The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
31-4, 0
#1 Oklahoma
31-0, 0
No. 7/8 Softball drops series opener at No. 1 Oklahoma
04.16.2021 | Softball
Freshman third baseman Bree Cantu bashed her third HR of the season during the loss
NORMAN, Okla. – On a chilly Friday night at Marita Hynes Field, No. 7/8 Texas softball (31-4, 6-1 Big 12 Conference) dropped its league series opener to No. 1 Oklahoma (31-0, 7-0 Big 12 Conference), 11-1 (5 inn.).
Important Notes
- Texas has only lost by multiple runs on two occasions since the end of the 2019 season. Both came on the road at No. 13/12 LSU back on March 6 (7-2) and on Friday at No. 1 Oklahoma (11-1, 5 inn.).
- Friday's loss was Texas' first since falling to No. 15 Louisiana back on March 18, 10-9, and ended the Longhorns season-long winning 14-game winning streak.
- Freshman third baseman Bree Cantu hit Texas' 59th HR of the year on Friday, keeping the Longhorns well ahead of the 35-game pace of the 2010 Longhorns squad (50 HR's over the first 35 games) that set the school single-season HR record with 88 HR's.
Major Players
Freshman third baseman Bree Cantu (1-for-1, HR, RBI); sophomore shortstop McKenzie Parker (1-for-2); junior catcher Mary Iakopo (1-for-2)
In the Circle
O'Leary (9-1) suffered her first loss of the season after allowing five earned runs on five hits with one K over 1.0 inning of work. Freshman Ryleigh White permitted five earned runs on seven hits during 3.2 frames of relief.
The Details
Oklahoma got its offense untracked immediately opening the bottom of the first. Second baseman Tiare Jennings and left fielder Jocelyn Alo started things off with back-to-back solo HR's. One of three hit batters in the frame soon came back to hurt the Longhorns as center fielder Jayda Coleman followed with a RBI triple to the wall in right. RBI singles from designated player Lynnsie Elam and right fielder Nicole Mendes boosted the OU advantage to 5-0.
The Longhorns got their first hit of the contest to lead-off the top the second as junior catcher Mary Iakopo drove a ball to the wall in right. Unfortunately for the Burnt Orange & White, the Carson, Calif., native was thrown out while trying to stretch the play into a double for the first out of the frame.
With Texas looking for a spark, Cantu tried to provide one by launching her third HR of the season to right center in the third to cut the deficit to 5-1.
The Longhorns got a one-out single up the middle from Parker in the fourth, but nothing else as OU starter G Juarez forced Iakopo and sophomore first baseman Colleen Sullivan to pop up to end the frame.
Three more hit batters and two Texas miscues eventually led to three combined OU runs over the third and fourth innings as the Sooners improved their lead to 8-1.
In the bottom of the fifth, Oklahoma brought the game to an early conclusion as pinch hitter Mackenzie Donihoo stepped to the dish with two on and hit a three-run HR to right center to finalize an 11-1 (5 inn.) win.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Juarez, Giselle (12-0)
L: O'Leary, Shea (9-1)
Batting:
HR: Cantu, Brianna 1
RBI: Cantu, Brianna 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Cantu, Brianna 1
Batting:
3B: Coleman, Jayda 1
HR: Jennings, Tiare 1 ; Alo, Jocelyn 1 ; Donihoo, Mackenzie 1
RBI: Jennings, Tiare 1 ; Alo, Jocelyn 2 ; Coleman, Jayda 1 ; Elam, Lynnsie 1 ; Donihoo, Mackenzie 3 ; Mendes, Nicole 2
SF: Jennings, Tiare 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jennings, Tiare 2 ; Alo, Jocelyn 1 ; Lyons, Grace 2 ; Coleman, Jayda 1 ; Snow, Taylon 2 ; Elam, Lynnsie 1 ; Donihoo, Mackenzie 1 ; Johns, Jana 1
CS: Mendes, Nicole 1
HBP: Jennings, Tiare 2 ; Hansen, Kinzie 1 ; Snow, Taylon 1 ; Johns, Jana 2
