Four! Softball blanks Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
By Steve Lansdale
AUSTIN, Texas — Four pitchers combined to scatter four hits, giving the Texas softball team its fourth consecutive shutout in a 3-0 win Wednesday over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Red & Charline McCombs Field.
The Longhorns (29-20) have cobbled together more than 28 consecutive innings without surrendering a run. The last run coughed up by a UT pitcher was scored April 23 in a 4-2 Iowa State victory over the Longhorns. The last time Texas pitchers went four games without giving up a run was in 2013.
Junior catcher Randel Leahy drilled her first home run of the season and also scored a second run, while first baseman Kelli Hanzel, third baseman Celina Felix and second baseman Jade Gortarez each collected a pair of hits to lead the UT offense.
“Some takeaways from tonight were momentum and confidence,” Texas head coach Connie Clark said. “The more we execute, the more confident we get. I thought we had some quality at-bats, long at-bats, two-strike at-bats, and finally we were able to tack on a couple of insurance runs and not leave it 1-0. The momentum and confidence from tonight were really significant for us heading into this weekend.”
Redshirt sophomore Erica Wright started and threw the first two innings, striking out three without allowing a walk or a hit. Kristen Clark and Paige von Sprecken each pitched an inning before Brooke Bolinger allowed three hits and struck out three over the last three innings to preserve the victory and the shutout. She earned the win, improving her season record to 7-2.
Texas now heads north to Waco for a 6 p.m. game Friday at Baylor that will be shown on Fox Sports Southwest before welcoming the Bears to Austin over the weekend for 1 p.m. home games Saturday and Sunday. Saturday’s game will be broadcast on Fox Sports Southwest, while Sunday’s tilt will be on the Longhorn Network.
