The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
3-0
San Diego
0-5
No. 8/5 Softball tallies 32 runs throughout two Saturday wins
02.10.2024 | Softball
In four games at the Stacy Winsberg Tournament, Texas outscored its opponents 54-3
LOS ANGELES — Less than 24 hours after its pitching staff took center stage, it was the offense that stole the show for the Texas Longhorns as the program combined to score 32 runs across two games on Saturday after knocking off both San Diego, 16-1, and No. 10/8 UCLA, 16-0, in five innings.
The back-to-back offensive performances for Texas on the afternoon marked the second and third games this season the Longhorns have plated 16-or-more runs in a game after totaling 19 in five frames against San Diego in Friday afternoon's season-opening contest. In 10 innings of softball against the Toreros and the nationally-ranked Bruins on Saturday, UT scored in every inning except the top of the fifth against USD.
On the afternoon, Texas hit .534 (31-58) as a team with eight home runs — led by Viviana Martinez and Reese Atwood's two apiece — drew 11 walks and recorded 66 total bases. The Longhorns finished with a .595 on-base percentage and a 1.138 slugging percentage.
The offensive outburst was led by preseason All-Big 12 selection Martinez, who finished the pair of games 7-for-8 (.875) at the dish with 14 total bases and seven runs batted in (RBI). Against the Bruins, the sophomore shortstop went 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double, five RBI and four runs scored. Atwood also continued her sizzling start to the new season as the sophomore catcher was credited with four hits, six RBI and 11 total bases in just five official trips to the plate.
Texas also added to its program history in the night gap against UCLA as the Longhorns connected for multiple grand slams (2) in the same game for just the third time in program history and first time since Feb. 16, 2013. Earlier in the day against San Diego, true freshman Katie Stewart, Atwood and first-year Longhorn Joley Mitchell hit back-to-back-to-back solo home runs, marking just the fourth time — first since March 5, 2022 —in program history that feat has been accomplished.
FROM HEAD COACH MIKE WHITE
"I thought everything started in the first game (today). Obviously, we came out and scored early and often, again. The offense is just doing a great job right now. They're being patient, getting good pitches to hit. We also had a shutout against UCLA, which Citlaly (Gutierrez) was tremendous against. Her performance (against the Bruins) really got lost in all the offensive numbers to tell you the truth. It was a really solid day defensively as well. They really turned some good plays out there."
GAME NOTES
- With back-to-back five-inning victories on Saturday, it marks the first time Texas has earned run-rule wins in consecutive games since Feb. 25 and Feb. 26, 2023, when the Longhorns knocked off both Abilene Christian, 8-0, and Texas Southern, 22-0, respectively, in five frames.
- The 32 combined runs for Texas across both games on Saturday marked the first time the Longhorns have scored 30-or-more runs across two games since plating 30 against Abilene Christian (8) and Texas Southern (22) on Feb. 25 and Feb. 26, 2023, respectively.
- With the inclusion of Saturday's two games, the Texas offense has now hit 10 home runs in 112 official plate appearances in just 22 innings of game action so far this season.
- On the flip side, the Longhorn pitching staff has yet to yield a home run to an opposing batter in 22.0 innings of work.
- In fact, the quintet of Estelle Czech, Mac Morgan, Citlaly Gutierrez, Teagan Kavan and Sophia Simpson have only surrendered nine total hits with only one going for extra bases.
- On the flip side, the Longhorn pitching staff has yet to yield a home run to an opposing batter in 22.0 innings of work.
UP NEXT
- Texas (4-0) will continue its three-day, five-game stint in California on Sunday, Feb. 11, when the Longhorns play Loyola Marymount (1-1) at Smith Field in Los Angeles at 2 p.m. CT / 12 p.m. PT.
- A win over the Lions would give Texas its fifth consecutive win to begin the 2024 season, marking the best start to a season for the program since beginning the 2021 campaign with 10 consecutive victories.
FOLLOW US
- For the latest information on the team, follow @TexasSoftball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. General athletic news can also be found at @TexasLonghorns on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Czech, Estelle (1-0)
L: Rose (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Atwood, Reese 1 ; Henry, Kayden 2 ; Maloney, Ashton 1
3B: Washington, Alyssa 1 ; Hunter, Victoria 1
HR: Stewart, Katie 1 ; Atwood, Reese 2 ; Mitchell, Joley 1
RBI: Dayton, Bella 1 ; Stewart, Katie 3 ; Atwood, Reese 4 ; Mitchell, Joley 1 ; Washington, Alyssa 1 ; Martinez, Viviana 2 ; Henry, Kayden 3 ; Maloney, Ashton 1
SF: Stewart, Katie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Scott, Mia 2 ; Goode, Leighann 1 ; Stewart, Katie 1 ; Atwood, Reese 3 ; Mitchell, Joley 2 ; Washington, Alyssa 2 ; Hunter, Victoria 1 ; Martinez, Viviana 1 ; Henry, Kayden 1 ; Maloney, Ashton 2
SB: Martinez, Viviana 1
HBP: Hunter, Victoria 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Roberts 1
