When it comes to pitching, Texas softball coach Mike White believes there’s strength in numbers.

The No. 1 Longhorns (47-7) may not enter this week’s NCAA Tournament with a workhorse ace who gobbles up the innings and racks up the strikeouts, wins and other such metrics. But no other squad in the 64-team field boasts a deeper rotation.

Texas' five pitchers provide plenty of starting experience for a staff that boasts a 1.80 ERA and holds opposing batters to a .197 average. And there’s not much difference when it comes to efficiency; all five boast an ERA of 2.14 or lower, and none of them allows foes to hit better than .216.

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“The nice thing about having five pitchers is (opponents) are not quite sure which rotation we're going to go with,” White said Wednesday ahead of Friday's NCAA opener against Siena at McCombs Field. “We’re definitely excited to have five of them available.”

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Texas pitchers boast different styles, same effectiveness

The Longhorns' fearsome five run the gamut when it comes to style in the circle.

Freshman Teagan Kavan (17-2) brings the heat, as evident by her team-high 101 strikeouts in 101⅓ innings. Sophomore Citlaly Gutierrez (10-1) boasts an unshakeable demeanor, lots of control and a 1.49 ERA. Junior Mac Morgan (12-1) leans on her grit and a dynamic drop ball. Estelle Czech (8-3) possesses plenty of senior savvy, a career 31-9 record and a career-low 1.64 ERA. Junior Sophia Simpson is the only pitcher to not start this season and has only thrown 5⅔ innings over the past two months, but her nasty changeup has the staff’s lowest opponent’s batting average at .155 as well as the best strikeout rate.

It all adds up to trouble for an opposing lineup, Czech said.

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“We're all really different,” she said. “We're all very versatile. You know, we have a rise ball, we have the drop ball, we have the curve, the change. The offenses that we are facing, they don't really know what's coming.”

They don’t know who’s going, either, if a Texas pitcher does run into trouble. Because of the effectiveness of each one, White says he’s comfortable making a quick pitching decision in the middle of a game, especially in the pressure-packed moments of the NCAA Tournament.

“I think the ability to make a decision early if I had to, you know, that’s important,” he said. “There are good pitchers to come in. And they're all a little bit different, so we can kind of change it up if we have to, if we have someone and it’s just not their day. We can make that move.”

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Prep work means extra work for opposing lineups

Like any team’s lineup, Texas’ hitters want to enter a game as primed as possible. They’ll pore over film to find a pitcher’s tendencies to gain an edge at the plate, and they’ll share any tips with teammates.

Scouting Texas pitching means packing a lunch for a study session. Texas utility player Joley Mitchell, a Notre Dame transfer who’s hitting .378 with 31 RBIs and 44 runs, doesn’t envy opposing lineups as they try and get ready for the Longhorns.

“I mean, we prepare all week for everybody that we might see, but we hit heavy on the people that we know we're going to see,” Mitchell said. “So if you kind of throw them off, it is a little bit tougher. As a hitter, you kind of have to change your mindset and change your plan for each pitcher.”

Second baseman Alyssa Washington agreed, saying the prep work can weigh heavy on a hitter’s mind at the plate.

“For us, if we're facing a team that has depth as a staff, we have to just really study each pitcher,” Washington said. “You have to see what they pitch in this situation or what they throw in certain counts. It's just really studying who you're going to face. It’s hard because you just never know who until that lineup comes out.”

The Texas pitcher that Texas hitters don't like to face

And when it comes to hitting sessions against their own staff? Mitchell and Washington are quick to praise all the pitchers, but both admit that Gutierrez makes things particularly difficult at the plate.

“Oh, Cit, she always just kills me,” Mitchell said." She's got different speeds and she'll mix it up, and I feel like I can never catch back up to her.”

Washington, a team captain and dugout leader, nodded in agreement.

“I would say Cit, too,” she said. “She has so much in her pocket, the movement, the different spin she has. And her demeanor is very intimidating. She's very calm, so you can't tell she's rattled. You can't tell what she's thinking. She just keeps a straight face.

“But all of our other pitchers are great, too. I think all of our pitchers bring something so unique and special to the mound. And I think that's why we have such good depth, and we can just call on anyone at any moment and know that they're going to have our backs.”

Austin Regional

Friday-Sunday, McCombs Field. Follow our live game coverage during this weekend's Texas games on Hookem.com.

Friday — (Game 1) Texas vs. Siena, 3 p.m., LHN; (2) St. Francis vs. Northwestern, 5:30 p.m., ESPN+; Saturday — (3) Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner, noon; (4) Game 1 loser vs. Game 2 loser, 2:30 p.m.; (5) Game 4 winner vs. Game 3 loser, 5 p.m. Sunday — (6) Game 5 winner vs. Game 3 winner; (7) Game 6 winner vs. Game 6 loser, if needed

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: No. 1 Texas softball leaning on deep pitching entering NCAA Tournament