Texas Softball Clinches Lone Star Showdown Series Win vs. Texas A&M

The dirt edition of the Lone Star Showdown will be adorned in burnt orange as the No. 1 Texas Longhorns have clinched a series victory over No. 15 Texas A&M Aggies on Saturday.

In a low-scoring affair at Red and Charline McCombs Field, the Longhorns were able to hang onto a narrow 3-2 lead throughout the majority of the middle and late innings to seal the win over their bitter rivals.

The Longhorns remain with just one loss on the season, improving to a 31-1 record, and they keep on extending their longest winning streak in program history, with the win streak now sitting at 29 games in a row.

Texas Turns in All-Round Performance to Win Series

Texas Longhorns catcher Reese Atwood watches the ball after a hit during the fifth inning against the Oklahoma Sooners. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

While there was no Lone Star Showdown series a year ago in the Longhorns' first season in the SEC, the two rivals did meet in the SEC Tournament a season ago, with the Aggies coming up with the victory in that one. A rival well-documented across many sports, head coach Mike White sees the same energy on the softball field.

"I think it just gets everybody's attention," White said. "I think it's bragging rights, they're fiery and competitive, well coached, obviously they were the number one team in the country last year. It's great for softball when you see these kinds of matchups."

The first game of the series was an explosive affair with the team combining for 17 runs and 23 hits on Friday night. Saturday's game was a lot different, with just five runs between the two teams.

And all the scoring would be found early, with all the action coming in the first three innings of the ballgame. The Longhorns headed into the bottom of the first inning already trailing, but wouldn't be down for long with junior Viviana Martinez continuing her roll with an RBI-single followed by an RBI base knock from senior Reese Atwood.

The Aggies stayed with it early, equalizing the game in the third inning; however, the Longhorns would restore their lead with Atwood coming up big for Texas with a booming solo home run on the first pitch of her at-bat in the bottom of the third inning.

The senior would end the afternoon with 2-3 at the plate with two RBI's and a home run. However, Atwood's impact wouldn't just be felt at the dish, but also behind the plate, with the senior successfully picking off three batters. Catching a runner at third slightly off the bag, and then she threw out two runners trying to swipe second base.

"That's why very few people steal against us," White said. "Keep singles as singles, that's a big part of this game. This is about putting bases together, and when you eliminate that threat of base running against a very fast team... that says a lot about Reese as a catcher."

Getting the call to start in the circle would be freshman Hannah Wells, who tossed 5.2 innings, surrendering seven hits and a pair of earned runs while striking out three batters.

Junior Teagan Kavan was brought out of the bullpen to slam the door shut in the sixth inning, and she did just that, pitching 1.1 innings without giving up a single hit or an earned run, and her only strikeout of the game sealed the game for the third out in the seventh inning.

The Longhorns will look for the series sweep with game three of the series set for Sunday, March 29, at 1 p.m. CT.

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