No. 2/2 Softball splits Saturday’s action

Saturday, February 24

Austin, TX

4:30 PM CT

University of Texas

11-0

Colorado State

7-7

Colorado State

Texas

02.24.2024 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Texas upends Colorado State in five innings, falls to No. 12/13 Stanford in eight

By: Chris Allen Brown

AUSTIN, Texas – Within a six-hour span on Saturday afternoon, The University of Texas softball program experienced the highest of high's and lowest of low's during two non-conference regular season games as the Longhorns knocked off Colorado State, 9-0, in five innings, before falling to No. 12/13 Stanford, 4-3, in eight innings.

Through both games, though, it was Texas' sophomore catcher Reese Atwood, who continued to cultivated fans across the Division I softball landscape.

After hitting a pair of home runs against Colorado State to cap Friday night's action of the Lone Star State Invitational, the Rams opted to walk Atwood during her first two plate appearances — including an intentional walk in the third inning — on eight straight pitches. An inning after the intentional walk, Atwood stepped back to the dish in the bottom of the fourth after Katie Stewart drew a full-count walk to load the bases.

Having no place to put Atwood, Colorado State opted to pitch to the Sandia, Texas native. On the third pitch of the at bat, Atwood sent a 1-1 pitch 263 feet for her first career grand slam that resulted in the Longhorns' lead ballooning from 5-0 to 9-0.

Less than two and a half hours later, Atwood became just the third student-athlete to hit a home run off Stanford All-American pitcher NiJaree Canady when the Longhorn barreled up a 2-2 pitch in the bottom of the third and sent it 263 feet to tie the game at 3-3. A score that stood for four more frames, before the Cardinal added another in the top of the eighth following an international tiebreaker scenario.

FROM HEAD COACH MIKE WHITE

"We haven't played from behind all season, and we bounced back and tied it up against one of the best pitchers in the country and that was impressive to do that. I'm just disappointed that we basically gave them three or four runs. I wish we could've made some plays and gotten some big outs and that's what we have to work on. Good thing this game was only for Game 12 and not for a Super Regional or Women's College World Series."

GAME NOTES

By not allowing a run in both of her pitching appearances on Saturday night, Texas freshman pitcher Teagan Kavan has not allowed a run in a career-long 14 consecutive innings pitched, which is the longest streak by a Longhorn pitcher so far this season.
- Mac Morgan (12.0) and Estelle Czech (11.1) also both of stretches of consecutive innings pitched this season without allowed an earned run.
By reaching base in both games on Saturday, both Reese Atwood (12) and Katie Stewart (10) will carry double-figure on-base streaks into Texas' next game on Sunday, Feb. 25 against Louisiana.
Reese Atwood now has nine multi-RBI games in 12 Texas games this season following a four-RBI performance against Colorado State and a two-RBI game against Stanford.
- Total, Atwood has driven in at least one run in 11 of the Longhorns' 12 games of the 2024 season.
  - The lone time this season she failed to drive in a run occurred on Friday, Feb. 23, during an 0-for-2 outing against Louisiana.
In a five-inning contest against Colorado State, the Texas offense was credited with eight stolen bases, one shy of tying the program's single-game record (9) set at Kansas on March 28, 2013.
- The eight stolen bases were the most by the Longhorns in a game since swiping eight against DePaul on Feb. 15, 2013.

UP NEXT

Texas (11-1) will conclude its Lone Star State Invitational on Sunday, Feb. 25, when the Longhorns square off against Louisiana at 12:30 p.m. on Longhorn Network.
- The two teams tangled earlier on the weekend with UT earning a 5-0 victory over the Ragin' Cajuns behind a 66-pitch, seven-inning complete game shutout by freshman right-handed pitcher Teagan Kavan.

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.