No. 8/8 Softball drops Friday night’s matchup

Friday, April 14

Austin, Texas

6 p.m.

University of Texas

34-9-1, 0

Kansas

20-17, 0

Kansas

Texas

Photo by: Texas Athletics

04.14.2023 | Softball

Box Score

Texas drops first home game since Sunday, March 12, snapping a streak of four straight

By: Chris Allen Brown

AUSTIN, TX – From the first pitch of the weekend's series-opening game, it was all Kansas as Texas fell to the Jayhawks, 9-3, on Friday.

With the game's first pitch coming at 6:03 PM CT, Kansas had a runner in scoring position by 6:04 after Shayna Espy sent the 0-0 pitch off the right-centerfield wall for a double for the first of the Jayhawks' four extra base hits on the evening. Two batters later, Olivia Bruno sent a 2-1 pitch over the left-centerfield fence for a three-run home run to push Kansas ahead 3-0.

Two innings later, Bruno's second home run in as many at bats in the game highlighted Kansas' second three-run inning of the game.

Texas struck back in the fourth with a two-run double off the bat of Reese Atwood, but Kansas answered with two more runs in the top of the fifth. The Longhorns' best attempt at a come-from-behind rally came during the bottom of the sixth when Texas re-loaded the bases — after scoring one on a sacrifice fly — with two outs and the potential game-tying run on deck. However, a strikeout ended the threat.

Kansas extended its lead with a two-out, solo home run in the top of the seventh.

FROM HEAD COACH MIKE WHITE

"Well, I think you have to own a night like tonight and what happened out there. We talked about a lot of the stuff that we are doing and with five errors, you can't beat anybody. And that was really uncharacteristic of us because we had been doing pretty well in that area over the last few games or so, but they exposed some things about us that we need to come out and work on."

GAME NOTES

With Reese Atwood's two-run double in the fourth inning, Texas will enter Saturday afternoon's game as the only Division I softball program in the nation with three freshmen student-athletes with 30-or-more RBI on the season.
- Viviana Martinez (40), Leighann Goode (35), Reese Atwood (31)
Friday night's game marked the first Big 12 Conference game for Texas' offense without hitting a home run.
- Prior to the matchup with the Jayhawks, the Longhorns have hit at least one home run in all nine conference games.
With Texas' offense unable to hit at least one home run during Friday evening's contest, a streak of 13 consecutive games played with at least one home run was snapped.
With Alyssa Washington's hit by pitch during the bottom of the sixth inning, at least one Longhorn batter has been hit with a pitch in three of Texas' last five games.
- Of the Longhorns' 11 hit by pitches on the season, four have occurred during a Big 12 game.
Texas' two doubles on the night marked the most doubles in a single Big 12 game by the Longhorn offense this season.
- Of the Longhorns' 10 Big 12 games this season, Texas has hit at least one double in seven, including its last five in a row.

UP NEXT

Texas (34-9-1) will attempt to tie the weekend series when the two programs square off, again, on Saturday, April 15 at 4:30 PM.
- The series finale — slated for Sunday — will begin at 12 PM.

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