Texas Softball Drops Game One of Austin Super Regional vs. Arizona State

The Texas Longhorns will have to work from behind if they wish to punch their ticket back to Oklahoma City for the Women's College World Series. The Longhorns dropped the first game of the Austin Super Regional, losing 4-1 to the Arizona State Sun Devils.

Losing the first game of a super regional isn't foreign territory for the Longhorns, as they did just that a season ago, losing game one to the Clemson Tigers. Dropping game one of a super regional is not a new thing, as head coach Mike White falls to 0-7 in game one of a super regional since taking over the program.

The Longhorns were stifled throughout the night, ending the game with one run on just four hits while the Sun Devils tacked on four runs on eight hits. Texas will have to reset when it returns to Red and Charline McCombs Field on Saturday, now having to win back-to-back games to keep its season alive.

Battle of Aces Goes Arizona State's Way

Texas Longhorns pitcher Teagan Kavan throws a pitch in the sixth inning against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. | Brett Rojo-Imagn Images

Game one of the Austin Super Regional was filled with excitement, all resting on the arms in the circle for both teams. The matchup pitted two of the top aces in the country in Longhorns junior Teagan Kavan and the Sun Devils senior Kenzie Brown.

And for the first four innings, the ballgame was the pitchers' duel that was expected, with the score deadlocked at 1-1. Throughout the first four innings, both pitchers had surrendered four hits apiece and struck out five batters.

Arizona State would strike first with a single straight up the middle, scoring the first run of the game in the third inning. Texas would respond right away in the fourth inning courtesy of a solo home run from freshman Hannah Wells.

However, after that, it would be the Sun Devils who figured out the opposing ace, while the Longhorns had no answer for Brown. The game would get away from Kavan after allowing four hits and three runs, breaking a streak of 48 straight innings of not allowing an earned run in the NCAA Tournament. The Longhorns would trail 4-1 after that and would be a deficit they couldn't work back from.

Kavan would exit the game after that inning as she ended her night after surrendering eight hits, four runs, three of which were earned, and just five strikeouts. Brown, on the other end would get stronger as the game entered its late stages.

"They were able to create some pressure throughout the lineup," White said. "And didn't really let Teagan relax and get going and get into her groove, and they capitalized on their opportunities like good teams do."

The Arizona State ace would retire the last 10 Longhorn batters in a row and ended the game by striking out the last five batters she faced. Brown ended the game allowing just four hits, the one earned run, and 10 strikeouts to give the Sun Devils the win in the first game of the Austin Super Regional.

"She always wiggles out of jams," White said of Brown. "She throws hard, has different types of pitches, and hits locations pretty well. Effectively wild sometimes, so you're not quite sure when she's going to throw one in the zone or not, but obviously she pitched very effectively in crucial situations."

The Longhorns will now head into survival mode in game two with their season on the line and a trip back to Oklahoma City starting to slip away. Texas and Arizona State will return to the field for game two of the Austin Super Regional on Saturday, May 23, at 7:00 p.m. CT on ESPN.

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