UT begins super regional quest in Seattle

Longhorns will play some familiar foes this weekend.

Texas senior Randel Leahy will miss her graduation ceremony this weekend.

Leahy, who’ll graduate with a degree in speech and language pathology, will instead be in Seattle. As will classmates Paige von Sprecken (advertising) and Kristen Clark (exercise science). And Erica Wright, a redshirt junior who’ll focus on becoming a physician’s assistant once she graduates, also is skipping out on the pomp

circumstance. So instead of a graduation cap, Leahy will opt for a visor as Texas heads west for a NCAA

regional that begins kind of expect to miss graduation,” Leahy said. “You hear horror stories about graduations being three hours long and sitting in the hot sun. I’m definitely grateful that we get to continue playing the sport that we love.”

Texas (32-24), the third seed in the Seattle regional, will meet Minnesota (39-15) Friday night at the University of Washington’s Husky Softball Stadium. Boise State (40-14) and the host Huskies (44-8) also will play. The regional, which wraps up Sunday, is a double-elimination format.

Texas hasn’t advanced to a super regional since 2013.

The Longhorns have lost nine of their past 15 games but are coming off a third-place showing at last week’s Big 12 Tournament. They’re hitting only .269 as a team, though von Sprecken, freshman Janae Jefferson and sophomore Kaitlyn Washington boast all-conference bats. Von Sprecken, Wright and junior Brooke Bolinger have contributed to a team ERA of 2.49, second-best in the Big 12.

“I think we’re in a really good place right now,” Leahy said. “We’re just really excited to start postseason and prove to ourselves how we can really play.”

Texas has never played Boise State, although Bolinger beat the Broncos twice while pitching for Nevada in 2016. But UT scouting reports do exist on Minnesota and Washington.

Minnesota recorded 5-2 and 11-6 wins over Texas in 2017. While leading Iowa State’s program in2017, Minnesota coach Jamie Trachsel also won two of the three games she coached against UT. And Washington, which was then the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, earned a 2-1 win over the Longhorns on Feb. 21. The teams battled through four scoreless innings before