Texas Softball Cruises Past Ole Miss, Heads into Semifinals of the SEC Tournament

The Texas Longhorns finally hit the field in Lexington, Kentucky, with their first action of the SEC Tournament coming on Thursday. The Longhorns were able to sit back and watch the first two rounds of the tournament after receiving the No. 4 seed and, as a result, a double bye into the quarterfinals.

With a ticket into the SEC Tournament's semifinal round, the Longhorns battled the No. 13-seeded Ole Miss Rebels, who came off consecutive upsets over No. 12 South Carolina and No. 5 Tennessee to get into the quarterfinals round.

And the Longhorns put an end to the red-hot Rebels' run through the SEC Tournament with a dominant 6-0 shutout victory on Thursday.

Teagan Kavan Dominates as the Bats Find Enough Support

Texas Longhorns pitcher Teagan Kavan celebrates after Game 1 of the Women's College World Series championship series. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Starting in the circle for the Longhorns in the quarterfinals round was their sure-handed ace in junior Teagan Kavan, who set the tone from the jump. The pitcher cruised through her first inning of work, striking out the side in order, as Kavan would start the game by retiring the first four batters she faced via the punch out.

The junior would go the distance in Texas' win on Thursday, completing the full game shutout while tossing 99 pitches on the afternoon. Kavan ended her day in dominating fashion, allowing just two hits and one free pass on her way to striking out nine Ole Miss batters.

The Rebels would find their only chance to threaten Kavan in the third inning, where they recorded their only two hits of the afternoon. Ole Miss would get two runners on with just a single out in the inning, but Kavan would easily get out of the jam with a strikeout and a pop-up.

That would be Ole Miss's best chance of the ballgame, as it would not record a hit for the next four innings.

While Kavan dominated in the circle, the burnt orange bats were able to provide her with enough run support. The Longhorns ended the game with six hits, and getting the party started would be senior Leighann Goode, who blasted a solo home run in the second to take a lead that Texas would not look back from.

The Longhorns would expand their lead to 4-0 with a three-run inning in the third with Viviana Martinez driving in a pair and a run scoring via a fielding error. And adding some final insurance, Texas scored a pair in the fifth inning courtesy of an RBI-double from senior Kaydee Bennett, allowing the score to grow to 6-0.

Texas gets one step closer to its first SEC title with a spot in the semifinal round now secured. The Longhorns will await their opponent, taking on the winner of the matchup between No. 9-seeded Georgia Bulldogs and No. 1-seeded Oklahoma Sooners.

The seminal round for the Longhorns is set for Friday, May 8, at 6:30 p.m. CT.

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