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OKLAHOMA CITY (NFCA) – For four innings on Thursday evening at the Women’s College World Series, Arizona State and Texas treated the thousands in attendance to an old-fashioned softball pitching duel. In the end, it was a clutch fifth-inning home run off the bat of senior Kim Bruins that eventually proved to be the winning blow as Texas toppled Arizona State, 6-3.
Bruins finished one-for-four with the home run, second baseman Stephanie Ceo was two-for-three with a RBI and shortstop Taylor Thom and third baseman Taylor Hoagland each contributed a double and a RBI. In the circle for the Longhorns, senior Blaire Luna (31-5) allowed four hits and three earned runs over six innings of work with 10 strikeouts to get the win, while Bruins struck out a pair and permitted one hit in the seventh inning to earn the save.
ASU’s offense was powered by a two-run double off the bat of center fielder Alix Johnson (one-for-two) and a solo home run from third baseman Haley Steele. Pitcher Dallas Escobedo (30-5) took the defeat in the circle after being responsible for five earned runs on six hits with six walks and five whiffs over 5.1 frames.
The third match-up of the WCWS opening day started as a pitcher’s duel early on between Arizona State’s Escobedo and Texas’ Luna. Both teams managed a runner at second on one occasion over the opening two frames via walk, but couldn’t string together any sort of sustained offense.
In the ASU third, Johnson drew a free pass, advancing all the way to third as shortstop Cheyenne Coyle reached via a fielding error by Texas. With Sun Devils stationed at the corners, Luna responded to the threat by striking out catcher Amber Freeman swinging.
The Longhorns again managed to get a runner in scoring position during the bottom of the third. Center fielder Brejae Washington walked and then swiped second on a delayed steal. Thom walked on six pitches to join her teammate on the base paths, but a pop up to short off the bat of Bruins left the duo stranded.
A diving catch out in right field by Arizona State’s Bailey Wigness prevented leadoff batter Mandy Ogle from reaching for UT in the bottom of the fourth. In all the inning went quietly for both offenses as Escobedo and Luna retired the sides in order.
Consecutive base hits from left fielder Elizabeth Caporuscio and Wigness got the Sun Devil offense going with one down in the top of the fifth. That set the stage for a two-run double into the left field gap from Johnson as Arizona State finally broke the scoreless deadlock by nabbing a 2-0 lead.
Texas’ offense responded in the bottom half of the fifth. Ceo started the threat with an infield single, moving to second via a walk issued to Washington. Thom stepped to the plate and drove a shot to right for an RBI double. On the throw back in towards the plate by Wigness, the ball eluded catcher Freeman as Washington also scored to knot the contest at 2-2. Bruins followed immediately with a drive to left that sent Caporuscio back to the wall. The ball was in her glove for a split second before bouncing out, landing on the top of the wall and rolling over for a two-run home run as the Longhorns powered in front 4-2.
The Sun Devil comeback attempt began immediately in the top of the sixth as Steele led off the frame by blasting a shot just inside the foul pole down the left field line to cut the deficit to a single tally.
The Longhorns got the run right back in the bottom of the sixth as a perfectly placed bunt by Ceo between the circle and third brought in left fielder Torie Schmidt from third to make it 5-3. Third baseman Taylor Hoagland followed with a double just inside the left-field line for a RBI, ending Escobedo’s stint in the circle as Mackenzie Popescue entered in relief with the Sun Devils trailing 6-3. Popescue kept Texas from adding anymore on the scoreboard as the Sun Devils moved to their final chance to extend the match-up.
Bruins came on for the seventh and worked around two singles in the inning to keep ASU off the board and preserve the 6-3 victory. In addition to her big day at the plate, Bruins earned her first save of the season.
The Longhorns return to action Friday night at 8:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. Texas faces the winner of the Michigan versus Oklahoma contest Thursday night.
Post-Game Notes
– The Longhorns made their fifth WCWS appearance in program history. Texas won their sixth overall game in WCWS play. This marked the program’s first WCWS victory since a 2-0 defeat against Arizona State on June 1, 2006.
– Thursday night’s victory marked the fourth opening-game victory for Texas in the program’s five visits to the Women’s College World Series. The only defeat in a opening game was a 7-2 loss to Michigan on May 21, 1998.
– The four Texas runs in the bottom of the fifth inning snapped a 19-inning scoreless inning streak in WCWS play for the Longhorns, dating back to the 2-0 victory against Arizona State in 2006.
– The Longhorns have won their first six games in NCAA Tournament play for the first time since 2006.
– Texas has won its first seven NCAA Tournament games only once, in 2003.
– UT’s victory Thursday night marked its 50th of the season, tied for the second most in a year in program history. The 2006 squad holds the program record with 55 victories.
– The Longhorns have outscored 35-7 during NCAA Tournament play this season.
– Texas’ six runs in the game were the most by the program in a WCWS game, surpassing the three runs scored against Alabama (June 2, 2005) and Louisiana (May 22, 2003).
– UT has scored 350 runs this season, the second most in a year in program history. The 2012 squad set the mark with 372 runs.
– With two steals tonight, the Longhorns are 14-for-14 on stolen bases in postseason play. The 2013 team extended their school record for stolen bases and now has 122 on the season.
– Texas has won 11 of its last 14 games against ranked teams. That is the most successful stretch since the 2006 team won 12 of 14 games against ranked teams from March 19-June 1, 2006.
– Blaire Luna struck out 10 Arizona State batters in the game and now has 1,400 for her career. This season, she has 394 strikeouts, and is 10 shy of her career high of 404 (set in 2010).
– Luna improved to 5-0 this postseason with 52 strikeouts in 35.0 innings pitched.
– Luna is 10-3 against ranked teams this season with a 1.70 ERA and 136 strikeouts.
– Luna’s 31 victories are a single-season career high and the fourth most in a year in program history. Cat Osterman owns the UT record with 38 in 2006.
– With one RBI, Junior Taylor Thom now has 133 in her career, which puts her fourth on the Texas all-time list. Thom also has 120 runs scored, which is ninth-best in program history.
– Thom has 66 RBI on the season, which extends her school record for RBI in a season. It also ranks as the seventh-most in a season in Big 12 Conference history. Oklahoma’s Samantha Ricketts owns the league mark with 81 in 2007.
– Kim Bruins’ fifth-inning home run was the fifth Texas home run in WCWS play, and the first since Desiree Williams against ASU on June 1, 2006.
– With two RBI, Bruins tied Amber Hall (Louisiana/May 22, 2003) for the program WCWS record.
– Bruins earned her first save of the 2013 season, and the third save of her career.
– The home run was the first for Bruins since March 2 against Louisiana.
– Bruins is hitting .389 during the NCAA Tournament with a .556 slugging percentage.
– Stephanie Ceo became the fifth player in program history with two hits in a WCWS game, and first since Chez Sievers against Arizona on June 2, 2006.
Courtesy of Texas Sports Information
