By Steve Lansdale
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Talk about a wakeup call.
After battling through four scoreless innings, Long Beach State took a 1-0 lead on Texas in the top of the fifth inning when first baseman Julia Lombardi stroked a single up the middle to drive in center fielder Sammi Gyerman.
All that did was light the proverbial match under the Texas offense, which sent 16 batters to the plate and erupted for 10 runs in the sixth inning to give the Longhorns a 10-1 victory in six innings Wednesday at LBSU Softball Complex.
With the victory, UT improved to 14-10, while LBSU fell to 7-16-1.
The 10-run outburst was [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]the most runs generated by the UT offense this season. The last time the Longhorns put up 10 or more runs in an inning came last year, when Texas scored 10 runs in the third inning of a 15-2 rout of Iowa State in Ames, Iowa.
The 10 runs were scored on just 10 hits from a total of eight batters. Catcher Taylor Ellsworth and second baseman Jade Gortarez were the only Longhorns with more than a single hit; Ellsworth went 2-for-3 with a double, run scored and one run batted in, while Gortarez went 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Sophomore center fielder Reagan Hathaway walked three times and scored twice, senior shortstop Devon Tunning went 1-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI, while freshman right fielder Kaitlyn Washington turned her only hit into an RBI double.
UT starter Brooke Bolinger improved to 4-1, allowing Long Beach State’s only run on four hits and five walks while striking out a pair in five innings. Senior Tiarra Davis finished off the 49ers with one perfect inning of relief.
The Longhorns return to action Friday when they head to Fullerton, Calif., to take on Cal State Fullerton in a 7 p.m. game that will be shown on Big West TV.
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