Slump. Broken.
Down 5-4 in the bottom seventh inning, sophomore infielder Katie Stewart came up to bat with the game on her shoulders. One run would send the game into extra innings, any more would give Texas a clutch comeback victory after being down five runs against No.23/RV Auburn.
Anxiety quickly turned to jubilation amongst the packed crowd as soon as they heard the thunderous crack of the bat. Stewart hit a three-run homer to walk off the Tigers 7-5 and secure the Longhorns their second Southeastern Conference series in a thriller Saturday afternoon.
“Right before I got into the box, I closed my eyes and visualized myself coming through in that moment, then actually being able to come through for my team really shows how badly I wanted it; that visualization really helped,” Stewart said. “This feels really good, especially after the stretch I’ve been struggling in, so to have this moment, really means a lot to me.”
Although Auburn struggled to put together runs in its first loss yesterday, the Tigers’ bats were hot right at the top of the game, going up by two runs after junior pitcher Citlaly Gutierrez threw a two-run homer to Auburn’s freshman utility AnnaLea Adams. After Gutierrez walked outfielder Abbey Smith in the top of the second inning, she was sent off for senior pitcher Mac Morgan.
It looked like the Longhorns were going to make a run of scores at the bottom of the first, as bases were loaded, but a clutch double play by the Tigers’ infield sent them up to bat.
Pitching and defensive struggles continued across the next innings, as several out-of-fashion mistakes from Texas got Auburn’s offensive ball rolling in the long and excruciating third inning. Auburn scored three runs to go up 5-0, triggered by a double from the team’s graduate outfielder KK McCrary, alongside Texas’ Morgan allowing four hits.
When the fans thought they saw the last of Gutierrez, she came back at the top of the fourth to minimize damage and clean up the mess. Even after a triple, senior utility Mia Scott caught an almost impossible fly ball right at the edge of the outfield to give Texas the chance to make the comeback.
Texas’ batting was soulless across the first three innings until junior shortstop Leighann Goode sparked the comeback and ended the drought with a laser of a three-run homer to left field, sending Stewart and junior catcher Reese Atwood across home plate.
“Obviously, getting down five runs early was tough and then you have to think about just chipping away at it with one run here, one run there,” head coach Mike White said. “We weren’t able to do that early, but Leighann Goode had a nice at-bat and put us on the board with a three-run shot, then we knew we’d have a chance if our pitching was able to hold them down.”
Trailing by two runs, it was crucial for the Texas defense not to allow any more runs, and with a comeback partially on her shoulders, Guiterrez continued to be clutch for the Longhorns in the top of the fifth, forcing Auburn to go three and out, throwing two strikeouts and allowing no hits in the inning.
The bottom of the fifth was the perfect opportunity for the Longhorns to tie up or leave the Tigers trailing, but Texas tacked on just one run, leaving two runners on base. The deficit was cut to a single run after graduate designated player Joley Mitchell singled to the shortstop, allowing redshirt junior outfielder Ashton Maloney to score.
Desperate to get out of the top of the sixth, the Texas pitching staff brought in their sophomore star and rock of the bullpen, Teagan Kavan, to help with the looming comeback. Auburn’s batting struggled against Kavan’s prowess, as she threw two consecutive strikeouts with seeming ease, sending Texas to bat.
It had to get worse before it got better for Texas in the sixth. Leaving two runners on base once again, pop flies and bats straight to the infielders led to a scoreless inning, and Kavan was sent back out. With their backs against the wall and a strong sense of urgency by the Longhorns and their fans, the Texas defense held the Tigers to zero runs and just one hit in their last offensive showing through a double play and a strikeout by Kavan.
Texas takes the series, moves to 4-1 in conference play, and will look to sweep the Tigers tomorrow at noon.
