Texas advances to 3rd WCWS championship series in past 4 seasons with win over Tennessee
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Katie Stewart’s fly ball in the fourth inning just kept going.
The Texas left fielder drove a riseball toward her Tennessee counterpart Alannah Leach, and while it was in the air, Leach appeared to have a beat on it. That is, until she slammed into the wall and the ball fell a few feet beyond the fence for a solo home run, giving the Longhorns the only run they needed to advance to the program’s third Women’s College World Series championship series in the past four seasons.
Texas won the pitchers’ duel 2-0 over the Lady Volunteers on Monday at Devon Park in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, eliminating Tennessee from the tournament and lifting the Longhorns closer to an elusive national title. The Longhorns will face either Texas Tech or Oklahoma when the championship series begins Wednesday.
Stewart provided the big hit, and the pitching tandem of Mac Morgan and Teagan Kavan stymied Tennessee’s hitters. Morgan worked the first four innings, tying a season high with four strikeouts and allowing three hits with well-located dropballs, and Kavan finished the game by not allowing a hit in three innings, employing power riseballs and changeups to get outs. The juxtaposition of the pitches was what Longhorns head coach Mike White was hoping to see.
Kavan, the ace starting pitcher of the Texas staff, set a single-season program record with her eighth save.
Tennessee’s All-American pitcher Karlyn Pickens was terrific, with the mistake to Stewart her only blemish. She scattered five hits and allowed one earned run on Stewart’s blast, striking out nine with two walks in six innings. The Lady Vols’ defense let her down with two errors, the second allowing Joley Mitchell to score in the sixth inning.
Conversely, Texas’ defense made two great plays in the seventh to keep Tennessee off the bases. Mia Scott snarred a line drive down the third-base line for the first out, and shortstop Leighann Goode picked a one-hopper on her backhand side, and in a brilliant display of balance, stayed on her feet to make a strong throw to Mitchell for the second out.
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Stewart ended the game 2-for-3 at the plate, adding a single in the sixth inning. Tennessee assistant coach Craig Snider was ejected from the game in the fourth inning for arguing balls and strikes.
Texas Tech and Oklahoma play at 6 p.m. in the other semifinal. If the Red Raiders win, they’ll face the Longhorns in the championship series. A Sooners victory means the teams will play another game immediately afterward to decide who plays for the title. Texas Tech hasn’t lost in the tournament, and Oklahoma fell 4-2 to Texas on Saturday.
This will be updated with postgame quotes from Texas coaches and players
