The Texas Longhorns have won the NCAA softball championship for the second year in a row.
The University of Texas at Austin swept the best-of-three final against Texas Tech at the Women's College World Series with a 4-1 win Thursday at Devon Park in Oklahoma City. The Red Raiders remain without a national title in softball after losing to the Longhorns for a second consecutive year. It was the first championship back-to-back rematch in 22 years.
"It means so much because you know how hard you work," said UT softball head coach Mike White. "It's just a joy to share this with [your players]."
Scoring was slow to start on Thursday, with Texas Tech holding onto a 1-0 lead to the end of the fourth inning. An error with two outs and bases loaded allowed Texas to take the lead for the first time all night. The fourth inning ended with the Longhorns up 2-1.
Pitcher Teagan Kavan did not start the game for the Longhorns but was put on the mound in the sixth inning. She collected three strikeouts to bring UT back to bat where the game was really settled.
In the top of the seventh, Kayden Henry scored a solo home run and pinch runner Alisa Sneed brought the score to 4-1.
Kavan closed out the game in a 1-2-3 inning, quickly dispatching the top of the Tech lineup to secure the Longhorn win.
In two innings, Kavan saw six batters and struck out five. For the second year in a row, she was named most outstanding player in the Women's College World Series — the first-ever player to receive the honor in back-to-back years.
"I was just telling myself that this was what I dreamed of," Kavan said after the game. "I just wanted to have my team's back."
In Game 1 on Wednesday, the Longhorns started running the bases early, accumulating five runs in the first inning of their 7-3 win. A two-run homer by Katie Stewart, the SEC player of the year, was a catalyst for the offensive lead that the Red Raiders could not recover from.
Kavan pitched a complete game Monday, ending the game with six strikeouts and only allowing three hits.
The team will return to the capital on Friday to a lit UT Austin tower celebrating their second ring in two years.
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