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Feb. 13, 2013

Box Score

Box Score 

AUSTIN, Texas -- Senior Taylor Hoagland drove in three runs and freshman Stephanie Ceo scored twice and added a pair of hits to lead Texas to a 6-0 win Wednesday over Stephen F. Austin and improve to 6-0 this season.

Freshman Holly Kern threw her first career shutout and improved to 2-0 on the season as she scattered five hits and walked one while striking out three. The Ladyjacks' Carlie Thomas (2-1) suffered the loss, throwing five innings and allowing 10 hits and five earned runs.

Stephen F. Austin put a pair of runners on base in the top of the first with an Alisa Hamilton single and Elizabeth Arana hit by pitch, but Kern got out of trouble with a strikeout looking and foul out.

The Longhorns jumped out to a three-run lead with a three-hit bottom of the second inning. Junior Taylor Thom started the frame with a double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt, but was thrown out at the plate on a Ceo fielder's choice. After a walk to junior Mandy Ogle, sophomore Gabby Smith kept the inning alive with a single through the left side that plated Ceo. Hoagland followed with a two-RBI single that scored Ogle and Smith for the three-run advantage.

Stephen F. Austin stranded another runner in the top of the fourth. Rylie Chappell singled up the middle, but pinch runner Kaneisha Gray was left on second after a sacrifice bunt, pop out and groundout.

In the bottom of the fourth, Texas made it a 4-0 advantage as Ceo led off with a triple and scored on a Hoagland two-out single through the left side.

The Longhorns scored their final two runs in the bottom of the fifth. After senior Kim Bruins led off with a single, freshman Lindsey Stephens recorded her first career hit. A sacrifice fly from Thom brought in pinch runner Taylor King, who ran for Bruins, and Stephens scored on a Thomas wild pitch.

Kern sealed the shutout as she retired the final six batters she faced, and eight of the last nine.

Texas returns to action this weekend at the Houston Hilton Plaza Invitational. The Longhorns open tournament play Friday, taking on DePaul at 10 a.m. CT and Illinois at 12:30 p.m. CT.

Post-Game Quotes
Head Coach Connie Clark
On freshman pitcher Holly Kern: I like that she's building a lot of confidence as she's getting more and more innings under her belt.

On characterizing the team thus far: I thought we came out and had a consistent approach tonight. I thought Sunday our focus was a little off. We rebounded, had a great practice yesterday, worked hard, came in and were very consistent with our approach tonight.

On why this team consistently has scored runs with two outs: I think it tells you that you are in a great mind-set. It just means you continue to play and that's all we ask our athletes to do is to compete hard, win the next pitch and get to the next pitch. When you're scoring a lot with two outs, it means you're just doing a great job.

Senior 3B/OF Taylor Hoagland
On tonight's game and continuing a strong start: I think as a team, we're doing really well in the beginning. We're trying to focus on keeping a steady incline instead of peaking too early. I think that has been a really big thing we've been focusing on.

For me, it's just about what I can do for my team. I'm not making any long-term goals. I'm just trying to take it game-by-game.

On whether offensive contributions motivate her teammates to also produce: I think hitting is very contagious. It's great to see the freshmen get hits and it's great to see consistency throughout the whole team. It takes a lot of pressure off our pitchers.

On what she learned about her team in last weekend's tournament that will help this weekend in Houston: Just executing - executing on defense and offense and fine-tuning some things. I think when everything comes together it will be great.

Freshman 2B/UTIL Stephanie Ceo
On her team's performance tonight: I think as a team we played really well together tonight. Not one of us is better than the whole team together.

We've worked through things like the change-up and being able to adjust to that and getting on and scoring those runs when we have people in scoring position. Those are really big things. If you can't score with people that are on base, then that can be really problematic. We really used our steals to get into scoring position. Once we were in scoring position, we came through and hit the ball.

On her mind-set in the first week of her freshman season: I've been really trying to remind myself to play like I know how. You're taking it to the next level and taking the next step. I just have to remind myself that I'm here for a reason and to focus on the fundamentals when we're playing the game.

On how upperclassmen have helped her and what they've taught her: They've been great. They really have a lot of positive energy for the whole team and for us freshmen. There are six of us. It's nice to have accepting upperclassmen like they have been.

Freshman P/1B Holly Kern
On her pitching tonight: My pitches weren't going exactly the way I wanted them to, but I had a good defense behind me. That was a little comforting. I knew that even if I did make a mistake, someone was going to make a play.

On how it helps her feel comfortable to have a catcher like junior Mandy Ogle: She does a good job of giving me hand signals to calm me down and remind me to take a deep breath. It reminds me not to think about what just happened, but to think about where I want the next pitch to go.

On her mental state going into her first two games pitching: I was a little nervous. I think I was a lot more nervous for my first game ever, playing first base and hitting. I love pitching, so I'm pretty comfortable there.

Post-Game Notes
- UT is 6-0 and has begun the last three seasons with 10 or more consecutive victories.
- The Longhorns improved to 5-0 against in-state opponents this season and 261-65-1 all-time versus other Texas schools.
- Texas improved to 12-3 versus Stephen F. Austin and 11-2 against the Ladyjacks in Austin.
- Texas has outscored its opponents 38-5 this season. UT's pitching staff has posted a 0.72 earned-run average through six contests.
- The Longhorns led 3-0 after three innings. This season, UT has outscored its foes 24-2 in the initial three frames.
- With three runs in the second inning, the Longhorns have outscored their opponents 17-0 this season during the second frame.
- With only five runs allowed, this year's Texas pitching staff becomes the sixth in program history to allow five or fewer runs through the first six games of the season (2003/2; 2005/4; 2006/1; 2010/4; 2012/5).
- The Longhorns scored four runs with two outs during the contest. Of the 38 total runs UT has scored, 20 have been with two outs (52.6 percent).
- Junior Taylor Thom hit consecutive doubles in the second and third innings. She became the first Longhorn with two doubles in a game since Nadia Taylor versus Houston on May 19, 2012. Three of Thom's five hits this season have gone for extra bases.
- Freshman Stephanie Ceo has scored or driven in a run in her last five contests. She is hitting a team-best .667 (eight-for-12) this season.
- Ceo is just the third freshman to have a hitting streak of five games or more to start her Texas career. She joins Lexy Bennett (6/Feb. 6-11, 2009) and Megan Willis (5/Feb. 6-13, 2004).
- Ceo has three two-hit games during her five contests with an at bat.
- Senior Taylor Hoagland's two-run single in the bottom of the second and RBI single in the bottom of the fourth gave her 111 career runs batted in, tied with Keely Franks (1997-2000) for the sixth most in program history. Lexy Bennett (2009-12/155) is Texas' all-time leader.
- The performance was the ninth of Hoagland's career driving in three or more runs.
- Freshman Lindsey Stephens picked up her first career hit with a pinch-hit single in the bottom of the fifth inning.