Katie Stewart Propels Texas Softball into WCWS Semifinals Over Nebraska

The Texas Longhorns have taken one step closer to making it back to the Women's College World Series championship.

The Longhorns have played with their backs against the wall, and the threat of their 2026 season coming to an end looms large. Texas has faced elimination for the majority of its time in Oklahoma City, losing its first game to the Tennessee Volunteers and then staying alive after taking down the Mississippi State Bulldogs in an elimination game.

And once again, the Longhorns managed to evade elimination from the Women's College World Series, keeping their season alive after taking down the Nebraska Cornhuskers 3-1 on Sunday in dramatic fashion to book their spot in the semifinals.

Texas Survives Pitcher's Duel

Texas Longhorns pitcher Teagan Kavan (17) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Nebraska Cornhuskers. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Heading into the elimination game, it would be all eyes inside the circle with a matchup between two of the top aces in college softball, with Texas trotting out junior Teagan Kavan and Nebraska having the USA Softball Player of the Year in senior Jordy Frahm.

The pitchers' duel was as advertised for the seven innings, with both batting orders getting a combined seven hits and four runs off the two aces. And it would be the Cornhuskers that would strike first, setting the tone from the very first inning.

Frahm, a two-way player, gave herself the advantage before heading into the circle. The hitting pitcher would lead off for the Cornhuskers and would blast the third pitch she saw from Kavan for a solo home run to start the day.

While Frahm got her day started from inside the batter's box, she would also dominate for most of the game from inside the circle. The Nebraska ace retired the first 13 batters she faced, with the Longhorns not finding a base runner until the fifth inning, where Frahm surrendered a walk.

Kavan would settle in after the first inning solo home run from Frahm as she would retire the next nine Cornhusker batters, with them not finding their second hit until the fourth inning. The Longhorns ace would go the distance, giving up just four hits and three strikeouts in seven innings, keeping Texas alive while the batters worked through their struggles.

"I knew that game probably wasn't going to be a shutout," Kavan said. "So honestly, it took the pressure off a little bit to get it out of the way. I just wanted to keep my team in it, keeping us in it meant no runs after that, and that was my goal, no matter what it looked like."

Texas would be staring down the barrel of elimination deep into the ballgame, being held hitless into the sixth inning. And with just five outs remaining, standing between the Longhorns and the end of their season, they would finally find a breakthrough in the sixth inning.

Breaking up the no-hitter would be the nine-hole hitter in freshman Jayice Nichols with a single flipping over the lineup. And after spending most of the day without a hit, junior Kayden Henry made it back-to-back singles to set up the table for the power-hitting junior Katie Stewart.

Up until the at-bat, Stewart had not recorded a hit with runners on base at the Women's College World Series, which would quickly change with one swing of her bat. On the second pitch of the at-bat, the junior slugger flipped the game upside down with a three-run home run into the OKC sky to give the Longhorns their first lead of the game.

"Trusting my process," Stewart said. Making sure that my heart rate is not getting too high, but making sure I'm staying present, not dwelling on the past. I made sure to be present one pitch at a time, knowing that I was going to get something I could hit, and knowing I had to get on it, and I got there."

The next time the Longhorns hit the field at Devon Park, it will be a rematch of their first game, once again meeting the Tennessee Volunteers with a spot in the championship series on the line. The Longhorns would have to defeat the Volunteers twice on Monday, June 1, in order to play for a national championship.

The Longhorns will start their day taking on the Volunteers at 11 a.m. CT on ESPN, needing a win to force a second game between the two teams later in the day.

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