The Longhorns improved to 40-10 on the season in the win.
Texas Softball began its postseason run with a two-hit shutout as pitcher Teagan Kavan powered the No. 5-ranked Longhorns to a 6-0 win over Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament quarterfinals.
The 4-seed Longhorns improve to 40-10 on the season and now into the conference tournament semifinals for the second year in a row since joining the league. Head coach Mike White has led Texas to at least 40 wins in seven consecutive seasons (every year he's been with the program), setting a new program record.
Of course, the ultimate goal is to repeat in Oklahoma City after the Longhorns captured their first softball national championship last year.
With pitching like Kavan delivered on Thursday, they'll be heavy favorites to hoist the trophy again.
The junior right-hander struck out nine in the complete-game shutout over the 13-seed Rebels. Kavan's two hits allowed are tied for the second-lowest she's given up in an outing this season (min. 3.0 innings pitched).
That outing lowers her earned run average to 2.62 on the season. She also improved to 20-4 in the circle, now surpassing 20 wins in each of her three seasons in Austin.
At the plate, the scoring began with Leighanne Goode hitting her 10th home run of the season. Viviana Martinez added a two-run single and came around to score on an error an inning later. Then, pinch-hitter Kaydee Bennett drove in two with a double in the fifth inning to put the nail in the coffin.
"We did a really good job of getting the pitches up in the zone and putting them in play," White said postgame.
Despite bringing back a lot of title-winning talent from 2025, Kavan noticed the team's completeness that sets this year's roster apart.
"I think we're deep," she said. "Last year, we were really talented, but we weren't as deep on the bench. So, I think it showed today with Kaydee Bennett off the bench. We're deeper than we were last year, so that sticks out to me."
Up next, 4-seed Texas plays No. 13 (9-seed) Georgia, who just pulled off a massive upset of No. 1 Oklahoma.
The Bulldogs beat the Sooners 10-5 on Thursday after initially getting down 5-0 after two innings.
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