Texas softball warms up for weekend meeting with Stanford by battering Houston Christian
The fans came for a show in the Texas softball team’s home debut Wednesday at McCombs Field, and the Longhorns didn’t disappoint.
Home runs? No. 2 Texas (8-0) hit at least three homers for the fourth time this season in a 14-1 win over Houston Christian (4-5) that was shortened to five innings because of the NCAA’s run rule.
Offensive production? The Longhorns topped 10 runs for the fifth time in eight games as all 16 position players saw action, with 12 of them either getting a hit or scoring a run
Pitching? Starter Estelle Czech, who transferred in before the 2022 season, picked up her 25th career win in a Longhorns jersey and teamed with Sophia Simpson and Mac Morgan to throw a two-hitter.
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“I just wanted to make sure we played all four phases of the game — defense, pitching, hitting and base-running — the right way tonight,” Texas coach Mike White said. “I love how everyone is pushing each other, and that’s the key. We aren’t really looking at the scoreboard or the opponents; they’re just playing the game the right way.”
But White knows things won’t come so easily this weekend when the Longhorns host the Lone Star Invitational. Beginning with a matchup against Louisiana on Friday afternoon, Texas will play five games in three days at McCombs Field. That includes a meeting with No. 9 Stanford on Saturday, when the Longhorns will face arguably the best pitcher in the nation, NiJaree Canady.
Canady (2-2, 0.49 ERA, 44 strikeouts in 28.1 innings) was the NCAA's consensus freshman of the year last season. She boasts a blazing fast riseball that can top 70 miles an hour, a challenge for even the hottest lineup.
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“We're facing probably one of the best pitchers, if not the best pitcher, in the country on Saturday night,” White said. “We know the gas is going to be turned up.”
White also cautioned his squad about handling defeat — at least when it comes to the individual duels at the plate.
“You’re going to get some strikeouts, and that's part of it, but we’ll get a chance to win the battle, too," he said. "So that's the big thing: Don't let the disappointments or the failures knock you down. Just take it in stride.”
Texas is taking everything in stride so far, especially at the plate. The team ranks second in the nation in runs scored with 11.12 per game, just behind Miami (Ohio). The Longhorns lead the nation in hitting with a .429 average and rank second in home runs with 2.12 per contest. Freshman outfielder Kayden Henry (.684 batting average) and sophomore catcher Reese Atwood (.667) rank second and fifth, respectively, in the nation in hitting, while Atwood ranks fifth in home runs (five) and second in RBIs (20).
Atwood boosted those numbers by going 3-for-3 with five RBIs and a homer against Houston Christian while tying her own school record with an RBI in an eighth consecutive game.
Two of the program’s newcomers also delivered big hits against the Huskies on Wednesday; Notre Dame transfer Joley Mitchell went 3-for-3 and blasted her second homer as a Longhorn, and freshman Victoria Hunter also sent one over the wall.
According to Henry, having such production from virtually every bat on the team bodes well against Canady and the other pitchers Texas will face this weekend.
“Just to see bombs hit like that, they just bring more energy and more focus to us,” she said. “It's an electric feeling just to see them do that. Then we get to cheer them on and then continue to pound more runs on our opponents. In a game like this, you just want to be very selective and very patient because it’s preparing us for the weekend.”
Lone Star Invitational
Friday-Sunday, McCombs Field, LHN
Friday — No. 2 Texas vs. Louisiana, 4 p.m.; Texas vs. Colorado State, 6:30 p.m. Saturday — Texas vs. Louisiana, 4 p.m.; Texas vs. No. 9 Stanford, 7 p.m. Sunday — Texas vs. Louisiana, 12:30 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas softball warms up for Stanford with win over Houston Christian
