Texas Softball Rolls Past Baylor in Austin Regional

The Texas Longhorns will be making their way to the Super Regionals of the NCAA Tournament for the seventh straight season.

The Longhorns have taken care of business in the Austin Regional as they roll into hosting a super regional at Red and Charline McCombs Field. Texas cruised through its first two games on Friday and Saturday and continued to dominate in the regional final on Sunday against the Baylor Bears.

The Longhorns took on their former Big 12 rival for the third time this season and kept on rolling. Texas books its ticket to the next round of the NCAA Tournament taking down Baylor 7-0.

Texas Bats Pop as Teagan Kavan Dominates

Texas Longhorns utility Katie Stewart celebrates after hitting a home run in the fourth inning of a Women's College World Series softball game. | BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Texas needed no time settling into the ballgame, taking a lead from the first inning and never looking back. The Longhorns bats would be explosive with four home runs on the afternoon, and leading the charge was junior Katie Stewart.

Stewart would get the day started with a two-run bomb to open the scoring and build a lead that the Longhorns would pile on for the rest of the afternoon.

“I think I'm getting spoiled with these opening runs in the first inning,” White said. “So it kind of takes a little bit of the pressure off, for sure, and helps out pitching and start and the team play.”

Texas would keep the scoring going throughout the game with runs in the second and fifth innings that brought in another pair of runs to extend the lead to 3-0.

And putting the explosive finishing touches on the Longhorns' victory over the Bears would be a sixth inning where Texas batters blasted three balls over the outfield wall.

Junior Kayden Henry would get the run started with a solo blast to center field, and it would be back-to-back jacks for the Longhorns as Stewart knocked her second home run of the game with the ball bouncing off the scoreboard in center field.

The third home run of the inning would be courtesy of senior Reese Atwood, hitting the ball to right-center field. The homer would be Atwood’s second home run of the Austin Regional and the second straight game for the senior with a home run.

And while the bats were dominating so was junior Teagan Kavan. Kavan would start for the second straight day and would go the distance for the complete game shutout.

The Longhorns ace would surrender just three hits throughout her seven innings of work as she struck out five batters. Kavan would limit any damage allowed with just one of the three hits being for extra bases as she controlled the Baylor batting order needing just 75 pitches to secure the win.

“We've been really harping on that the last month about being a lot more efficient and not throwing non-competitive pitches,” White said. “There's pitches that just are wasted pitches that don't create any judgment from the hitter, and we try to really make sure there's intent purpose for those pitches, and I thought she did a great job of that today.”

The Longhorns now await their opponent for the Austin Super Regional with the winner of Arizona State and Texas A&M being the team to head to Austin. Super Regionals will start on Thursday, May 21.

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