UT’S FAMILIAR FOES IN NCAA SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
Longhorns (31-24) open play against Texas St. in College Station Regional.
Texas softball is heading back to the postseason. The Longhorns, who finished fourth in the Big 12 during the regular season, are one of 64 teams headed to the NCAA Tournament. The field, announced Sunday night, places Texas (31-24) in the College Station Regional that includes Texas A&M (42-10), Texas State (41-15) and Texas Southern (24-18).
Texas will face Texas State on Friday afternoon, then either Texas A&M or Texas Southern — who also play Friday — on Saturday. Friday’s winners and Friday’s losers meet on Saturday in the doubleelimination format.
“Very excited about our draw,” Texas coach Connie Clark said Sunday night in a statement. “My gut was that we would probably be sent to College Station.”
Texas has already faced Texas State twice this season, losing both times.
The Bobcats won 2-1 on March 1 in Austin, then won 2-1 in San Marcos on April 5. The Longhorns beat Texas Southern 5-0 at McCombs Field on April 19.
The Longhorns have not faced A&M this season. Last year, however, the Aggies ended Texas’ season in the Lafayette Regional.
“It made sense in that there was a likelihood that we would all end up there,” Clark said about the regional field. “I just think when you add in the fact that it’s an easy place for our fans to travel, the rivalry with A&M is back on and we’ve created a little I-35 rivalry with Texas State too, that it made sense.”
If Texas gets out of this weekend’s regional, it will advance to next week’s super regionals. The College World Series begins June 1. The Longhorns’ last trip to the WCWS was in 2013.
Texas had won four of its previous six games heading into last weekend’s Big 12 Tournament in Oklahoma City. The Longhorns opened Friday with a 7-1 win over Texas Tech, then fell to sixth-ranked Oklahoma 3-0 later that day and to 16th-ranked Baylor 7-0 on Saturday in the third-place game.
Texas was considered a bubble team for the NCAA postseason before the Big 12 Tournament.
The 31 wins and Texas’ RPI (ranked 33rd last week) appeared to be enough to sway the selection committee, despite a 3-15 record against ranked opponents. Texas hasn’t missed the NCAA Tournament since 2004, when the Longhorns went 24-25.
This is the 18th NCAA Tournament bid in school history and Texas is 35-23 all-time in regional games and 49-35 overall in NCAA Tournament games.
Texas State is led by junior pitcher Randi Rupp (27-9), who ranks fifth in the country in strikeouts and is tied for seventh in victories.
Rupp was the starter for both of the Bobcats’ 2-1 wins over Texas.
On March 1 in Austin, Rupp allowed one run on five hits. She walked six over her seven innings.
The Bobcats’ 2-1 win on April 5 was in extra innings; Rupp pitched all nine innings, striking out seven and again holding Texas to five hits. The Longhorns’ lone run was unearned.
Texas A&M fell in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament.
The Aggies have lost five of their last six games, including conference series losses to No. 18 Kentucky and No. 9 Tennessee. The Aggies are the No. 9 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, which means they wouldn’t host a super regional if they get out of the opening weekend.