Houston Takes Down No. 2 Texas in Historic Win

It’s easier to hunt than be hunted.

In a thrilling Big 12 opener, the Cougars showcased their prowess at the plate, hunting down the No. 2 Texas Longhorns in a high-scoring, 12-10 victory.

The game started with Houston jumping out to an early 4-0 lead in the first inning. Lair Beautae ignited the momentum with a solo home run, quickly followed by Kennedy Thomas’ double and a Jazmyn Rollin two-run line drive shot which appeared to put a hole in the hitter’s eye in center. Houston knocked starter Citlaly Gutierrez out of the game, recording a single out. Estelle Czech entered in relief. Keep in mind, that the outfield fences are 200 ft. in left, center and right. That note will make sense later. 

.@LairBeautae set the tone early 👏 pic.twitter.com/DnD81rV2z8

— Houston Softball (@UHCougarSB) March 9, 2024

The Longhorns’ bats answered back, narrowing the gap with a five-run third inning.

A Bella Dayton double started the rally for the Longhorns. Caden Henry poked a ball up the middle just off the Beautae’s glove at second to push Paris Lehman out of the game.

The Seton Hall transfer Shelby Smith came in with no outs and runners on first and second. Joley Mitchell welcomed Smith to the contest by blasting a home run off the video board in left. Alyssa Washington followed with a solo shot to take the lead.

Did we mention the park plays small? That’s five home runs total through three innings. 

Wait, there’s more. After Czech retired the side in the bottom of the third, Kayden Henry decided to get in on the action in the top of the fourth. Henry blasted an opposite-field two-run shot of her own to stretch the lead to 7-4.  

This would have been the time for the Cougars to falter.

Instead, the opposite transpired. The Longhorns imploded. Houston scored eight runs in the bottom of the fourth, on three hits and two errors. The runs scored in the fourth equate to more runs than the pitching staff had allowed in a single game. Texas entered the game surrendering just 21 runs in 123.0 innings pitched. 

A clean fifth inning for both sides led to another wild inning in the sixth. 

The Longhorns wouldn’t go quietly into the night. Bella Dayton drew a leadoff walk and scored on a Mia Scott double down the right field line advanced to second on an interference call on Bree Cantu at first. Clutch Reese Atwood tacked on another run with a double to center field off the wall to cut the lead to three. 

Lehman re-entered in the top of the sixth in relief of Smith. 

A Washington sac fly to the right prompted yet another video review call as it appeared Amanda Carden threw out Mitchell at home. The call was overturned and Mitchell was called safe due to obstruction.

Lehman induced a pop-up to end the sixth-inning threat, then tossed a 1,2,3 seventh to earn the save and secure the upset.

WHAT 👏 A 👏 GAME 👏 pic.twitter.com/ZrIGT5qvc8

— Houston Softball (@UHCougarSB) March 9, 2024

Takeaways:

• We knew the Longhorns could hit and to be honest the offensive production from the Cougars didn’t come as a surprise either. With former Texas standout Nadia Taylor guiding them as hitting coach, the Cougars displayed discipline at the plate, capitalized on advantage counts and executed a clear plan of attack.
• The ball left the yard seven times during the contest. Rollins tallied the most RBI on the day with a pair of home runs and five RBI.
• The upset win over Texas is the highest ranked win in program history.