No. 1/1 Softball opens regular season with back-to-back shutouts

Friday, February 7

Lafayette, LA

3:30 PM CT

University of Texas

1-0

Longwood

1-1

Longwood

Texas

No. 1/1 Softball opens regular season with back-to-back shutouts

02.07.2025 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Texas begins new campaign with back-to-back five-inning shutouts for first time since 2019

By: Chris Allen Brown

LAFAYETTE, La. – While those around the country pointed towards the Texas Longhorns' returning offense as a strong point entering the 2025 season, head coach Mike White's pitching staff stepped to the forefront of UT's 8-0, five-inning wins over Longwood and Louisiana to begin the new campaign.

Getting the softball in Texas' first game of the season for the third consecutive season, Mac Morgan worked around a bloop single to lead off the top of the first against Longwood. Morgan went on to retire the next nine consecutive batters before surrendering a double to begin the fourth. The hit provided the Lancers' best scoring opportunity, too, but a base runner was caught attempting to steal home on a suicide squeeze attempt with one out in the fourth.

After getting the final out of the fourth following a two-out infield single, Morgan turned the ball over to true freshman Cambria Salmon to begin the fifth. Salmon, a Beaumont, Calif., native, went on to strikeout the heart of the Longwood lineup on just 15 pitches to end the game.

In front of a sellout-capacity crowd of 2,511, White gave the starting assignment to his preseason All-American Teagan Kavan against the homestanding Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns. Kavan was nothing but brilliant as the now sophomore struck out five and allowed just four base runners throughout four innings of work. She did not allow Louisiana into the hit column until one out in the bottom of the third with a single that went right under her glove in the pitching circle. The base hit was the only one for Louisiana against Longhorn pitching as Citlaly Gutierrez needed just nine pitches to shut the door in her lone inning of work in the fifth.

Across Texas' two victories in Lafayette on Friday, the four Longhorn pitchers combined to work 10 innings, strike out 11, surrender four hits, issue two walks and not allow a run on 140 total pitches.

FROM HEAD COACH MIKE WHITE

"I thought all of our pitchers were just in control all day. Coach (Pattie Ruth) Taylor has really been working with all of them and that showed today. You always know what you're going to get out of Mac Morgan, and she went out there and did just that. Then you have Cam(bria Salmon) coming in and getting three strikeouts. Talk about a debut, so that was good to see. Teagan (Kavan) competed the whole game. She had a tough at bat to begin the game by having to throw 10 pitches and she was able to get out of that fourth inning, before Cit(laly Gutierrez) came in and throw nine pitches to get three outs. So, overall, it was a really good day in the circle for us."

GAME NOTES

By throwing four shutout innings to begin the game against Longwood, third-year Longhorn Mac Morgan extended her consecutive scoreless inning streak in season-opening games to 9.1 straight dating back to her Texas debut on Feb. 10, 2023 against then-RV/#23 Missouri.
As a result of starting Texas' season-opening game against Longwood, Mac Morgan (2023-25) became the first Longhorn softball pitcher to start three consecutive season-opening games since Blaire Luna accomplished the feat from 2011 to 2013.
Texas freshman right-handed pitcher Cambria Salmon made her collegiate softball debut in the top of the fifth of the Longhorns' 8-0 win over Longwood.
- Salmon struck out all three batters she faced on just 15 pitches.
All four Texas pitchers who threw at least one pitch over the course of Friday's action recorded at least one strikeout:
- vs. Longwood
  - Mac Morgan (2)
  - Cambria Salmon (3)
- vs. Louisiana
  - Teagan Kavan (5)
  - Citlaly Gutierrez (1)
Reese Atwood became just the seventh student-athlete in program history to reach the 35-career home run milestone when she sent a 3-2 pitch over the left field bleachers in the top of the first of Texas' 8-0 win over Louisiana.
- Atwood now sits one home run shy of tying Lexy Bennett (2009-12) and Amy Hooks (2008-11) for fifth on the program's career home run list.
With her two-run double up the middle in the top of the second against the Ragin' Cajuns, Mia Scott pushed her career runs batted in (RBI) total to 125, passing Jodi Reeves (1997-00) for ninth on the program's career RBI list.
By beating Longwood to begin the season, Texas is now 29-0 all time in season-opening games.
- The Longhorns' softball program has not lost a season-opening game since becoming a varsity sport at The University of Texas in 1997.

UP NEXT

Texas (2-0) will now travel back into the Lone Star State as the top-ranked Longhorns will participate in the UH/LU Tournament on Saturday, Feb. 8, when UT takes on St. John's (12 p.m.) and Lamar (6 p.m.).

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