By Riley Zayas
Softball knocks off No. 1 UCLA
Mary Iokopo, Lauren Burke and Taylor Ellsworth each hit home runs and pitcher Miranda Elish allowed three runs over eight innings to help the No. 3 Texas softball team knock off top-ranked UCLA, 3-2, Thursday night in Los Angeles.
After spotting the Bruins a 1-0 lead in the bottomng of the first inning, tied and then passed UCLA in the second on an RBI single by left fielder Reagan Hathaway and an RBI sacrifice fly by second baseman Janae Jefferson.
After [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]UCLA tied the game in the third and fifth innings, Iakopo and Burke iced it for Texas with home runs in the eighth inning.
The Longhorns’ victory came after they played seven games in six days, a stretch that included their first two losses of the season.
The Horns took down Lipscomb, 12-0, run-ruling the Bisons in five innings behind eight extra-base hits in the first game of the Texas Invitational. The win also improved UT’s record to 12-0, as pitchers Courtney Day and Ariana Adams teamed up to allow Lipscomb just one hit and a single walk.
Less than 12 hours later, the Longhorns rolled past North Dakota State, 10-0, in five innings. D1 Softball Preseason All-America Miranda Elish improved her pitching record to 6-0, allowing a mere two hits while facing 17 batters over five innings. Day, who played right field, first baseman Lauren Burke and left fielder Kaitlyn Washington led the Texas offense with two hits apiece.
Late on Saturday afternoon, the Longhorns faced off against Lipscomb once again, scoring 12 runs in the win. However, it didn’t come as easily as the previous matchup against the Bisons, as Lipscomb put up 11 runs, including three in the second, fourth and fifth innings. Texas pitcher Shealyn O’Leary had a rough outing in her first appearance of the weekend, surrendering six hits and three runs through just four innings pitched. Day and Adams came in in relief, each allowing four runs before Elish came in a fired 1.2 scoreless innings to earn her seventh win of the season.
Maybe it was a matter of starting a game within minutes of finishing another, or that Duke pitchers were stingy with hits, but Texas couldn’t get anything going at the plate in its second game of the day. As a team, the Longhorns reached base just seven times throughout the ballgame, and were shut out by Duke’s Peyton St. George, who threw all seven innings for the Blue Devils. Despite having already thrown 6.2 innings in the Invitational, Elish returned to the circle, fired a complete game and limited Duke to just three hits and a run. However, that one run proved to be the difference, as Duke won the pitching duel, 1-0, handing Texas its first loss of the season.
In the final game of the Invitational, the Horns bounced back to take down Weber State, 9-4, in front of a crowd of nearly 1,000 fans. Texas began the game by swatting two homers in the first, as Mary Iakopo had one of her best games in a Texas uniform. She hit one of those homers, which set the stage for a big day at the plate. In the second, she doubled to right, driving in two runs, and eventually scored on a throwing error. Finally, in the sixth, her single up the middle brought home UT’s ninth run of the ballgame.
The Horns returned to action two days later, splitting a doubleheader in Austin against Louisiana.
Louisiana won the opener, 3-2, before Texas responded with a 2-1 win in the rematch.
Horns Illustrated Game Ball: Janae Jefferson — the junior infielder went 11-for-18 at the plate, including four multi-hit games. She also contributed with seven runs scored and 21 putouts.
Baseball stays undefeated in first home weekend series
In the first home weekend series of the season, a bit of history was made at UFCU Disch-Falk Field as Boise State played its first baseball games in over 40 years against the undefeated Longhorns. The BSU program was revived after a 40-year hiatus beginning in 1980. The Broncos fought hard as they looked for their first win in over 40 seasons but ultimately got swept by the Longhorns, who outscored the Broncos, 16-6, in the sweep.
Texas rolled to a convincing 7-0 shutout win Friday night. Starting with a Zach Zubia ground-rule double which scored center fielder Duke Ellis and right fielder Austin Todd, the Longhorns jumped out in the first inning and never looked back, putting up one run in both the fourth and fifth before securing the win with a three-run eighth. Right-handed pitcher Bryce Elder improved his record to 2-0, allowing just three hits and striking out 11.
Boise State took Texas down to the wire Saturday, with the Longhorns escaping with a 2-1 win. The Broncos’ first run of the season came on a homer to deep left field by Austin native and former Round Rock High School standout Reagan Doss. But that was all the Broncos could do offensively. UT’s Ty Madden fired a complete game, allowing just two runners to reach base all game. Ellis and Zubia led Texas at the plate with two hits apiece.
Despite giving up eight hits Sunday afternoon, Cam Williams saved Texas’ undefeated campaign with a walkoff homer to give Texas in 7-5 victory in 10 innings. Up 5-3 heading into the top of the ninth, Texas was three outs away from the series sweep when Boise State’s Geon Hyung Kim swatted a two-run homer to tie it all up and force extra innings. But Williams flashed his power at the plate, and did so in clutch fashion with the home run to left, which also scored Douglas Hodo III, giving Texas the two-run win.
Starting pitcher Pete Hansen was on fire Tuesday as Texas beat Sam Houston State in Austin, 4-1. Hansen allowed just two hits and a run on his way to striking out six. In addition, leadoff man Austin Todd had two hits and a run batted in.
Next up, Texas heads to Minute Maid Park in Houston for the Shriners Hospital for Children Classic Friday through Sunday, in which the Longhorns will take on LSU, Arkansas and Missouri.
Horns Illustrated Game Ball: Our weekly game ball goes to senior outfielder Austin Todd, who had three multi-hit performances over the past four ballgames. The Round Rock native stretched his hitting streak to five games with a season-high three hits Friday against Boise State, and scored a run in each of the past four games. He also had four RBI and a stolen base.
Women’s basketball lands three on Academic All-Big 12 Team
Detail matters on the court … and in the classroom.
Senior point guard Sug Sutton, senior guard LaShann Higgs and sophomore guard Joanne Allen-Taylor earned spots on the 2020 Academic All-Big 12 Conference First Team.
It is not easy to earn such an honor, as only players with a 3.20 GPA or higher and who have played in 20 percent of their teams’ games can be selected for the honor.
This is the second straight year that a trio of Texas players were named to the first team. Last season, Higgs, Olamide Aborawa and Destiny Littleton took home academic first-team honors in 2019. Sutton was named to the second team last season.
Two swimmers win Big 12’s highest academic honor
Heading into the Big 12 Swimming and Diving Championships, two members of the No. 7 women’s swimming and diving team, seniors Lauren Case and Claire Adams, earned the Big 12’s highest academic honor on Wednesday, the Dr. Gerald Lage Academic Achievement Award.
To be eligible for the prestigious award, an athlete must have lettered at least once, have 100 hours of earned credit and posted a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.80 — not an easy task for student-athletes who have to balance intense competition and their studies in the classroom.
Adams is one of the most decorated swimmers on the team, a 17-time All-Big 12 selection, 11-time All-America and three-time CSCAA Scholar All-America.
Case, who specialized in the freestyle and butterfly events, is a two-time College Swimming & Diving Coaches Association of America (CSCAA) All-America and a three-time Big 12 champion.
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