No. 7 Softball sweeps Wichita State & North Texas to open 2021

Sunday, February 21

Conroe, Texas

1:15 p.m. CT

University of Texas

1-0

Wichita State

2-2

Wichita State

Texas

No. 7 Softball sweeps Wichita State & North Texas to open 2021

02.21.2021 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

The Longhorns hit .412 as a team on Sunday with 11 extra-base hits and a 0.00 combined team ERA

CONROE, Texas – Back on the diamond for the first time in 350 days, No. 7 Texas softball (2-0) got off to a strong start in 2021 by knocking off Wichita State (8-0, 5 inn.) and North Texas (5-1) on Sunday afternoon at the Scrap Yard Blizzard Challenge.

Important Notes

With the 8-0 (5 inn.) victory over Wichita State, Texas improved to a perfect 25-0 all-time in season openers.
Texas hit .412 as a team over the two contests with 11 extra-base hits and a combined team ERA of 0.00 (one unearned run over 12 innings).
By playing its initial contest on Feb. 21, Texas opened its season later than at any point in program history. The previous mark for latest season opener was Feb. 12 by the 2010 Longhorns.
With three combined hits on Sunday, junior second baseman Janae Jefferson improved her career hit total to 198. She needs just two more to become the 11th Longhorns player to reach the 200-hit plateau.
Texas knocked off Wichita State to start its season for the second straight year.
Three different Longhorns registered at least two total extra-base hits on Sunday: senior Shannon Rhodes (double, triple, HR), sophomore Colleen Sullivan (three doubles) and junior Lauren Burke (triple, HR).
Freshmen Alyssa Washington and Jordyn Whitaker each recorded their first collegiate hits, while graduate student pitcher Molly Jacobsen picked up her first Texas pitching victory.

Major Players

vs. Wichita State: Lauren Burke (3-for-3, two runs, HR, three RBIs); Janae Jefferson (2-for-3, two runs, triple, RBI); Colleen Sullivan (1-for-2, double, two RBIs); Kaitlyn Washington (1-for-2, RBI)

vs. North Texas: Shannon Rhodes (2-for-4, run, double, HR, two RBIs); Sullivan (2-for-4, run, two doubles, RBI); Taylor Ellsworth (1-for-2, double, RBI); Jordyn Whitaker (1-for-1, RBI)

In the Circle

vs. Wichita State: Sophomore Shea O'Leary tossed a five-inning, one-hit shutout with three walks and four strikeouts.

vs. North Texas: Jacobsen earned her first Texas victory in relief by allowing two hits and no runs, while walking one and striking out one over 3.2 frames. In her first collegiate start, freshman Ryleigh White was charged with one unearned run on four hits with a walk and four K's over 3.1 innings.

The Details

vs. Wichita State: After a quick one-two-three from O'Leary to start the contest, the Texas offense came out ready to roll. Singles from Jefferson and Burke set the stage for some early fireworks as Sullivan followed with a two-RBI double off the wall in right to grant Texas a quick 2-0 advantage.

The Longhorns bats kicked into gear again with two outs in the bottom of the second. Facing her first collegiate at-bat, freshman shortstop Alyssa Washington kick started the outburst by launching a double to the fence in right center. Jefferson stepped up and made it 2-for-2 to begin 2021 by lacing a run-scoring triple into the left center gap to make it 3-0. Following a Mary Iakopo walk, Burke launched a three-run HR down the left field line to double the gap to 6-0.

The lead continued to expand in the third after Rhodes led off with a triple down the left field line. Kaitlyn Washington stepped into the box and blooped a RBI single to right to make it 7-0. Freshman pinch runner Alyssa Popelka swiped a bag and continued on to third on a Wichita State throwing miscue. That set the stage for a Courtney Day sac fly to left as the advantage grew to eight.

From there, O'Leary walked a pair of Shockers in the fourth and one in the fifth, but WSU couldn't string anything together as UT's 6-2 hurler finished off the one-hit shutout.

vs. North Texas: Texas scored in the first inning for the second straight game to nab a quick 1-0 lead against UNT ace Hope Trautwein. Burke continued her hot hitting by blasting a one-out triple into the right field corner and soon scored on a Sullivan two-bagger to left.

In her first collegiate action in the circle, White allowed the first two UNT batters of the game to reach on singles, but quickly fought her way out of trouble in the first on consecutive fly outs and a swinging K.

The Longhorns doubled their advantage in the second by virtue of another two-out RBI. With Kaitlyn Washington at first following a leadoff single, redshirt junior catcher Taylor Ellsworth chopped a double just over the third-base bag and down the line to make it 2-0.

A familiar face caused Texas problems during the bottom of the third as UNT transfer Tuesday DerMargosian opened the frame with a single and advanced to second on a throwing error. With the speedster within 60 feet of pay dirt after a wild pitch, a sacrifice fly got the Mean Green on the board trailing, 2-1. UNT eventually moved another runner as far as third, after a double and a passed ball, but White shut the door on the threat with back-to-back K's.

Texas boosted its advantage right back to a pair in the top of the fourth as Rhodes blasted a leadoff solo shot down the left field line to make it 3-1.

With one UNT runner aboard on a one-out walk in the bottom of the fourth, the call was made to summon Jacobsen in from the Texas bullpen. The new hurler allowed a two-out single, but got the Longhorns out of the jam to maintain the two-tally lead.

A sixth-inning pinch-hit RBI single from Whitaker in her first collegiate at-bat and a seventh-inning Rhodes RBI double finalized Texas' offensive output at five runs.

Over the rest of the contest, Jacobsen allowed a single base runner during both the fifth and seventh innings, but watched her defense back her up by turning inning-killing double plays.