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No. 1 Texas romps through regional, thumps Northwestern again to advance in NCAA tourney
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Freshman pitcher Teagan Kavan led the Longhorns with a complete-game one-hitter, striking out 12 with two walks. Kavan faced 25 batters and threw 68 strikes in 103 total pitches. Kavan's bid for a no-hitter was broken up in the sixth with a double by Angela Zedak.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — No. 1 Texas breezed through the NCAA Austin Regional softball tournament, dropping Northwestern 7-0 Sunday at McCombs Field to advance to the best-of-three super regional series next week.
Freshman pitcher Teagan Kavan led the Longhorns with a complete-game one-hitter, striking out 12 with two walks. Kavan faced 25 batters and threw 68 strikes in 103 total pitches. Kavan's bid for a no-hitter was broken up in the sixth with a double by Angela Zedak.
Kavan, pitching in her first NCAA postseason game, said she was "a little amped up" to start the game. She issued a walk and hit a batter in the opening frame, but then settled in and was razor-sharp the rest of the way.
"We (head coach Mike White) had a talk in the dugout and we chilled from there," Kavan said. "I overthrew a little bit, and he just instilled confidence in me that there wasn't anything to be nervous about."
White said the decision to start Kavan was easy because "she was the only one who hadn't thrown yet."
"She was chomping at the bit to get out there, and we feel confident with anyone we throw out there," White said. "She looked really good this week during our bullpens."
Mia Scott hit a 3-run home run in the second inning to give Texas a 5-0 lead and the Longhorns allowed just two runs and scored 26 in all three regional games combined.
The Longhorns (50-7, 23-4 Big 12) won their 50th game of the season and will face either Texas A&M or Texas State in the super regional series. Regardless of who wins in College Station where the Aggies and Bobcats play, the series will be in Austin.
Texas sophomore shortstop Viviana Martinez went 3 for 3 while Joley Mitchell and Bella Dayton both had two hits each.
Northwestern starting pitcher Ashley Miller, the Big 10 pitcher of the year, lasted just 1 2/3 innings and had some control issues with five walks. He allowed five runs on three hits and didn't strike anyone out.
The Longhorns opened the regional tournament with a 5-0 win Friday over Siena and then beat Northwestern for the first time 14-2 Saturday. The Wildcats (35-13, 19-3 Big 10) beat St. Francis (Penn.) twice in the tournament, 7-2 on Friday's opening night and 5-1 to stay alive in the tournament after their first loss to the Longhorns.