Texas Longhorns
Big 12 (42-10, 16-8)
Texas has had a brutal schedule and came out with a pretty good record, but there are some lingering doubts about the Longhorns this year. They came into the season boasting a couple great players in pitcher Blaire Luna and outfielder Taylor Hoagland. Those two have had good seasons, but they have failed to live up to the lofty expectations many had for them in Austin.
Big Wins: 2/19 vs Tennessee (3-2), 2/25 vs UCLA (5-4), 4/29 vs Texas A&M (4-3)
Bad Losses: 4/6 vs Missouri (11-4), 4/11 vs Texas Tech (5-2), 4/21 vs Oklahoma State (3-0)
Coach: Connie Clark (15 seasons at Texas)
Why They Can Surprise:
Hoagland has again proven that she can go deep at any moment and did finish the season strong. That is a good sign for the Longhorns when it comes to hitting. To really call Hoagland’s junior season a disappointment is very unfair and she has still batted quite well and continued to hit for power. However, Hoagland has been overshadowed by some of her teammates in the batting department. Hoagland is still the power hitter, but most of the lineup has done a better job of getting on base. The team as a whole has one of the best batting averages in the nation and that is quite an accomplishment considering the tough pitchers the Longhorns have faced in the Big 12. Senior Lexy Bennett and junior Torie Schmidt deserve much of the credit. Those two are hovering around the .400 mark in batting average. Bennett is not just a contact hitter though and has a very impressive slugging percentage. Add in players like Nadia Taylor, Courtney Craig, Karina Scott, Brejae Washington, Taylor Thom and Mandy Ogle and is impossible to find a soft spot in the Longhorns lineups.
Why They Can Disappoint:
During the 2011 season Texas had the second best ERA in the nation. That was with Luna and Rachel Fox leading the way. Luna and Fox are back, as is Kim Bruins, but the ERA has took a dramatic turn for the worse. Fox has had a pretty good sophomore campaign, but she is not a dominating presence on the mound. Luna was that presence and sometimes she still is. Luna will strikeout a ton of batters, but her control and confidence have seemingly dipped during the 2012 campaign. She will still have some quality outings, but she will also have some bad days where she will have trouble finding the plate and, as a result, has little choice but to let up a little bit to avoid the walks. That is when Luna becomes hittable and good teams will be able to take advantage of that in the tournament.
Key Field Players:
Lexy Bennett, Senior, IF, .393 BA, 10 HR, 52 RBI
Torie Schmidt, Junior, OF, .382 BA, 24 RBI
Nadia Taylor, Senior, 3B/C, .352 BA, 7 HR, 35 RBI
Courtney Craig, Senior, OF, .345 BA, 6 HR, 39 RBI
Katrina Scott, Sophomore, IF, .327 BA, 9 HR, 25 RBI
Taylor Hoagland, Junior, IF/OF, .331 BA, 16 HR, 37 RBI, 17 SB
Brejae Washington, Sophomore, OF, .335 BA, 16 RBI, 26 SB
Key Pitchers:
Blaire Luna, Junior, Pitcher, 2.37 ERA, 18-4 W/L, 16 CG, 150.2 IP, 219 SO
Rachel Fox, Sophomore, Pitcher, 2.24 ERA, 13-1 W/L, 7 CG, 106.1 IP, 86 SO
By the Numbers:
Batting Average: .335 (6th in nation, 1st in conference)
Earned Run Average: 2.48 (60, 4)
Fielding Percentage: .968 (53, 8)
Scoring Offense: 6.45 (9, 1)
Home Runs per Game: 1.14 (16, 3)
Doubles per Game: 1.43 (23, 1)
Triples per Game: 0.22 (43, 1)
Stolen Bases per Game: 1.63 (26, 2)
Slugging Percentage: .534 (9, 2)
Double Plays per Game: 0.20 (213, 9)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
| 2011 | Regional | defeated Texas State, lost to Houston, eliminated by Louisiana |
| 2010 | Regional | defeated Iona, lost to BYU, eliminated by East Carolina |
| 2009 | Regional | defeated Chattanooga, lost to Alabama, defeated Mississippi Valley State, eliminated by Alabama |
| 2008 | Regional | lost to Washington, defeated Delaware State, eliminated by Washington |
| 2007 | Regional | lost to Georgia Tech, defeated Stetson, defeated Georgia Tech, eliminated by Florida |
*all team stats through 5/6
See All Softball Postseason Capsules
