The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
No. 2/2 Softball’s Kavan earns second Big 12 Pitcher of the Week honor
03.26.2024 | Softball
Kavan becomes first Longhorn freshman to win award twice since Blaire Luna in 2010
IRVING, Texas – Teagan Kavan was instrumental in Texas' 0.52 earned run average (ERA) throughout the Longhorns' four wins during last week's trip to the state of Florida and, as a result, was selected as the Big 12 Conference's Pitcher of the Week, the league announced Tuesday afternoon.
With Kavan's honor, it marks the third consecutive season The University of Texas softball program has had a student-athlete earn the league's top weekly pitching honor multiple times in the season joining Mac Morgan (2023; 4/18, 4/25) and Hailey Dolcini (2022; 3/29, 4/19, 5/10). She's the first Longhorn freshman pitcher to earn the honor on multiple occasions during the same season since Blaire Luna was selected four times throughout the 2010 campaign.
Kavan also earned the Big 12's Pitcher of the Week honor on March 5, two weeks after Longhorn sophomore Citlaly Gutierrez was selected.
On the week, Kavan tossed 9.1 or 33.7 percent of Texas' 27.0 innings played and was the only student-athlete in the Big 12 to toss a seven-inning complete game shutout. She was the only pitcher in the Big 12 to earn both a win and a save on the week, while her .152 opponent batting average was the lowest by any Big 12 pitcher who faced 33-or-more batters. Her 0.00 ERA was the lowest ERA of any Big 12 pitcher who threw 9.0-or-more innings. Of her 9.1 innings pitched on the week, six innings — or 65.9 percent of her innings worked — resulted in 1-2-3 innings, while she only faced one batter to account for the third of an inning.
Kavan began her body of work with a seven-inning complete game shutout on 93 pitches in Texas' 5-0 win at UCF on Friday, March 22. She surrendered just five hits — all singles — and issued just one walk, which came with two outs in the bottom of the seventh after she reached the 90-pitch mark. She began the game by retiring the first 10 consecutive batters.
Kavan returned to the pitching circle two days later when two outs in the bottom of the fifth and the Knights threatened to score with a bases-loaded situation. She struck out the first batter she faced to end the inning, and then went on to retire the next six consecutive UCF batters to earn her team-high second save on the season.
2024 Big 12 Softball Players of the Week
|
Date |
Player of the Week |
Pitcher of the Week |
|
Feb. 13 |
Reese Atwood, Texas, C/1B, So.^ |
Kelly Maxwell, Oklahoma, Gr. |
|
Feb. 20 |
Kayden Henry, Texas, OF, Fr.^ |
Citlaly Gutierrez, Texas, So. |
|
Feb. 27 |
Reese Atwood, Texas, C/1B, So.^# |
Lexi Kilfoyl, Oklahoma St., Gr.* |
|
March 5 |
Angelina Allen, Iowa State, OF, Jr. |
Teagan Kavan, Texas, Fr. |
|
March 12 |
Cydney Sanders, Oklahoma, INF, Jr.^# |
RyLee Crandall, Baylor, So. |
|
March 19 |
Tiare Jennings, Oklahoma, INF, Sr. |
Kelly Maxwell, Oklahoma, Gr.* |
|
March 26 |
Alynah Torres, Oklahoma, UTL, Sr. |
Teagan Kavan, Texas, Fr. |
^Louisville Slugger/NFCA DI Player of the Week
*Wilson/NFCA DI Pitcher of the Week
#D1Softball Player of the Week
UP NEXT
Texas (28-3, 8-1) will travel up to Stillwater, Okla., for a three-game series against No. 8/10 Oklahoma State (26-5, 7-2) that begins at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 28.
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