Newly minted as the nation’s No. 1 softball team by both DISoftball and ESNP/USA Today, Texas wrapped up its Longhorn Invitational on Monday with a 7-1 win over Penn State at McCombs Field.

Now, top-ranked Texas (18-1) can turn its full attention to its final Big 12 run, which begins with a trip to Houston this weekend.

A pair of freshmen showcased their skills in Monday's win. Katie Stewart became the first player to hit the recently built apartment complex for graduate students beyond McCombs' left-field wall with a solo homer off Penn State’s Paige Maynard in the bottom of the fifth inning. Stewart quickly credited fellow freshman Ryan Brown for sending a ball into the building in practice, but Stewart officially becomes the first Longhorn to christen the complex, even if the achievement is more for dugout bragging rights than any official record.

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“(Maynard) was mixing in and out and I felt I was on time, and I wasn’t too worried about the off-speed (pitches), so when she brought it inside, I kind of just turned on it and knew I had hit it solid,” she said. “I hit it hard.”

Texas' Teagan Kavan also had a big weekend and earned the Big 12’s pitcher of the week award on Tuesday. The Iowa native accounted for 10 of Texas’ 29 scoreless innings in five wins last week and didn’t allow an earned run. Her opponents’ batting average of .121 was the lowest of any Big 12 pitcher who faced at least 30 batters last week. She also finished the week with 13 strikeouts in two appearances, which were the most by any Big 12 pitcher who made at least two appearances in the circle on the week.

A seven-inning complete game shutout against Texas State on Feb. 28 highlighted her week. Kavan allowed just two hits — both singles — and matched her career high with nine strikeouts against the Bobcats.

Kavan returned to the circle Saturday and threw three scoreless innings in a 13-0, five-inning victory over Hofstra. During the contest, she struck out four batters and surrendered just two hits, both singles.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Now ranked No. 1, Texas softball leans on freshmen to beat Penn Sate