Softball upends UT-San Antonio, 4-1
SAN ANTONIO -- The eighth-ranked Texas Softball team used a tie-breaking two-run fifth inning rally and 15-strikeout performance by junior hurler Meagan Denny to upend UT-San Antonio, 4-1, Thursday night at Roadrunner Field. The win moved the Longhorns season mark to 20-3, while the Roadrunners fell to 10-13 on the year. Denny (11-2) tossed her seventh straight complete game, going 7.0 innings, allowing one run, walking two and striking out 15 UTSA batters. "I thought Meagan Denny delivered one of her best performances of the year tonight," noted head coach Connie Clark. "She worked really well with Willis, mixing speeds, and then our timely hitting and overall focus were outstanding." After being held scoreless over the first three frames, Texas tallied the game's first run in the fourth inning on senior first baseman Jacqueline Williams' one-out homer to rightfield. UT-San Antonio responded in its half of the frame, using a solo home run by Jessica Rogers to even the tally at 1-1. "Tonight's game was very intense," stated Denny. "We did a good job of staying calm and fighting back after UTSA tied the game in the fourth inning." Texas' designated player Tallie Thrasher broke the tie on the first pitch of the following inning, hammering her eighth home run in her last 11 games to give the Horns a 2-1 edge. Senior catcher Megan Willis followed Thrasher with a double down the rightfield line and pinch runner Brittany Reliford advanced to second base on Kacie Gaskin's sacrifice bunt. Freshman centerfielder Kori Cook then pushed Reliford across with an RBI single to leftfield, widening the UT advantage to 3-1. The Longhorns added an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning, using a pair of one-out walks by Gaskin and Cook to start the rally and an RBI single by Williams to push the final margin to 4-1. Thomas headlined the Texas offense on the night, going 3-for-4, while Williams tallied two hits and a pair of RBI in the victory. UTSA starter Amanda Nikolenko (6-9) took the loss for the Roadrunners after allowing three runs on nine hits in 6.0 innings of work. Texas returns to action on Tuesday, March 13 when it takes on UNLV in Fullerton, California. First pitch is slated for 5 p.m. (Central).
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