Destiny just may be on Texas' side, but so is an awfully deep softball roster | Bohls
OKLAHOMA CITY — Texas has been impressive, to say the least.
Of course, you’d expect that from the only unbeaten softball team in this Women’s College World Series after three dominant victories. But it’s been how the Longhorns have dominated that’s been the surprise.
Reese Atwood hasn't hit a home run in this WCWS or driven in a single run. And she's leading the nation in RBIs. Citaly Gutierrez has been the Longhorns’ No. 2 pitcher all season long. She hasn’t seen the pitcher's circle even so much as to face one batter yet. And Texas has smashed 92 home runs but didn't hit a one out of Devon Park in two of their three victories here and won Monday's semifinal 1-0 on a faulty Stanford rundown of all things.
Yeah, Texas looks a whole lot like the No. 1 seed that it is.
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Can you say complete team? Can you say the favorite to win the school’s first national championship in softball?
There’s no reason to say otherwise. The 3-0 Longhorns will get a prime chance to prove those things when the best-of-three championship series against Oklahoma starts Wednesday night.
“They’re winning without Reese Atwood,” ESPN softball analyst Jessica Mendoza told me Tuesday. “She’s a national player of the year finalist, and it’s not all on her.”
No, it’s not.
Texas is winning in different ways at the WCWS
In fact, she has been one of the best players in all of college softball this season. But her role has been in a reduced fashion up here through no fault of her own. Texas coach Mike White admitted Tuesday that Atwood has been pressing a bit “because she wants to help her team so much. She wants to do big things, trust me.”
That said, it’s just hard to tell the stars from the supporting cast on this Texas team.
That’s mostly because it’s an uber-talented club that is chock full of stars. Some established stars, others budding stars on the rise, but a very deep lineup where rallies can start from anyone in the order.
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Atwood only has two hits in the WCWS — one of them an infield single — but six other Longhorns have driven in runs and picked her up. Freshman first baseman Katie Stewart has a team-high four RBIs, and Alyssa Washington — No. 7 in the batting order — has three.
“They’re the 1 seed for a reason,” said former Longhorns legend Cat Osterman. “They’re playing very, very well. You hope that continues.”
Texas looks, plays like a complete team
Texas may very well be a team of destiny. It’s been a confident, loose club that has been spectacular all season long. It’s playing at its highest level.
So, does Jessica Allister believe the Longhorns are that team of destiny?
“I don’t,” the Stanford coach said candidly after her team’s second WCWS loss to the Longhorns in as many tries. “Do I think they're a team that keeps the pressure on you and you're going to have to play a really good ballgame to win the game? I do. They're a good ballclub. They're a really good ballclub.”
Amen to that.
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Allister’s club had the nation’s leading strikeout pitcher, but NiJaree Canady couldn’t hold Texas at bay. She suffered 4-0 and 1-0 losses to the Longhorns here.
“I don't know that I believe there's teams of destiny,” Allister said. “When you talk about the three facets of the game — pitching, offense and defense — and the old adage is that you need two of three on any given day to give yourself a chance to win. They have a good chance of being really, really good at two of three on any given day.”
Or to be fair, all three.
“Hats off to coach White,” Allister said. “He's built a great roster. They are dynamic, deep, athletic. They've got power, they've got speed.”
When you’ve got all that, who in the heck even needs destiny’s help?
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Texas softball has a title in its sights
The Longhorns helped themselves Monday, aggressive at the plate and on the base paths. While they weren’t hitting the ball out of the yard or even close, they were finding other creative ways to make Stanford try to beat them.
They stole a base to get a baserunner in scoring position.
They used a squeeze bunt with the go-ahead run at third.
They got themselves caught in a rundown on purpose so Alyssa Washington could use her wits and her wheels to slide under a tag at home plate for the game’s only run.
They were, in a word, resourceful.
“That was an old-fashioned ballgame right there,” White said. “Pitchers’ duel. Two tremendous pitchers going at it. Whoever was going to blink first was (not) going to win. We created some pressure in the last inning.”
And that’s been a key component for the Longhorns: They don’t beat themselves. In fact, they force their opponent to do that. Texas A&M was as formidable an opponent as Texas has faced this season and led in every game of the super regional but couldn’t complete the task.
“We faced a lot of adversity already,” White said. “We faced one of the toughest schedules in the country. We've faced that super regional against our archrival that was just one of the toughest series I've ever coached in. We came through on the right side of it after being down numerous times.”
White couldn’t be more pleased to see his team perform at the highest level, especially after that Aggies series.
“I don't want to put a lid on this team and this program on what their capabilities are and what they can do,” he said.
He’ll learn for himself what those are soon enough.
WCWS championship series
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 2 Oklahoma, Wednesday-Friday, Devon Park in Oklahoma City, ESPN. Follow Thomas Jones' and Kirk Bohls' live coverage from the WCWS title series on hookem.com.
Game 1, 7 p.m. Wednesday; Game 2, 7 p.m. Thursday; Game 3, if needed, 7 p.m. Friday.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas softball is deep and perhaps destined to win WCWS championship