The Turning Point in Texas Softball's Two Wins vs Tennessee in WCWS Semifinals

The Texas Longhorns have marched through the losers' bracket into the championship series of the Women's College World Series for the third consecutive season.

The Longhorns had a rocky start to their time in Oklahoma City, losing the first game to the Tennessee Volunteers, forcing Texas into several elimination games. The Longhorns would survive battles against Mississippi State and Nebraska and sweep a doubleheader in a rematch against the Volunteers in the semifinals to book their spot to play for a national championship.

The Longhorns headed into Monday morning needing to win two ballgames over the Volunteers in order to advance, and Texas did just that, winning 5-2 in game one and then 4-0 in game two. Taking a closer look at the two Texas wins, here's what set the table and guided the Longhorns to step into the championship series.

Dominance in the Circle Propels Texas Twice

Texas Longhorns pitcher Teagan Kavan (17) throws a pitch in the second inning against the Tennessee Lady Volunteers. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Knowing that the Longhorns may have to play two games back-to-back, head coach Mike White decided to go away from his ace in junior Teagan Kavan in the first game against the Volunteers. And the decision from the Longhorns head coach would be the pivotal moment for the Longhorns as he turned to senior Citlaly Gutierrez.

"It was a tough decision on who to pick to throw," White said. But we had the confidence that Citlaly would give us our best chance to do so today because Teagan could go 14, it was just asking too much in this heat."

The decision would pay off as Gutierrez battled against the Volunteers' batting lineup as she nearly went the distance by pitching 6.2 innings.

The senior would hold Tennessee hitless into the fourth inning, getting out of multiple jams, most induced by defensive errors. Throughout her outing, Gutierrez ended, allowing five hits, two runs, only one of which was earned, and struck out three batters.

While the Longhorns had to turn to Kavan to get the final out in the first game in a bases-loaded situation, the ace would be preserved for the second game of the day thanks to Gutierrez's near-complete game performance.

"We're not in that game if she doesn't give the game that she gave for us," Kavan said. "And so credit to her for letting us get to that game two, and then I was going to have her back just like she's had my back all season."

And having Kavan as fresh as possible for game two was pivotal for the Longhorns, as the junior would carve out a gem to book Texas a spot in the championship series.

Kavan would have her usual Women's College World Series performance as she pitched a complete game shutout, her fifth shutout in Oklahoma City, setting a program record. Kavan would start the game by retiring the first 12 batters she faced as the Volunteers were hitless into the fourth inning.

The junior would only allow two hits to the Tennessee batting order, being the only two base runners it managed all game as Kavan punched out 10 batters, a career high at the Women's College World Series.

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