: Jefferson, Janae 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jefferson, Janae 2 ; Corona, Camille 1 ; Burke, Lauren 3 ; Green, Grace 1 ; Elish, Miranda 1 ; Iakopo, Mary 2 ; Popelka, Alyssa 2 ; Slack, Kaitlyn 1
SB: Burke, Lauren 1 ; Rhodes, Shannon 1
