AUSTIN – Cat Osterman struck out 18 and allowed just two base hits to lead No. 3 national seed Texas to a 4-0 victory over UTSA in the first round of the NCAA Regional before a sellout crowd of 1,327 at Red and Charline McCombs Field.
The Roadrunners fall to 37-13 on the season and will face Utah, a team UTSA defeated, 8-0, in February, in an elimination game at 3:30 p.m. Saturday. The Longhorns move to 50-7 and will meet Indiana, 3-0 winners over Utah, at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Osterman allowed only three base runners in running her record to 33-2 on the year. Sophomore Amanda Nikolenko (23-6) was tagged with her first loss in 14 decisions with four runs – two earned – on nine hits.
At the plate, senior Jessica Els (right) and junior Aimee Murray picked up the only base hits of the evening for the Roadrunners. Kacie GAskin was 3-for-3 with a home run, while Megan Willis and Desiree Williams had two hits apiece to pace the Longhorns.
“I was proud of the way we pitched and the way we swung the bat tonight against one of the best pitchers we’ll see all year,” UTSA first year head coach Lori Cook said. “Our first priority was to cut down on our strikeouts and obviously try to stay off the drop ball. I am happy with our at-bats even though we had strikeouts. I don’t think we have anything to hang our heads about.”
Texas threatened with a leadoff double by Williams in the bottom of the first but Nikolenko worked out of the jam with some solid defense, getting a pop-up, a ground ball and a hard line drive off the bat of Willis that was snagged by freshman Brittany Cantu at third to end the frame.
UTSA had its first base runner in the top of the third as junior Stevi Simpson drew a leadoff walk. Freshman pinch-runner Tamieka Trujillo moved to second on Osterman’s first wild pitch of the season but was stranded with three strikeouts.
Texas broke through for a pair of unearned runs in the third. Williams singled off the bag at third and stole second on a close play in front of the base. A two-out, two-base throwing error off the bat of Chez Sievers pushed across the first run and Willis singled home Sievers with a ground ball through the right side to make it 2-0 Longhorns.
Els led off the fourth with a stand-up double to the gap in right center but junior pinch-runner Catherine Garza was stranded on a groundout and a pair of Ks.
Gaskin lined her second home run of the season over the left field wall to push the Texas lead to 3-0 after four.
Willis had her second two-out RBI-single in the fifth, plating Tina Boutelle – who reached on a perfect bunt single - from second on a line drive up the middle to make it 4-0.
Murray lined a single to left to start the seventh but was stranded at first after a pop up and a pair of strikeouts.
“We expect to be back in the championship game against Texas,” Cook said. “We’re going to put this behind us, come out tomorrow and hit the ball the way we have been all year.”
That UTSA-Utah contest starts at 3:30 p.m. and can be heard live on goUTSA.com.
POST-GAME QUOTES
UTSA head coach Lori Cook
Her general statement on the game...
“I am very proud of our team. I think we came out tonight and made some adjustments from the first time we played Texas in February. Our first priority was to cut down on our strikeouts and obviously try to stay off the drop ball. I am happy with our at-bats even though we had strikeouts. We took our hacks up there and I don’t think we have anything to be disappointed about. Anytime you face (Cat) Osterman, getting two hits was a great improvement for us and putting the ball in play like we did is a good thing. I was proud of the way we swung the bat tonight. The most important thing for our team is that we go into tomorrow thinking about getting to Sunday’s championship game.”
UTSA senior catcher Jessica Els
On what is different to when facing Cat Osterman...
“I have been facing her since high school, when we were both in Houston together. She is obviously an amazing pitcher. There is no doubt about that, you have to tip your hat to her. Her movement is unbelievable and it is unlike anything we have seen in our Southland Conference games. I think that every time we play her we adjust and get better. We can take that away from tonight’s game.”
Texas head coach Connie Clark
Her general assessment of the game...
“All I really have to say is that it feels like forever since we have played! To get back out after the Big 12 Conference tournament and come back out her to play, it seriously feels like it has been about a month. After practicing all week, it’s great to get a game under our belt.
I think we had some good things happen tonight. Cat absolutely settled into a rhythm out there. I think the hitters came out and attacked very well and we put the scouting notes to use. We also got some solid defense when we needed that as well. We had good communication on defense, so all in all, it was a pretty well-rounded game for us.
After the Big 12 tournament, we needed to come back and tweak our offense. We needed to take some pressure off ourselves, offensively. Like (Megan) Willis said, mentally, it’s a new season now for us.”
Texas senior pitcher Cat Osterman
On her pitching tonight...
“Once I settled in, I did well in the first three innings and felt like that set the tone for me. They had a game plan and I think they were attacking my down-pitch. After two strikes, we finally realized what they were doing and we kind of went away from that towards the end; that is when we got a few more strike-outs than normal. I felt good, it just took me a while to get in the groove. Part of that is not ending so well in the Big 12’s and having a long layoff since last Thursday without throwing in-game situations that often. I was ready to go, but I was almost too ready to go.”
On having a chip on her shoulder after Texas’ 0-2 exit from the Big 12 Championship...
“Oh, absolutely not. It’s behind us. It is a new ballgame, a new time of season. It is now or never right now for us. I am just coming out to play my game. Everything else is behind us, like I said. We all feel that way.”
Texas junior catcher Megan Willis
On Texas making hitting adjustments this past week in preparation for the NCAAs...
“We have really focused on hitting this past week. We obviously were a little off at the plate the previous weeks. We practiced a lot and we came out here and put what we did at practice into the game. We relaxed a little bit and took off a lot of the pressure we had put upon ourselves. We just came out here to have fun. Like everyone says, we like to think of it as a whole new season. Everyone is 0-0.”
Texas freshman designated player Kacie Gaskin
On how the extra hitting practices helped her have a strong offensive game..
“The extra practice has been huge for me. One thing that helps me get going is a lot of quality cuts and repetition, and that is what I got this week. So it was great to be able to do that.”