Texas softball team shows it can handle newfound pressure in win over Texas State

Knocking off No. 1 Oklahoma comes with a burden for Texas’ softball team. Expectations rise with the rankings, attention grows and pressure mounts for a team that's now No. 2 in the USA Today/NFCA poll and No. 1 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll.

And Texas coach Mike White wouldn’t have it any other way.

“It's out there,” White said. “I told them the fact is we're No. 1. And you know, that is what it is. I mean, you can sweep it under the rug all you want, but you’ve got to face it. We got to know how to play with that.”

Texas State puts up a midweek fight

The Longhorns (32-6, 11-4 Big 12) got a taste of that bigger target on their backs in Wednesday’s brawl against No. 25 Texas State. The Bobcats threw their ace, Jessica Mullins, into the mix for the nonconference game at McCombs Field, knowing the prestige that comes with knocking off Texas outweighs any extra rest for a weekend series with Sun Belt heavyweight Louisiana.

The plan almost worked. Texas State took a lead into the bottom of the fifth inning before the Longhorns rallied for a thrilling 6-4 win in a game in which gusty winds out of the north made every fly ball and pop-up an adventure.

Mullins, who held Texas to six hits and just one run in a 1-0 Longhorns victory in February, was charged with five runs before giving way to Round Rock graduate Maddie Azua in the fifth inning. Texas scored three runs in that frame, including one by Reese Atwood on a wild pitch by Azua that gave the Longhorns the lead. Kayden Henry then added an insurance run by driving in Vivi Martinez, and that would be plenty of cushion for Texas' Estelle Czech to get the win in relief.

“I’m pretty happy about getting five runs off of Mullins, because she’s tough,” White said. “We’ve really struggled against her. She’s just always been tough. She’s great with her locations and can hit spots. She’s competitive and fights. We just knew it was going to be a tough game.”

Texas State (32-10) tagged UT starter Citlaly Gutierrez for four hits and three runs, all in the top of the third inning, before Czech came in to quiet the Bobcats. Czech allowed just three hits and one run over four innings to improve to 6-3.

White credited Czech for serving as a calming influence in the circle, especially in the game’s tautest moments.

“I don't feel any pressure,” Czech said. “When pressure comes to you, you basically just use it to your advantage. So like those butterflies and everything, those nervous feelings, you use that. I worked my entire life for this, these moments in softball. I have to trust myself here.”

White acknowledged that playing a midweek game against a talented team — especially after the emotional series win over Oklahoma — came with its challenges. And he also knows his team won’t have much time to rest with a three-game series against Baylor starting Friday.

“You're always worried about what are we going to bring into a game at this point in the season,” he said. “It's been a tough grind, to tell you the truth. But after this weekend, I think we get a couple of days off. That should be good timing for us.”

On deck: Texas takes on Baylor

About this weekend: Baylor (22-14, 5-10), which is just outside the USA Today/NFCA rankings, has struggled in Big 12 play but always plays Texas tough. Last season the Bears almost ruined Texas’ chances at hosting a first-round NCAA series by sweeping the Longhorns, a fact that has already been mentioned by White.

“Oh, I’ve reminded them,” he said. “I don’t hide anything.”

When asked about Baylor, Czech just gave a little shrug. Yes, it’s a big series, especially for a Texas squad seeking to host two rounds of the NCAA Tournament. But it’s also just the next series, as Czech explained.

“They did sweep us (last year), and that's definitely something we have to keep our eye out for, but we have to keep our eye out for every team,” she said. “Every team is good. We just have to be us, you know? Our coaches try and tell us not to play the name on the jersey. Just be who we are. Not too high. Not too low.”

This weekend’s series

No. 2 Texas (32-6, 11-4) vs. Baylor (22-14, 5-10), 6:30 p.m. Friday (Getterman Field in Waco, ESPN+), 1:30 p.m. Saturday (McCombs Field, ESPN2), 1 p.m. Sunday (McCombs Field, LHN)