Texas Longhorns softball team eager to shake off Baylor series at Big 12 tournament
Although Texas may be limping into this week’s Big 12 softball tournament after getting swept by Baylor, coach Mike White thinks the harsh lessons from the three losses can help his team as it begins the postseason.
Second-seeded Texas (40-12-1), which reached the Women’s College World Series last season, will open the Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City on Thursday against seventh-seeded Texas Tech. With a win, Texas will face third-seeded Oklahoma State or sixth-seeded Kansas on Friday, with the winner presumably moving onto a matchup with reigning two-time national champion and top-ranked Oklahoma.
But playing for a Big 12 title can only happen if the Longhorns address some immediate concerns that popped up against Baylor.
“Hopefully we’ve learned from our struggles,” White said. “We’re going to take it day to day, but we’ll change some things up as needed.”
Those changes will start with a lineup that amassed just four runs and 17 total hits in the three games against Baylor. White said he doesn’t want to switch up too many things for a squad hitting .329 as a team and averaging 6.3 runs a game for the season, but the lack of production at the plate against Baylor did lead to some decisions by White.
White said Vanessa Quiroga will likely get the nod at utility player after going 3-for-5 in two games against Baylor. The coach also hopes that third baseman Alyssa Washington can return sooner than later, which would add a boost both at the plate and in the field.
Regardless of who’s at the plate, freshman second baseman Leighann Goode said the team seems eager to move past Baylor and start the postseason.
“That one sweep doesn’t tell the story of the whole season,” said Goode, who’s hitting .348 with 38 RBIs and 47 runs scored from her spot in the heart of the lineup. “We sat down as a team (after the Baylor series) and talked about playing together as a team and staying together as a team. It’s about everyone supporting each other. We’re all pretty excited that the postseason is here.”
More: Reese Atwood lifts Texas to dramatic softball win over Oklahoma State
Texas freshmen lead postseason all-Big 12 honors
Texas has surpassed last season’s winning percentage even while relying on Goode and several other freshmen starters such as catcher Reese Atwood and shortstop Vivi Martinez. Each of those players helped Texas make its mark on the All-Big 12 softball team, which was released by the conference Wednesday afternoon.
Outfielder Mia Scott was Texas’ lone All-Big 12 first-team selection, marking the 15th consecutive completed season the Longhorns have had at least one first-team honoree.
Texas had five honorees on the second team, including Atwood, Goode, pitcher Citlaly Gutierrez, outfielder Ashton Maloney and pitcher Mac Morgan. Atwood, Goode, Gutierrez, Maloney and Martinez were also all selected to the All-Big 12 freshman team, which marked the most players by a program on the freshman squad since the inception of the all-freshman team in 2015.
Scott finished the regular season with 68 hits — the second most by any player in the league — and a .393 batting average. Goode led all Big 12 freshmen with 63 hits while her 47 runs were also the most by any freshman in the league. Atwood’s 11 home runs were tied for the fourth most in the league and were the most by any freshman in the conference. Martinez’ 47 RBIs through 53 regular season games not only set a UT single-season program record by a first-year player but was also the fourth most in the league and most by a freshman. Maloney’s .389 batting average was the eighth highest in the conference, while her 51 hits were the 13th most by any player in the league.
In the pitching circle, Morgan finished with a 15-3 record that also included two saves and a 2.00 ERA. She tossed an eight-inning complete game shutout against then-No. 3 Oklahoma State to spark the Longhorns to a three-game sweep of the Cowgirls while also throwing a career-long 31⅔ consecutive innings of scoreless softball during the late stages of the regular season. Gutierrez capped her first regular season at Texas by picking up 11 wins and earning three saves to go along with a 1.85 earned run average in 90.2 innings pitched. She tossed a five-inning no-hitter against Texas Southern to become the first freshman Longhorn to accomplish the feat since Sophia Simpson did so in 2022.
Big 12 Tournament
Thursday-Saturday, USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium, Oklahoma City
Thursday — (1) No. 4 Baylor vs. No. 5 Iowa State, 10 a.m., ESPN+; (2) No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7 Texas Tech, 12:30 p.m., ESPN+; (3) No. 3 Oklahoma St. vs. No. 6 Kansas, 3 p.m., ESPN+
Friday — (4) Oklahoma vs. Game 1 winner, 1 p.m., ESPNU; (5) Game 2 winner vs. Game 3 winner, 4 p.m., ESPN+
Saturday — (6) Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 2 p.m., ESPN2
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Young Texas softball eager postseason as Big 12 tournament begins
