No. 11/9 Softball falls to No. 5/6 Florida State & No. RV/25 Auburn

Friday, February 18

Clearwater, Fla.

12 p.m. CT

University of Texas

5-2

#5/6 Florida State

7-0

Texas

Florida State

No. 11/9 Softball falls to No. 5/6 Florida State & No. RV/25 Auburn

02.18.2022 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Texas returns to action at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invite on Saturday against No. 3 UCLA & No. 24 UCF

CLEARWATER, Fla. – It was a tough opening Friday for No. 11/9 Texas softball (5-3) at the St Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational as the Longhorns dropped a 9-2 decision to No. 5/6 Florida State (7-0) before falling 6-2 to No. RV/25 Auburn (8-0).

Important Notes

Texas is now 3-3 all-time in two visits (2019, 2022) to the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational.
Freshman catcher Katie Cimusz registered her first collegiate RBI on a second-inning sacrifice fly against No. RV/25 Auburn
Rookie pitcher Sophia Simpson struck out four Auburn hitters in relief and now has 13 strikeouts over her first 6.0 innings of collegiate work.
Texas fell to 7-5 all-time against Florida State and is now tied at 1-1 in all-time meetings with Auburn.

Major Players

vs. No. 5/6 Florida State: Freshman third baseman Mia Scott (2-for-3, RBI); senior catcher Mary Iakopo (2-for-2, double, HR, RBI); sophomore shortstop Alyssa Washington (1-for-2, run)

vs. No. RV/25 Auburn: Junior shortstop McKenzie Parker (2-for-3, run, double); freshman catcher Katie Cimusz (0-for-2, sacrifice fly, RBI)

In the Circle

vs. No. 5/6 Florida State: Junior Shea O'Leary (0-2) suffered the loss in the circle after allowing three earned runs on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts over 2.0 innings. Highlighting the relief corps, sophomore Estelle Czech was strong, giving up just one hit, walking two and K'ing three in 2.2 scoreless frames.

vs. No. RV/25 Auburn: Senior Hailey Dolcini (2-1) took her first Texas defeat after permitting five earned runs on seven hits with two walks and five K's over 5.1 innings. Freshman reliever Sophia Simpson struck out four and walked one over 1.2 scoreless frames.

The Details

vs. No. 5/6 Florida State:

Florida State managed to grab a first-inning lead thanks to a key Texas error. Following a one-out single, left fielder Kaley Mudge took off on a steal attempt of second. The throw got away for the Longhorns defense as the speedster raced all the way around to score for a 1-0 advantage.

Iakopo kicked off the Texas second in promising fashion by hammering a leadoff double to the temporary fence in left. Unfortunately, FSU ace Kathryn Sandercock retired the next three Longhorns in order to leave Iakopo stranded.

The Seminoles got right back to work during the bottom of the second as catcher Michaela Edenfield, second baseman Devin Flaherty and third baseman Sydney Sherrill registered consecutive singles to open the frame. O'Leary recorded a strikeout, but followed that by walking shortstop Brooke Blankenship to force in a run. With FSU looking to add more, Iakopo picked off of a runner at third for a huge second out. O'Leary then limited the damage to just one run by striking out center fielder Jahni Kerr to conclude the threat.

FSU took control in the bottom of the third as a Mack Leonard RBI single, an Edenfield three-run blast and a two-run Kerr double boosted the Seminoles advantage to 8-0.

Texas finally got on the scoreboard in the top of the fourth as Iakopo blasted her second HR of the season out to right center to cut the deficit to 8-1.

Florida State expanded its lead right back to eight in the bottom of the fourth on a Flaherty sacrifice fly to left center.

With Texas needing to score at least once in the bottom of the fifth to avoid the run-rule, sophomore shortstop Alyssa Washington kicked-off the frame with a single up the middle. Freshman third baseman Mia Scott followed by stepping into the box with two retired and delivering a clutch RBI single to left to make it 9-2.

That was as close as the Longhorns could get as FSU pitchers retired the final six batters of the game to seal the Seminoles win.

vs. No. RV/25 Auburn:

Two long balls handed Auburn a big lead in the top of the first. Tiger leadoff batter Makayla Packer started the contest by driving a solo shot down the line in left. Following a walk and a single, first baseman Bri Ellis hit a three-run HR to left to make it 4-0.

Texas started trying to chip away at its deficit in the bottom of the second. An Iakopo walk and a McKenzie Parker double to the wall in left put two Longhorns in scoring position with one down. With Cimusz up, Auburn pitcher Maddie Penta uncorked a wild pitch to the back stop. With Penta covering the plate, a throw appeared to be in time for the out, but Iakopo somehow slid under the tag to score UT's initial run. Cimusz soon followed with a sacrifice fly to pull Texas within 4-2.

The Burnt Orange & White threatened again in the third as sophomore center fielder Bella Dayton walked and advanced to third on a stolen base and a sacrifice. With two in scoring position, following a Courtney Day walk and an Alyssa Popelka theft, a bouncer to third left the duo stranded.

Auburn added two important insurance runs during the top of the sixth as designated player Jessie Blaine registered a RBI single and a UT fielding error plated another for a 6-2 lead.

Parker tried to get a little something going for Texas in the bottom of the seventh by leading off the frame with a single through the left side. Unfortunately, a caught stealing soon cleared the base paths, while the next two Longhorns were retired to finish off the contest.