Shealyn O’Leary fires perfect game in 2-0 shutout of Baylor

By Steve Lansdale

WACO, Texas — Aren’t freshmen supposed to endure some measure of growing pains?

If so, someone forgot to tell Texas pitcher Shealyn O’Leary.

The first-year hurler from Castaic, California improved to 11-0 in her debut season when she threw a perfect game in No. 9/10 UT’s 2-0 victory at Baylor’s Getterman Stadium.

O’Leary needed just [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]63 pitches to notch the 10^th perfect game in Texas softball history and the first since Blaire Luna shut down Washington March 17, 2011. O’Leary and former star Cat Osterman are the only Texas freshmen to throw an individual perfect game.

Thanks to their freshman phenom, the Longhorns improved their season record to 30-6 overall, and a perfect 4-0 against Big 12 opponents. Baylor, meanwhile, fell to 14-15 overall, and 1-3 against conference opponents.

O’Leary’s gem was not a one-game anomaly; by blanking the Bears, she became the first UT pitcher to start a season with 11 consecutive wins since Luna went 11-0 at the start of the 2013 season.

With her debut season still not finished, she already is one of just eight pitchers in the history of the Texas program with at least two no-hitters. The no-hitter was the third by Texas pitchers this season — O’Leary has two, and Miranda Elish has the other.

O’Leary was the star of the game, but she didn’t win the game by herself. Offensively, junior left fielder Kaitlyn Washington picked up the game’s only run batted in on a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning. Third baseman Shannon Rhodes and redshirt junior Reagan Hathaway scored the two runs.

The Longhorns remain on the road this weekend, with a three-game set at No. 21/16 Oklahoma State, before returning home to host Texas State at 6 p.m. next Wednesday, April 3.
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