The Texas softball team made a statement to Oklahoma, the Big 12 and the national pollsters this past weekend by handing the top-ranked Sooners their first series loss in 13 years.

But most of all, the Longhorns made a statement to themselves.

“I think we did what a lot of people thought was impossible and that was beat Oklahoma two days in a row,” Texas coach Mike White said after his team’s 2-1 win Sunday that clinched the series 2-1. “I think we learned a lot about ourselves this weekend.”

More: Texas softball eager for top-five home showdown with defending national champion Oklahoma

Freshman Katie Stewart, one of the heroes from the Oklahoma series, agreed. She said beating the three-time defending champion Sooners in itself marks a major achievement. But coming on the heels of a series loss at Oklahoma State validates some of the hype that has surrounded Texas, which has been ranked in the top 10 all season in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll.

“I feel like getting these two wins is really big as a bounce back,” said Stewart, whose two-run homer Sunday accounted for Texas' runs. “And, you know, we always get told that we're such a good team. Just how we executed this week, I really think it kind of proves that.”

Texas’ Estelle Czech proved the most effective member of a deep pitching staff against the Sooners. In six innings of work in the series, she didn’t allow a single run to the nation’s highest-scoring offense while earning both the Big 12 pitcher of the week and Wilson/NFCA pitcher of the week awards.

According to Czech, the Longhorns met the moment by staying disciplined in the circle, playing stellar defense — Texas’ lone error of the series came in Oklahoma’s 5-2 win on Friday — and getting timely hits.

“They're a very, very good team, but we're also a very, very good team,” she said. “They obviously have their strengths. But we have our strengths, too. And we were just confident in our strengths, and that helped us a lot.”

Things don’t get much easier for Texas this week. The No. 2 Longhorns (31-6, 11-4 Big 12), who still trail Oklahoma (35-3, 13-2) in the USA Today/NFCA poll and in the Big 12 standings, face No. 25 Texas State in a nonconference game Wednesday before a three-game series with a Baylor team that also received votes in the poll.

“We've got a big challenge ahead of us coming up,” White said. “You get to enjoy (the Oklahoma win) for a little bit, but we’ve got to get back to business this week.”

Texas moves up to No. 2 in national poll

In this week’s USA Today/NFCA poll, the Longhorns fell four points short of the top spot despite their series win over Oklahoma. Texas tallied 766 points and nine first-place votes in Tuesday’s poll compared to 770 points and 12 first-place votes for OU. Duke (33-3) is the third team in what is currently a three-team race for the top spot; the Blue Devils racked up 760 points and 10 first-place votes.

Tennessee is a distant fourth with 666 points while No. 5 Oklahoma State, which stands second in the Big 12, is the only other team to garner a first-place vote.

Texas moved ahead of Oklahoma to No. 1 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll.

USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll

April 9

New to Poll: No. 25 Texas State

Dropped Out: No. 25 Baylor

Receiving Votes: Louisiana (25), Baylor (19), Kentucky (17), Miami (17), Kansas (8), FAU (5), Virginia (5), Nevada (3), Northwestern (2), Auburn (1), Grand Canyon (1).

Wednesday's game

No. 25 Texas State (32-9) at No. 2 Texas (31-6), 4:30 p.m., LHN

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas softball beat OU. What's next, and where do the Horns now rank?