The Turning Point in Texas's Win Against Mississippi State in Women's CWS

The Texas Longhorns stay alive in Oklahoma City after taking down the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Texas Longhorns head coach Mike White looks on while his team warms up before the game against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns are sticking around Oklahoma City for a little bit longer after keeping their season alive on Friday night.

The Longhorns headed into their ballgame on Friday in a do-or-die situation against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. A loss would mean elimination from the Women's College World Series and the end of the 2026 season; a win keeps them breathing.

Texas would stick around the greatest show on dirt for a little bit longer, taking down the Bulldogs in an elimination game with a shutout 4-0. While the Longhorns held control of the game for most of the frames, here's a look at the key turning point that lifted the Longhorns to a victory.

Bottom of the Order Kickstarts Scoring

Texas' Longhorns outfielder Kaiah Altmeyer (44) celebrates a home run in the second inning during a Women's College World Series softball game. | SARAH PHIPPS/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Longhorns bats struggled to get rolling in their loss against the Tennessee Volunteers and needed a response from their batting order against Mississippi State. Texas got that much-needed response from an unlikely source.

Texas was able to take an early lead against the Bulldogs courtesy of the bottom of the batting order. The seventh hole, hitter senior Ashton Maloney would reach first base on a Fielder's choice to set the table for the eighth-hole batter, senior Kaiah Altmeyer.

And with a runner on base, Altmeyer wouldn't take long to do damage, getting ahold of the first pitch she saw of her at-bat for a two-run home run to right field. The senior's home run would give the Longhorns a 2-0 advantage that they wouldn't look back from.

"I think just once the ball went off the bat, I knew it was out, and it was just a good feeling," Altmeyer said.

For Altmeyer, the big hit would be her first home run of the season and her first homer in a burnt orange uniform. The senior was a newcomer on the Forty Acres, transferring in from Arizona ahead of the 2026 season, where throughout the year she has seen plenty of ups and downs.

"She came in and had a lot of expectations, and the transition is always difficult, and you try to explain that to them." Mike White said. "She started off really well, hit as high as three in the order, and then went through a little bit of a struggle. But she never outed, got down, she never did the pity party or anything like that. She stayed and worked hard, so it's great to see her get this moment."

The spark from the bottom of the order led the bigger bats of the Longhorns' lineup to get involved. In the fifth inning, Texas increased its lead from a solo home run by its lead-off hitter, junior Kayden Henry.

And in the seventh inning, the second and third hitters in the lineup would get in on the action as junior Katie Stewart would reach on a walk to set up junior Viviana Martinez to drive her in for an added insurance run.

The Longhorns will now await their next opponent in another elimination game. Texas will take on the loser of the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday afternoon.

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