Bella Dayton explains how young players helped lead Texas to WCWS

The 2024 Women’s College World Series is underway in Oklahoma City and on Thursday night, the No. 2 seed Texas Longhorns took care of business in their opening game against the No. 8 Stanford Cardinal, with a 4-0 win. The Longhorns got a solid showing from Bella Dayton, who went 1-for-3 at the plate with a RBI single, and a run. She has now recorded a hit in 16 of the last 17 games. Following the win, Dayton spoke with the ESPN2 broadcast crew.

She went up against one of the best pitchers in the country on Thursday night in Stanford’s NiJaree Canady. How were things working so well for Dayton against one of the top players in all of college softball? “Just sticking to my plan. Knowing that she does throw a rise ball, but she also has a pitch that stays in the zone. So just keep the ball down. And even if I do commit to the up, making sure that I’m on time and above the ball,” Dayton said.

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Texas has so many young players on their roster that have stepped up lately. What is it that makes the team so special especially with that youth coming through for them?

“Oh my gosh. It’s everything. They commit to us being a family. They commit to everything that we do. They stay calm and collected. And we just say all the time, you’re not freshmen. You’re part of this team. You’re a part of this culture. And they’ve bought into that from the time they stepped on campus and onto that field. I’m just so happy to be with them and playing behind Teagan tonight was one of the greatest experiences I think I’ve had,” Dayton continued.

Tegan Kaven was dominant on Thursday, firing eight strikeouts and only allowing one hit in seven innings of work.

What does it feel like to be back in the Women’s College World Series? There are eight players on the Texas roster that have been to the WCWS before, but plenty of fresh faces that have not. What has the atmosphere around the Longhorns locker room felt like leading up to the big stage?

“Yeah, we always know that there’s gonna be nerves but changing those nerves and turning them into excitement and just buying into the energy that the fans bring and the culture. Our fans….they travel so great. And we’re so grateful for that. So, again, just buying into that and just knowing that each game is going to be a battle,” Dayton explained.

“And coming off last weekend we knew that it was gonna be hard and that making it to the World Series was not gonna be easy. So, just buying into every different aspect and reminding the young team and the young players of that each and every day,” the Texas star finished.