MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters
Atwood's clutch 3-run homer lifts No. 7 Longhorns over No. 3 Cowgirls
The Texas catcher blasted a 3-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to power the Longhorns past Oklahoma State 3-2 in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader at McCombs Field.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Take a bow, Reese Atwood.
The Texas catcher blasted a 3-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to power the Longhorns past Oklahoma State 3-2 in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader at McCombs Field.
Until the seventh, Oklahoma State left-handed pitcher Kelly Maxwell was mowing through the Texas lineup. Maxwell carried a no-hitter into the final inning with nine strikeouts, but on the second pitch of the frame, Mia Scott dumped a single into right-center to start the rally and break up Maxwell's no-hit bid.
Leighann Goode hit a Maxwell pitch off the end of her bat that had some spin on it, narrowly avoiding the glove of Maxwell and Cowgirls second baseman Rachel Becker to put two runners on, setting the stage for Atwood's game-ending swing.
"I was looking for a pitch she was throwing over that I missed a couple of at-bats before," Atwood said. "I was able to get on time with it and take it out."
Atwood hit her team-leading 10th home run a projected 263 feet on a 2-0 pitch. She set a program record with her eighth consecutive game with an RBI, and it was the third consecutive game she delivered a walk-off hit. She had a single in the eighth inning to win the series opener Friday 1-0, and also had the clutch in a 3-2 win over Kansas last week.
The Cowgirls scored their runs off start Citaly Gutierrez, who pitched well but didn't factor into the decision. She scattered six hits with two strikeouts and three walks, inducing the Cowgirls into 11 groundouts in the process. She pitched six innings before Sophia Simpson pitched a scoreless seventh with a strikeout to record her fourth win of the season.
While rain postponed the series opener scheduled for Thursday, the threat of rain tomorrow also caused the teams to play a doubleheader Saturday. The second game is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
This story will be updated with details from the second game of the doubleheader.