The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
Sam Houston State
No. 7 Softball preview: Lone Star State Invitational
02.25.2021 | Softball
The Longhorns welcome Lamar, Sam Houston State, Mississippi State, UConn and Ole Miss to McCombs Field this weekend
No. 7 Texas (3-0) hosts the Lone Star State Invitational | Feb. 26-28 | Red & Charline McCombs Field, Austin, Texas
Schedule:
Friday, February 26
1:00pm Sam Houston State vs. #7 TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
3:30pm Lamar vs. #7 TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
6:00pm Sam Houston State vs. Lamar* – LONGHORN NETWORK
*tape-delayed until Friday at 9:30 p.m. CT
Saturday, February 27
10:00am #RV/25 Mississippi State vs. #7 TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
12:30pm Houston vs. Mississippi State* – LONGHORN NETWORK
*tape-delayed until Saturday at 6 p.m. CT
Sunday, February 28
10:00am UConn vs. #7 TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
12:30pm Ole Miss vs. #7 TEXAS – LONGHORN NETWORK
*home team is listed second for all games
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
Location: Austin, Texas (Red & Charline McCombs Field)
Ticket Information: Due to limited capacity at home softball games, no individual tickets (either in-person or online) will be sold for the Lone Star State Invitational.
Live Stats: Available for every game of the Lone Star State Invitational here: LINK
Television: Every game at the Lone Star State Invitational is slated for either live or tape-delayed broadcast on Longhorn Network. Links are included on the above tournament schedule.
Radio: Texas' games 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 this weekend 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:
- It's a unique I-35 set-up this weekend as Texas, Baylor and Texas State will share hosting duties for the Lone Star State Invitational. In all, nine schools will participate between the three sites: Texas, Baylor, Texas State, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Sam Houston State, Lamar, UConn and Houston.
- With 199 career hits, junior second baseman Janae Jefferson is quickly approaching the 200-hit mark. She would become the 11th all-time Longhorns player to reach the lofty plateau and now trails all-time Texas leader Brejae Washington (2011-14) by 55 hits.
- Texas' pitching staff has gotten off to a strong start in 2021 as a combo of Shea O'Leary, Molly Jacobsen & Ryleigh White have combined to toss 20 straight innings without allowing an earned run.
- With Wednesday's eighth-inning triumph over Texas State, Texas has now won its last four extra-inning games dating back to May 18, 2019, against Texas A&M. It's the longest extra-inning victory streak for the Horns since winning four straight from April 10, 2011 to March 30, 2012.
- Senior outfielder Kaitlyn Washington is also within striking distance of a long-standing Texas career record. The Humble, Texas, native has 43 doubles, just six from surpassing Jodi Reeves' (1997-2000) mark of 48 doubles that has stood for more than 20 years.
- Texas has now started at least 3-0 overall for the third consecutive season and for the 16th time in program history dating back to 1997.
- With a win over Texas State on Feb. 24, Texas now owns 490 all-time victories at McCombs Field, needing just 10 more to reach the 500-win mark at the friendly confines.
- The Longhorns have scored in the first inning and out-hit two of their first three opponents in 2021. Since the arrival of head coach Mike White prior to the 2019 campaign, Texas is an impressive 63-9 when out-hitting an opponent and 28-4 when scoring in the first inning.
- Softball America listed four Longhorns among their 2021 Top 100 National Player Rankings: No. 12 Janae Jefferson, No. 72 Lauren Burke, No. 86 Mary Iakopo & No. 97 Molly Jacobsen.
- Softball America also listed Jefferson (No. 4), Burke (No. 22) & Iakopo (No. 24) among their top 25 returning juniors, while rookie pitcher Ryleigh White was rated No. 19 in the top 25 freshmen listing.
- Texas is facing a daunting schedule in 2021 as the Longhorns will now play 20 total games against eight teams ranked or receiving votes in the 2021 USA Today/NFCA preseason poll. Three of those squads were rated in the Top 10: No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 5 LSU and No. 9 Louisiana. Texas will also battle No. 11 Oklahoma State, No. 20 Mississippi State and No. 22 Baylor as well as two teams receiving votes in North Texas and Texas Tech.
- Texas junior second baseman Janae Jefferson, junior utility player Mary Iakopo and sophomore pitcher Shea O'Leary were included as three of 50 student-athletes named to the prestigious 2021 USA Softball National Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List. With its three total selections, Texas tied Arizona, Mississippi State and Oklahoma for the fourth-most combined nods in the nation, trailing only UCLA (six selections), Alabama (four) and Washington (four).
- Texas welcomed three new additions to its coaching staff for 2021 as former Ball State head coach (and Notre Dame standout) Megan Ciolli Bartlett joined as an assistant coach, while former Alabama pitcher Courtney Gettins became the volunteer assistant coach. Former Liberty player Keely McMillon also took over the program's Director of Operations role.
