Texas crushes No. 16 Arizona, then survives No. 10 Stanford as Katie Stewart homers twice and Teagan Kavan slams the door in a 4-3 finish.
The Longhorns have been blazing hot to start the season, sitting at No. 3 in the country with an 11-1 record.
They continued their dominant run on Friday with a doubleheader sweep over two nationally ranked opponents, defeating No. 16 Arizona, 12-2, before holding off No. 10 Stanford in a late 4-3 thriller.
Texas took control early in Game 1 against Arizona, building a 4-0 lead by the middle of the third inning. Two of those runs were batted in without a hit, as the Longhorns capitalized on a hit-by-pitch RBI and a bases-loaded walk in the top of the first.
Freshman MaTaia Lawson added to the score in the third, ripping a triple down the right field line allowing Kaiah Altmeyer and Katie Stewart to cross the plate.
Facing a four run deficit Arizona quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning with two runs of its own. Sophomore second baseman Sereniti Trice delivered an RBI single to left, scoring Regan Shockey from third. Freshman first baseman Kez Lucas followed with an RBI single scoring in Trice, cutting it to a two run deficit.
The Longhorns’ offense quickly shut down any hopes of a comeback, breaking the game wide open in the fourth. Freshman first baseman Hannah Wells drove in a run with an RBI single, and junior Katie Stewart followed by clearing the basepath with a three-run homer to left-center. Giving them a commanding 8-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth.
In the final inning, Texas even added some insurance runs when senior Kaydee Bennett came off the bench to pinch-hit for MaTaia Lawson, lacing a two-run double down the line.
The bottom half of the last inning was swift and decisive, as the Longhorns faced only three batters. A strikeout followed by a double play sealed a 10-2 victory over Arizona.
Teagan Kavan, widely regarded as one of the top pitchers in college softball, continued her dominance in the circle. She tossed a complete seven-inning game, allowing just two runs on three hits.
In Game 2 against No. 10 Stanford, Texas once again took control early in its opponents' own ballpark, plating a run in the first inning on a sacrifice fly from Kaiah Altmeyer, scoring Kayden Henry.
After going scoreless in the first against sophomore right hander Cambria Salmon, Stanford answered in the second inning, as senior outfielder Kyra Chan ripped a double allowing Addyson Sheppard to score from first, matching the score with the Longhorns.
But Texas responded immediately in the next half inning. After Cardinal pitcher Elena Krause issued a walk and hit a batter, Katie Stewart once again made the opposing pitcher pay, launching her second home run shot of the day to left-center to give the Longhorns an early 4-1 advantage.
In the bottom of the third, Salmon's day came to an end, and Teagan Kavan entered the circle once. She picked up right where she left off in the previous game, holding the Cardinal scoreless over the next four innings.
This time, rather than relying on a flurry of strikeouts, Kavan relied on some work made from the defense behind her. She recorded just three strikeouts before the last inning, with most of the outs coming on routine pop flies.
With a 4-1 lead heading into the final half-inning, the Longhorns appeared poised to secure another victory, but Stanford had one last push.
A single from Sheppard, a double by Chan, and a walk issued to sophomore Joie Economides loaded the bases, placing the tying run at first and the winning run at the plate.
With freshman Catcher Izzy Cacatian at the plate, chaos unfolded. She lined a shot to Longhorn right fielder Ashton Maloney, who made the catch as Sheppard tagged up and scored from third on what appeared to be a routine RBI sacrifice fly.
However, Maloney’s throw back to the infield ricocheted off second baseman Leighann Goode’s knee and rolled into left field. This allowed Chan to score from second, while Mylia Perez (pinch-running for Economides) raced all the way from first to third, suddenly putting Stanford within striking distance.
With one out remaining and the score tightened to 4-3, the tying run stood just 60 feet away at third base. But there’s no one Texas would rather have in that moment than Teagan Kavan in the circle. With the game on the line, Kavan causes senior center fielder Emily Jones to fly out to left, sealing the victory.
Sweeping a double header of this magnitude is significant for a team this early in the season, especially with conference play just weeks away. With multiple top 25 wins already on its resume, Texas is turning heads across the country.
As the reigning champions, the Longhorns have firmly positioned themselves as the team to beat.
The Longhorns will enter Day 2 of the DeMarini Invitational on Saturday with another doubleheader, facing the Boise State Broncos at 2:00 p.m. CT before taking on the Santa Clara Broncos at 6:30 p.m. CT.