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

Yes, Texas coach Mike White acknowledges that dropping two of three games at No. 6 Oklahoma State last weekend narrowed his team’s chance’s of winning the Big 12 title. And yes, scoring only two runs in that series doesn’t bode well for the Longhorns, considering No. 1 Oklahoma is now in Austin looking fully loaded for a run at a fourth consecutive national title.

But don’t call those setbacks losses, said White, whose team fell to No. 5 in this week’s USA Today/NFCA poll.

“One of the things we've kind of talked about: There is no losing here; there's only learning,” White said while meeting with the media Thursday. “What did you learn from playing these teams? It's everything. If we just go out there and we just take a loss and we don't learn from it, then it’s just going to be a loss.”

That’s why White tries to downplay the significance of this weekend’s meeting with the Sooners, even though the eyes of the softball world — and the ESPN cameras — will be on McCombs Field for the three-game series that starts Friday at McCombs Field.

“We're hoping that whatever happens here (this weekend) prepares us for even later in the season,” White said. “We can't win or lose the national championship this weekend.”

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Can Texas hand OU a second straight loss in Austin?

But the Longhorns (29-5, 9-3 Big 12) can do something extremely rare by beating Oklahoma (34-1, 12-0) for a second consecutive time in Austin. The last time Oklahoma played at McCombs, Texas snapped the Sooners' 40-game winning streak with a 4-2 victory in April 2022 before a record crowd that reached 4,883 for the series.

This weekend could be even bigger since it’s the first home top-five matchup for Texas since 2003, when the Longhorns hosted Oklahoma.

“I think both teams are equally as talented,” said UT catcher Reese Atwood, who’s hitting .400 and leads the team with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs. “So it's going to come down to who can come up in the big moments and who can make the big plays. And I think that's what the preparation this week is aiming towards, being able to create energy, create the pressure and be able to perform in those types of situations.”

White agreed with his sophomore slugger, saying his team has to “eliminate those mistakes that maybe people don’t see” that plagued them against Oklahoma State.

“A lot of them (mistakes) don't show up on the scoreboard,” he said. “Maybe they’re opportunities to turn double plays or stop a runner from advancing in a certain situation, making big pitches in certain situations. There's a lot of those things are going to happen this weekend, and the team that executes and takes advantage of those is the one who's going to win.”

Senior infielder Alyssa Washington said it takes a simple but effective formula to hand Oklahoma its first conference loss.

“It's just capitalizing on mistakes, executing and having great defense,” she said.

Could Mac Morgan start against the Sooners?

But who will step into the circle for that defense? White would rather pluck out his moustache hairs than divulge his starters, but he did sound ready to give junior Mac Morgan the ball this weekend. She’s gone 44-7 over the past three seasons, including the 2022 campaign at Arizona State and last year with Texas. This season, she boasts an 8-0 record with a 1.26 ERA and has avoided some of the valleys that occasionally catch young stars in sophomore Citlaly Gutierrez and freshman Teagan Kavan, who gave up four hits and three runs in 2.1 innings in her lone appearance against Oklahoma State.

Having gone through multiple collegiate battles could mean more Morgan and senior Estelle Czech this weekend, White hinted.

“I mean, she (Morgan) has been there and done that before,” he said. “This is her third year, and she’s been in those big situations. Estelle is another one that's been there. Obviously, it's tough for a freshman like Kavan to be able to come out in that situation, but it's also a learning thing for her, too.”

Morgan brushed back any questions about this weekend’s starters as she would a batter crowding the plate.

“Every pitcher wants the ball, but with our staff, we’re supportive of each other,” Morgan said. “When someone gets their opportunity, we support them even when it's not their day, because I've not had my day, too.”

But when asked if she wanted the challenge of facing an Oklahoma lineup that leads the nation with a .394 batting average, she grinned and nodded.

“Obviously, OU is good, but we've played a lot of good teams this year,” she said. “And I think we're more prepared than we were last year with this team.”

This weekend's series

No. 1 Oklahoma (34-1, 12-0) at No. 5 Texas (29-5, 9-3), 5:30 p.m. Friday (ESPNU), 7 p.m. Saturday (ESPN), 1 p.m. Sunday (LHN)