Kavan pitches for grandmother as Longhorns conquer Sooners in WCWS
AUSTIN (KXAN) – No matter how impressive Texas softball has been in the last number of years, the question has remained if they can take down Oklahoma. The Sooners kept on being the class of the sport with the Longhorns hot on their tails.
For much of 2025, Texas looked like they had the upper hand as the top-ranked team in the country. But Oklahoma swept the Longhorns when they met in the regular season.
Saturday the two teams dueled in the Women’s College World Series after both winning their opening matchups. In a thriller, Texas took down Oklahoma 4-2 to stay unbeaten in Oklahoma City. It is the first time Texas has beaten the Sooners in the WCWS.
Teagan Kavan threw a complete game with eight strikeouts while allowing just one run. This comes after she threw a complete game in the opening game Wednesday against Florida. Kavan said postgame in an interview with ESPN that her grandmother passed away Saturday morning.
“It’s not easy, obviously,” said Kavan about pitching Saturday. “I think what helped me is at the end of the day, it’s just a game. I think it put it into perspective. Just chucking a yellow ball and people are yelling and turning left. I just wanted to have fun.”
Kavan also pitched a complete game just two days prior as Texas took down Florida in the opening round of the tournament. For her to come back and pitch the way she did with all she’s dealing with inspires her teammates.
“When Teagan told us [about her grandmother] this morning, it was honestly my worst nightmare,” said an emotional teammate of Kavan, Joley Mitchell. “The first thing she said was that she’s good and she’s ready to go today. So Teagan Kavan is my hero today.”
Kayden Henry was the lone Longhorn with two hits, including a home run. Joley Mitchell tagged another home run as some insurance in the sixth inning. Mitchell now has three home runs in two games in the WCWS.
The Longhorns will now be off until 11:00 a.m. Monday, with just one win needed to reach the championship series. UCLA will play Tennessee Sunday in an elimination game. The winner of that will play Texas Monday and need to beat the Longhorns twice to reach the championship.
If Texas faces Oklahoma again, it won’t be until the championship series. The Sooners face Oregon Sunday at 6:00 p.m. in an elimination game.
