Texas softball pulls off massive rally to advance to WCWS final

In improbable fashion, head coach Mike White and unseeded Texas softball just kept the rally going in the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City, OK, against the seven-seed Oklahoma State Cowgirls. Texas had to pull out two wins to advance to the final round of the Women’s College World Series this week for a rematch against the rival and top-seeded Oklahoma Sooners.

And that’s exactly what the Longhorns were able to do behind some clutch performances from the likes of Bella Dayton and Courtney Day. Texas got behind early in this one, down 5-0 at one point against Oklahoma State, but pulled off another rally to get the win in the end.

Day got this rally started for the Longhorns as she had yet another three-run home run that provided the exact spark this team needed, just like in the first game on this day against the Pokes. This three-run home run came in the top of the fourth inning to do a little more than cut the lead in half.

And then, Texas took advantage of a costly Oklahoma State error in the top of the fifth inning. Oklahoma State essentially allowed an inside-the-park home run after overthrowing second base on a play that had a couple of big-time miscues. That allowed Dayton to score on what should’ve been a single.

That unlikely inside-the-park home run from Dayton wound up giving Texas the game-winning run. Texas scoring three ones on that one play put them ahead by a score of 6-5. And that play is also what handed the First-Team All-American Oklahoma State pitcher Kelly Maxwell just her fifth loss of the season.

Bella Dayton and Courtney Day lead Texas softball to rally to final round of the Women’s College World Series

On the mound, Estelle Czech struggled early in this one after pulling through with a shutout in the first of two games against Oklahoma State on this day. Czech gave up three runs (two of which were earned) and three hits. While three hits aren’t all that much to allow for Czech, one of them was costly as it was a three-run home run that put Oklahoma State ahead early.

https://twitter.com/TexasSoftball/status/1534018149800194051

Senior pitcher Hailey Dolcini would come on in relief of Czech in the third inning. And the start wasn’t much better than the finish for Czech. But then, Dolcini found her rhythm and didn’t allow a single earned run in her final four innings on the mound. She was determined to keep this magical postseason run going for the Longhorns.

Texas secured this tight one-run win over the Pokes to sweep the semifinal series on June 6. This just goes to show how much magic Day, Dayton, and the Longhorns continue to find this postseason with yet another upset of a seeded opponent.

This win over Oklahoma State sets up another rematch for the Longhorns in the final round of the Women’s College World Series against a Big 12 foe. Texas will take on Oklahoma for the second time in OKC in the Women’s College World Series Finals, starting on June 8. The final is a best of three games that could run through June 10 (if necessary).