No. 16 Softball knocks off Houston, 6-4

Wednesday, April 20

Austin, Texas

7 p.m. CT

University of Texas

32-12-1

Houston

23-20-1

Houston

Texas

04.20.2022 | Softball

Box Score

McKenzie Parker, Lou Gilbert & Janae Jefferson all blasted HR’s during the Longhorns victory

AUSTIN, Texas – On Wednesday night in the final mid-week contest of the year at Red & Charline McCombs Field, junior designated player McKenzie Parker, junior right fielder Lou Gilbert and senior second baseman Janae Jefferson each hammered HR's to power No. 16 Texas softball (32-12-1) past Houston (23-20-1), 6-4.

Notes

Tonight's crowd of 1,342 is believed to be the largest ever for a mid-week non-conference game in Texas history and the second largest for any mid-week game, trailing only the 1,437 that jammed McCombs Field back on April 6, 2005, when the Longhorns beat No. 6 Texas A&M, 3-0.
Senior second baseman Janae Jefferson went 2-for-3 against Houston to raise her career hit total to 330, just three from breaking the Big 12 Conference career hits record (Sami Williams – 332 hits).
Tonight marked the fourth time that Texas' offense has hit at least three HR in a contest this year.
Junior designated player McKenzie Parker singled in the bottom of the fifth to record the 100th hit of her Texas career.
Junior right fielder Lou Gilbert blasted her first career Texas HR on a two-run shot in the second frame.
Jefferson extended her hitting streak to a season-high 11 games, while freshman third baseman Mia Scott extended her reached base skein to eight games.
Senior pitcher Hailey Dolcini recorded her first career Texas save and the sixth of her career.
Sophomore pitcher Estelle Czech reached the 10-win mark for her Longhorns career.
Texas improved to 29-6 all-time against Houston, including 19-3 in Austin.

Major Players

Senior second baseman Janae Jefferson (2-for-3, run, HR, three RBIs); junior designated player McKenzie Parker (2-for-3, run, HR, RBI); junior right fielder Lou Gilbert (1-for-2, two runs, walk, HR, two RBIs); sophomore center fielder Alyssa Popelka (2-for-2, run)

In the Circle

Sophomore pitcher Estelle Czech (10-1) earned the win after allowing just two hits, walking none and striking out one over 2.1 innings of scoreless relief. Senior pitcher Hailey Dolcini picked up her first save of the season by permitting one hit, one walk and registering three K's in 2.0 frames out of the pen.

The Details

After Houston left a runner stranded in the top of the first, Texas used the long ball to grab the lead in the bottom half. With two down, Parker stepped to the dish and crushed a solo shot out to right center for a 1-0 advantage.

The Longhorns flexed their offensive muscle even more in the bottom of the second. Following a Bella Dayton bunt single to open the frame, Gilbert launched her first Texas HR out to left center to make it 3-0. With Popelka already aboard on a two-out bunt base knock, Jefferson also blasted a two-run shot to right center to expand UT's lead to 5-0.

Houston strung together a four-run rally, with two outs in the top of the third, to climb back into the contest. With two in scoring position after a walk and a hit by pitch, UH center fielder Aspen Howie drilled a two-RBI double to right center. The outburst continued as second baseman Becca Schulte and catcher Kati Ray Brown added consecutive RBI singles to further cut the deficit to 5-4.

The Cougars nearly tied things up in the top of the fourth. With two outs and runners on second and third, a pitch got by UT catcher Katie Cimusz to the backstop. The freshman raced back, corralled the ball and fired to Czech who applied the tag for a run-saving third out.

Texas put together its own two-out rally in the bottom of the fourth. A Gilbert walk and a Popelka single through the right side put two Longhorns on base. Jefferson stepped into the box and drove a RBI base knock up the middle to make it 6-4. Scott immediately followed with a single to left, but UT had its own runner thrown out at the plate to conclude the outburst.

Dolcini entered the circle in relief for Texas starting the sixth. The Ferndale, Calif., native worked around a one-out single to left and a wild pitch to eventually leave a Cougar runner stranded at third.

With Houston down to its final three outs, Howie managed a walk with one down to bring the potential tying run to the plate. Schulte hit a shot to left that sophomore Bella Dayton managed to track down in foul ground, making an incredible sliding catch to record a big second out. From there, Dolcini struck out catcher Kati Ray Brown swinging to end the contest.