The Turning Point in Texas Softball's Win vs Texas Tech in Game One

The Texas Longhorns have landed the first blow of the Women's College World Series championship series as they take game one of the best-of-three series against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

The Longhorns now sit one win away from claiming back-to-back national championships and do say after taking the first game of the championship series 7-3. Texas will look to close out the series in two games on Thursday and avoid having to play a winner-take-all game three.

The opening game of the championship series started out quickly for both squads with fireworks in the very first inning of the ballgame. Here's a look at the pivotal moment that changed the game early on in the Longhorns' favor.

First Inning Response Sets the Tone

Texas Longhorns utility Katie Stewart (20) rounds second base after a two run home run in the first inning against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

The Red Raiders would land the first punch of the ballgame with a solo home run off the Longhorns' ace junior Teagan Kavan. The start for Kavan was déjà vu, with the Nebraska game also starting with a first-inning home run; however, the difference was that the Longhorns' batting order didn't wait long to bring a response.

Junior Kayden Henry would drop a bunt to get aboard and set up junior Katie Stewart for a chance to hit with a runner on base. And the slugger continued her run of power-filled momentum with a two-run blast to pull the Longhorns in front. The home run would be Stewart's fourth-straight game leaving the yard and her 31st on the season.

"We also got answer innings," Mike White said. "We get down, we get an answer back, and whether we score runs or we're going to shut them down to keep that momentum. Momentum is everything in this game, and you can tell they had a chance to swing things. We just got to continue to play hard against a good team like that, and you can't let down a ball."

However, the Longhorns wouldn't be done there with another two hits of Texas Tech's starter Kaitlyn Terry that would force the Red Raiders into a first-inning pitching change.

And while the Red Raiders turned to their ace in senior NiJaree Canady, the Longhorns would continue finding success as they built on a 2-1 lead in the first inning.

Senior Kaiah Altmeyer would be the first batter that Canady faced, and she would continue the big inning for the Longhorns with an RBI single to keep extending the lead. And putting the finishing touches on the frame, senior Ashton Maloney capped off the scoring with a two-RBI triple that gave the Longhorns a 5-1 lead after just one inning.

Texas headed into the bottom of the first inning trailing by one and left the frame with a four-run lead, while the Red Raiders inched close a few times, a pair of insurance runs in later innings would be enough to give Kavan a lead she wouldn't give away.

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook, X and Instagram for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google