No. 2/1 Softball earns ninth Top 25 win on season

Wednesday, April 10

Austin, TX

4:30 PM CT

University of Texas

32-6

Texas State

32-10

Texas State

Texas

No. 2/1 Softball earns ninth Top 25 win on season

04.10.2024 | Softball

Box Score

Texas picks up the regular season sweep of Texas State on Wednesday

By: Chris Allen Brown

AUSTIN, Texas – On Wednesday afternoon, The University of Texas added another key piece to its 2024 postseason résumé as the No. 2/1 Longhorns knocked off No. 25/22 Texas State, 6-4, for its third straight win — and fourth in sixth games — over a current top-25 program.

After a scoreless first inning by both team's offenses, Reese Atwood — Texas' potential All-American candidate — lit the fuse that ultimately became a three-run bottom of the second for the Longhorns when the sophomore catcher singled a 1-0 pitch back up the middle for UT's first base hit of the contest. Moments later, Atwood was replaced at first by Adayah Wallace, who entered the game as a pinch runner and came around to score on a double down the right field line off the bat of Viviana Martinez.

Martinez, herself, scored on a ground ball off the bat of Joley Mitchell, who scored three batters later on a throwing error by Texas State third baseman Sara Vanderford.

Following a top of the fifth that saw the Bobcats take a 4-3 lead, the Longhorns responded with their second three-run frame of the game as Texas plated its three runs during a three-batter sequence to re-take the lead, 6-4, and not surrender it throughout the remaining two innings.

FROM HEAD COACH MIKE WHITE

"I'm pretty happy about getting five runs off of (Texas State starting pitcher Jessica) Mullins, because she's tough. (We only got) one last time we played her and a bunch of other times we really struggled against her, too, so it wasn't just that one game. She's just always been tough. She's great with her locations and can hit spots. She's competitive and fights. We just knew it was going to be a tough game."

FROM SENIOR PITCHER ESTELLE CZECH

"We really just wanted to stay calm tonight (after the emotional weekend against OU). I know everyone is looking at you on the mound and I know my teammates feed off of my energy, so if I'm down or if I'm too high, that can also alter how they're feeling. So, staying calm — like an exciting calm — is where I need to be when I'm pitching. If I go too low or two high above that, it's hard to control my performance when that happens."

GAME NOTES

By virtue of taking a 6-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth and going on to win the game, Texas now moves to 20-0 this season when leading after the fifth inning.
- Additionally, the Longhorns are now 26-0 throughout the 2024 season when scoring first after jumping into the run column before Texas State following a three-run bottom of the second.
Wednesday afternoon's game marked the first time this season Mia Scott was penciled into the leadoff spot of the Longhorns' batting order.
- Scott (1 game) joins Kayden Henry (22) and Bella Dayton (15) as the only Longhorns to step into the batter's box first for Texas this season.
With her two runs batted in (RBI) against the Bobcats, Wednesday's contest marked the first multi-RBI game for first-year Longhorn Joley Mitchell since driving in three runs against BYU on Thursday, March 14.
By earning the win against Texas State on Wednesday, Estelle Czech is the first Texas softball pitcher to earn the victory in back-to-back games since Mac Morgan earned the win during the first two games of the Longhorns' three-game conference series against BYU on March 14, 2024 and March 15, 2024, respectively.

UP NEXT

Following Wednesday afternoon's non-conference game, Texas (32-6, 11-4) will now resume Big 12 Conference play on Friday, April 12, when the Longhorns travel up I-35 to play RV/#24 Baylor at Getterman Stadium in Waco at 6:30 p.m.
- Texas and Baylor will, then, return to the Forty Acres for a Saturday (1:30 p.m./ESPN2) and Sunday (1 p.m./LHN) matchup to wrap up the three-game conference series.

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