AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Texas softball team clinched its first national championship Friday in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and then couldn’t wait to celebrate the historic feat back in Austin.
The team gathered with university officials and fans Saturday at McCombs Field to bask in the glory on its home field after a 10-4 win over Texas Tech in the Women’s College World Series finals at Devon Park. Texas won the best-of-3 series 2-1 after picking up a 2-1 win Wednesday before dropping the second game 4-3 Thursday to the Red Raiders.
“It means the world,” sophomore pitcher Teagan Kavan said. She was named the WCWS’ most outstanding player. “It’s a testament to everyone who has come before us and helped pave the way.”
Longhorns head coach Mike White, who won his first national title in his eighth appearance at the WCWS (five with Oregon and three with Texas), said there were a couple of times during the season when the team learned a lot about itself.
“The Clemson game, for sure. Any kind of ground ball, mishap, wild pitch, passed ball, your season is done and all your hard work goes for nothing,” he said. “The other time was that Oklahoma series where we got beat soundly, lost three games up there. We started a new season after that, it was opening day after that.”
Kavan pointed at the 14-2 loss to Texas A&M in the Southeastern Conference tournament semifinals as a moment that helped propel the Longhorns through the postseason.
“That wasn’t the outcome that we wanted, and we talked as a unit at the end and said that we had a choice,” Kavan said. “We had a choice to end our season how we wanted to, and we did that.”
Texas exorcised some demons on its way to the national championship, beating rival Oklahoma in WCWS play for the first time at Devon Park. Oklahoma had won seven consecutive WCWS games over the Longhorns until a 4-2 Texas win in the second game of the tournament.
The Longhorns finished the season with a 56-12 record, setting a program record for wins in a season. Last year’s team and the 2006 team won 55 games.
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