Most of the softball world saw the matchup between No. 1 Texas and No. 4 Florida as one of the best matchups that we’d see in the Women’s College World Series this year.
After all, the game pitted two of the nation’s top-four scoring offenses against one another, but just one of them appeared to get the memo that there was a game on Saturday.
Texas absolutely annihilated the Gators in a 10-0 run rule that lasted just five innings.
With the win, Texas (54-8) will now get Sunday off as they prepare for a semifinal matchup against the winner of Game 10, which will pit No. 8 Stanford against No. 6 UCLA on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Florida (52-14) will now face Alabama in an elimination game after the Crimson Tide beat Duke 2-1 to stay alive.
Here are three thoughts on Texas’ win and what it means for the Longhorns going forward.
Longhorns Leave Florida Pitching Staff Rothrocked
Texas wasted no time in setting the tone in this ballgame as they jumped all over Florida freshman Keagan Rothrock, who had a two-hit gem against Oklahoma State on Thursday night. Longhorns leadoff batter Bella Dayton got on base in her first AB with a single and scored two batters later on a single from Viviana Martinez to get UT on the board, 1-0. After a HBP put Reese Atwood on first, Katie Stewart walked to the plate with two on and connected for a double that brought Martinez home to make it 2-0, ‘Horns.
Just 14 pitches into the game, Florida head coach Tim Walton elected to pull Rothrock put Ava Brown in the game. Her first batter faced was Alyssa Washington, and the Texas infielder blew the game wide open with a three-run shot to make it 5-0 in the first.
Texas would pour it on from there, leading 9-0 by the end of the third after a pair of home runs–a solo blast from Martinez and a three-run shot from Katie Stewart. The Longhorns added another insurance run to make it 10-0, and from there, the game was wrapped pretty quickly.
Mac Morgan Continues Postseason Dominance
One of the things that makes Texas so scary right now isn’t even their offense—which is white hot. It’s the pitching staff, which has allowed just two hits since arriving in Oklahoma City. While Teagan Kavan one-hit Stanford on Thursday, it was Mac Morgan who got the ball for the Longhorns on Saturday.
In five innings of work, Morgan allowed the Florida offense just one hit (in the fifth) and one walk while tying her season-high with five strikeouts on the evening. It was a dominant performance from the Longhorns’ steadiest arm this postseason, and going forward it appears that she has earned the trust from her staff to get the ball against potent offenses.
While UF has struggled in OKC offensively, the Gators’ lineup has really produced all season long. In fact, Saturday night’s shutout at the hands of Texas was the first time Florida was held without a run in 40 contests, dating back to a 3-0 loss at the hands of Alabama on March 11.
Holding that kind of offense scoreless–and nearly hitless–is one heck of a statement for the Longhorns. Now, with a day to rest and prepare for the semifinals on Monday, Texas is in great position to make it back to the WCWS finals for the second time in three seasons. Speaking of that…
Is an All-Big 12 National Championship Inevitable?
After the first three days of action, we’ve seen two teams eliminated from OKC (Duke, Oklahoma State), two teams survive elimination after their first loss (Alabama, Stanford), and two teams jump out to 1-0 starts and then lose their second game on Saturday (UCLA, Florida).
The two remaining teams in the field went 2-0 through the first weekend and are now just one win away from securing their spot in the WCWS Finals: No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Oklahoma.
Oklahoma run-ruled Duke 9-1 on Thursday and then outdueled UCLA in a 1-0 contest earlier this afternoon and awaits the winner of Alabama and Florida on their side of the bracket. Meanwhile, Texas beat Stanford 4-0 and now Florida 10-0, and awaits either Stanford or UCLA on their side.
It feels highly unlikely that we see Oklahoma or Texas drop two games in a day at this point, and while it’s not impossible, it would be extremely surprising after the way they’ve looked as of late.
If we are lucky enough to have a Red River Rivalry in the National Championship series, the college softball world will be in for one heck of a treat.
The Sooners and Longhorns have split four matchups this season, with Texas winning a pair of 2-1 contests and Oklahoma winning 5-2 in their first matchup and 5-1 in the Big 12 Championship Game a few weeks ago.
From start to finish, Oklahoma and Texas have been the two best teams in college softball in 2024. Now, we are on the cusp of seeing them play a best-of-three series for all the marbles. What could be better than that?
