No. 10/7 Softball rallies late, advances to Big 12 semifinals

Thursday, May 11

Oklahoma City, Okla.

1:40 p.m.

University of Texas

41-12-1

Texas Tech

31-22

Texas Tech

Texas

Photo by: Texas Athletics

No. 10/7 Softball rallies late, advances to Big 12 semifinals

05.11.2023 | Softball

Box Score Photo Gallery

Three home runs in two innings spark a five-run, come-from-behind effort for the Longhorns.

By: Chris Allen Brown

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – With its backs against the wall, trailing by four runs in the top of the sixth inning, Bella Dayton laid out in right-centerfield to make a diving catch. The play not only ended the frame but lit a spark that the Longhorns fully ignited during its 7-6 win over Texas Tech in eight innings.

Just moments after making her SportsCenter-like catch, Dayton chipped away at the four-run deficit by connecting on an 0-1 pitch for a two-run home run down the right field line. It was the first of three home runs for the Longhorns over the next two innings.

Following a three-up, three-down top of the seventh from Estelle Czech and Citlaly Gutierrez, Katie Cimusz sent an 0-2 pitch well over the left field fence to, again, cut the deficit. Five pitches later, Vanessa Quiroga connected on a 2-2 pitch and sent it over the left-centerfield fence to tie the game for the first time since the third inning.

Ashton Maloney kept the momentum going with a single up the middle. She advanced to second on a groundball off the bat of Alyssa Popelka but was left there after three consecutive outs.

After the Red Raiders left runners at second and third to conclude the top of the eighth, Dayton, again, sparked a Texas rally by leading off the bottom of the eighth with a single to left centerfield. Moments later, she advanced to second on a wild pitch. Viviana Martinez sacrificed herself to move Dayton to third, where she scored from on a wild pitch two batters later.

FROM HEAD COACH MIKE WHITE

"Well, our backs were against the wall — a little bit like they were last year — and the team just showed a lot of resiliencies in fighting back. Obviously, that was a big home run by Katie (Cimusz) and then follow that up with one from Vanessa Quiroga … those were big hits right here. Citlaly (Gutierrez) came in and shut the door there at the end and that was huge. We were just getting a bit unlucky there in the first few innings. We were hitting (pitches) right at people and (Texas Tech) was finding holes. But we stuck in there and held them there late and found back."

FROM SOPHOMORE KATIE CIMUSZ

"I did a lot of work outside of practice this week using the virtual reality as well as just trying to get extra reps, but I think just trying to stay within myself and keep the "see ball, hit ball" mentality and try not to overthink the at bats. I knew (Sage Hoover) was an up-ball pitcher and with the first two pitches, I was just trying to see how the ball would move and then it got to 0-2 and I just wanted to make small adjustments and try to get on top of the ball."

GAME NOTES

With the victory Thursday afternoon, Texas has now beaten Texas Tech in four of the last six Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championships.
By drawing two walks off Texas Tech's first two pitchers, Bella Dayton became the first Longhorn softball student-athlete with multiple walks in a postseason conference tournament since Malory Schattle drew two base on balls against Texas Tech on May 12, 2018.
Each of the four Texas pitchers struck out at least one Texas Tech batter during Thursday's game with Sophia Simpson and Estelle Czech leading the way with two each.
The win marks the 30th all-time win for Texas in 20 all-time appearances in the Big 12 Conference Championship.
Viviana Martinez' sacrifice bunt to advance Bella Dayton to third base in the bottom of the eighth inning marked the first sacrifice hit for the freshman out of Arizona since the top of the fourth of the Longhorns' 5-1 win over Iowa on March 18, 2023.
Texas' three home runs during Thursday's game tied the Longhorns' season high set in a 12-3 win in Arlington against UTA on March 8, 2023.

UP NEXT

With the win, Texas (41-12-1) advances to the semifinals of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Softball Championship and will play either the third-seeded Oklahoma State Cowgirls or the sixth-seeded Kansas Jayhawks at 4 PM on Friday, May 12.
- The Longhorns took two of three games against Kansas (3-9, 10-0, 3-2) the week before sweeping Oklahoma State (1-0, 3-2, 5-2) in a three-game series. Both sets of three-game series were played at Red & Charline McCombs Field in Austin.

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