• Roster
• |
• Schedule/Results
• |
• Stats
• |
• News
• |
• Archives

Nov. 7, 2010

Box Score    Photo Gallery

AUSTIN, Texas -- Former Longhorns Cat Osterman and Loryn Johnson shined for the NPF All-Stars as they downed the Texas Softball team, 2-0, Sunday night at Red & Charline McCombs Field. Osterman's performance was vintage as she fanned 17 Longhorns, allowed just one hit and walked none in 7.0 innings of work, while Johnson smashed a solo home run in the second inning.

Osterman earned the victory in the circle for the NPF and Texas sophomore starter Blaire Luna was saddled with the loss for the Horns after allowing one run on three hits, walking one and striking out two. Freshman righthander Rachel Fox came on to throw the final 3.0 frames, surrendering one run on four hits, striking out two and walking one.

The NPF kicked off the scoring in the second with Johnson's towering blast to leftfield and added a second tally in the sixth when designated player Samantha Findlay hit a line drive home run to straightaway centerfield.

Texas freshman infielder Karina Scott touched Osterman for Texas' lone hit in the fifth inning when she laced a single through the left side of the infield.

Findlay and first baseman Megan Gibson headlined the NPF order with two hits apiece in the victory.

The game marks the end of the Longhorns' fall exhibition season. Texas returns to action on Thursday, Feb. 10 when it kicks off its 2011 calendar at home against Louisville.

TEXAS POST-GAME QUOTES

Head coach Connie Clark
On what the team learned from the fall season: I think the biggest thing is that, as always, we try to get better each week that we come out and have our team practice. I think the thing I liked best as we built up to our final game tonight was the compete factor. Obviously we saw Cat (Osterman) a couple weeks ago and I wanted to see how they would respond. I thought our approach was great, I thought we competed well, and it was fantastic to have a great crowd tonight. I was hoping we would get a great crowd with having that type of quality club in just for them to see just what life after college is all about, so I appreciate the crowd coming out and being supportive in our offseason.

On the sound defensive play by Texas: I like the fact that in the fall we have a lot of people in and out of the lineup getting looks for everybody and utilizing our entire lineup. I feel like we saw growth across everyone on the roster and that's what we're looking for so that we don't miss a beat and that we have the versatility and depth that we need. I think we feel comfortable with that. We'll have Kim Bruins back in the spring as well, so I like our situation with the depth and versatility that we have.

On how the team can grow from facing quality competition: I think it helps us just from a compete standpoint. Cat's stuff is just filthy and I think she was in a different gear tonight. She threw very well. What I liked about our pitchers, Blaire (Luna) and Rachel (Fox) both, is that their big key over the last few weeks has been just like real estate: location, location, location. That's what we have been keying on, and with this type of hitter, if you leave it in the wrong location you are going to get instant feedback. We got that once for sure tonight on Loryn Johnson's home run. With (Samantha) Findlay, it could have been a little bit better location, but she just did a great job. So it was great to have us work on that. For the most part we made some great progress there and I feel great with Blaire and Rachel. Having KB (Kim Bruins) back and healthy gives us an opportunity. If you have great pitching, you have an opportunity and I like our opportunities heading into the spring.

Sophomore rightfielder Taylor Hoagland
On defensive improvements since last season: We always throw to bases every practice. That is one thing we emphasize: defense, defense, defense. The outfield is your last line of defense if it gets through the infield. As outfielders, you have to cover a lot of ground, so we do a lot of conditioning. During practice, we'll do foot drills to keep our foot speed up.

On facing former Longhorn Cat Osterman: You just try to take in everything that you know about her from watching film and reading notes. You just kind of have to think of her as another pitcher. Obviously she is Cat Osterman, I'm not taking anything away from that. She is a great pitcher, phenomenal, but you have to go out there with the mentality of "You're not going to beat me."

On takeaways from the fall season: I think we're a good team. We still have a lot to work on before the spring comes, but I think we've faced a lot of good competition this fall with the alumni and the NPF. I think we'll do really well in the spring.

NPF All-STARS QUOTES

NPF catcher Megan Willis
On playing against her former team: It's amazing. I think it's something that I know I've wanted to do for the past four years. Last year coaching the Longhorns was a lot of fun, but playing against them is a different experience. The crowd here is great. That's what you always remember. I know that Cat, Loryn and I were really looking forward to coming back home and playing.

On coming back to Austin and playing with Cat Osterman: That's another special experience. Her and I had a great time together at Texas, and we still get to do that in the National Pro Fastpitch league. To bring our professional league back to Austin with three Longhorns is exciting for us and for the fans. They really enjoy seeing Cat out there and watching us play together.

On the big crowd: It was awesome and kind of tough. The fans are always loyal to the Longhorns, and although there were three former Longhorns on our NPF team, the fans were not going to cheer for us until the end of the game.

On some of the NPF teammates staying for The Eyes of Texas: Yeah I thought that was pretty special. You've got players from college teams all over the country on this team. I think the best part of this tour is going out and seeing all the different campuses. I know all of us really enjoy seeing the different crowds and different fields.

NPF second baseman Loryn Johnson
On coming back to the University of Texas: I think it's a great experience to be able to come here with some amazing players. I'm glad this tour stopped here at my former school. It's a different feeling being in the opposing dugout, but other than that it was a great game and a fun experience.

On your feelings before the game and after the home run: Before the game I was a little nervous. Blaire Luna does a great job pitching. I had the luxury of playing behind her for one year. She's does a great job of keeping hitters off balance. After my first two swings I was a little skiddish, but after that it was a great feeling seeing the burnt orange nation behind me even though I'm not in a Texas uniform

On some of the NPF teammates singing The Eyes of Texas: It was a good feeling. You have so much pride coming from The University of Texas. Having some of those girls who have alma maters that compete with Texas regularly still showing respect to our former team was a great feeling.

On playing with Cat Osterman for the first time: She makes it pretty easy on defense. She's one of the best pitchers in the world. It's a once in a lifetime experience. Our team was supposed to have her all summer, but unfortunately she was traded. Playing with a fellow Longhorn with such great status is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

NPF pitcher Cat Osterman
On pitching against the Longhorns back in Austin: It was nice. We had a great crowd tonight. It's always nice to be on the field back in Austin. This is home for me. All in all it's everything I could've asked for.

On possibly pitching at McCombs Field for the last time: I actually thought about that in the sixth inning. I realized this may be the last time to pitch here. It touches the heart a little bit. I love being here, and I'm glad coach Clark let the tour come here. Hopefully we do another tour sometime in the future, so I can come back and pitch again.

On the great crowd: It was awesome. Megan and I have talked on and on about how amazing the crowds were when we played here. It was awesome to see so many people turn out for a Sunday night in the fall. These games don't always get as big of crowds as we'd like, so it was awesome to see so many people in the stands.

On some of the NPF teammates singing The Eyes of Texas: I turned and laughed when I saw that. They know how much this means to us. We've gone to a lot of people's home turf. It's great for all of us to support each other. They know how much we love Texas, so it was awesome to see that.