No. 3 Texas Softball defeated No. 20 Mississippi State, 4-0, in an elimination game at Devon Park in Oklahoma City on May 29. With the win, Texas advances to play the loser of the matchup between No. 1 Nebraska and No. 2 Alabama at 2 p.m. CT on Sunday, May 31.
Texas head coach Mike White reached his 800th career victory with this result. The Longhorns improved their season record to 48-12 overall and are now 6-2 in the NCAA Tournament. The team remains undefeated in elimination games this season.
Senior left fielder Kaiah Altmeyer hit a two-out, two-run home run in the second inning for her first home run of the season and eleventh of her career. Junior center fielder Kayden Henry added a solo home run in the fifth inning and recorded a team-high two hits, both for extra bases.
Junior shortstop Viviana Martinez contributed with a one-run double in the seventh inning that scored junior first baseman Katie Stewart from first base. Junior right-handed pitcher Teagan Kavan pitched a complete-game four-hit shutout, registering her 600th career strikeout for the final out of the game without issuing any walks.
Kavan achieved her seventh career win at the Women’s College World Series (WCWS), setting a program record for most wins at this stage, and tied former Longhorn Cat Osterman for most shutouts at WCWS with four each. She is now one of five Longhorns to surpass 600 career strikeouts.
