Texas softball to face Big 12 foe in OK State in WCWS semis

A few big plays led to a big day altogether for head coach Mike White and unseeded Texas softball in a do-or-die elimination game in the Women’s College World Series against a fellow unseeded opponent on June 5. Texas took on the Arizona Wildcats out of the PAC-12 in this elimination game at the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, OK, to round out the weekend.

And this Longhorns squad definitely made the most of this opportunity to just keep on fighting in the end. Texas was in danger of losing this game to Arizona early on but rallied when it mattered most.

Texas got off to a bit of a shaky start with the All-American senior pitcher Hailey Dolcini allowing two earned runs in less than four full innings of work on the mound. But Estelle Czech was able to save the day for the Longhorns, coming in to pitch 3.2 innings on the mound in relief of Dolcini.

In fact, Czech gave the Longhorns 3.2 shutout innings on the mound coming out of the bullpen. In the process, she allowed just one hit, didn’t walk a single batter and struck out four.

Czech was definitely a saving grace for the Longhorns in this one. She now has a dozen wins on the season as Czech moves her record to an impressive 12-1.

Texas softball advances to the semis in the WCWS thanks to JJ Smith and Estelle Czech on June 5

Moreover, there was one big play with the bats that got the Longhorns the win in this game. JJ Smith hit a huge three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning that scored Mary Iakopo and Alyssa Washington. At the time, that Smith home run put the Longhorns ahead 4-2.

Smith’s three-run shot was one of two homers on the day for the Longhorns. The other came from Courtney Day in the first inning.

This combination of Czech coming on in relief of Dolcini along with Smith’s clutch three-run shot in the fourth inning was all that the Longhorns needed to seal this 5-2 win in the end over the Wildcats.

Texas will now get to face the seven-seed Oklahoma State Cowgirls and fellow All-American pitcher Kelly Maxwell in another do-or-die game for this team on June 6. Oklahoma State will need to win just one game against Texas to move on to the final round of the Women’s College World Series.

Meanwhile, Texas would need to beat Oklahoma State twice to potentially have a shot at a rematch with the top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners again in the final round in OKC.

The rival Sooners will face the five-seed UCLA Bruins in the semifinals of the WCWS before being able to advance to the final round. Texas also already beat UCLA in their first game in OKC, which came by the final score of 7-2 back on June 2.

Following this three-run win over Arizona on June 5, the Longhorns are sporting a record of 45-20-1 (12-6 Big 12). The first pitch time between Texas and Oklahoma State on June 6 in the WCWS semis is set for 6 p.m. CT and will be televised on ESPN.