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Third-ranked Softball splits on first day of Palm Springs Classic
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. -- Freshman Meagan Denny (Crowley, Texas) threw her first career no-hitter - in just her third career appearance - and Tina Boutelle (Katy, Texas) connected for a third-inning RBI double as No. 3 Texas defeated BYU, 1-0, in the team's second game at the Palm Springs Classic at Big League Dreams Park. In the team's first game, UT surrendered just one hit to top-ranked California, but fell, 1-0, to the Bears. Jacqueline Williams (Arlington, Texas) went 2-for-4 on the night - including a 2-for-3 effort against BYU- while Megan Willis (Chandler, Ariz.) went 2-for-5 on the night and Wynter Turner (San Pedro, Calif.) went 2-for-6. Texas' (8-1) pitching staff allowed just one hit all evening and struck out a combined 31 batters in two games. Denny had 15 strikeouts in her victory, including nine-straight spanning the first three innings. Cat Osterman (Houston, Texas) tossed a one-hitter in the opener against the Bears while striking out 16 and walking none. Denny's no-hitter was the team's second of the season as Osterman already has a perfect game to her credit this year. With the victory, Cal (9-0) won its third-straight game against Texas, while BYU (8-1) suffered its first defeat of the year. "I think tonight showed why we think we have one of the best pitching staffs in the country," Texas head coach Connie Clark said. "But, we're also still working through some things offensively and trying to find our rhythm in certain situations. We need to do a better job bringing in runners when they on base are waiting to come home. We had those situations in both games and we didn't take advantage of the opportunities. But a lot of that also comes with getting back into playing games and facing good pitching, which is the point of playing in these tournaments. "I think if you wanted to find one of the best teams nationally to match up with us, Cal would be that team," Clark said. "I would have liked to see us take advantages of the opportunities we had, because when you have pitchers like Cal does, you don't get many opportunities," Clark said. Game 1: No. 1 California 1, No. 3 Texas 0 Game 2: No. 3 Texas 1, BYU 0 The Longhorns return to action on Saturday when they take on Loyola Marymount and No. 25 Long Beach State.
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