OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Teagan Kavan has earned a new nickname.
“I now call her Ice Kavan,” Texas coach Mike White said.
The freshman acquired the moniker by throwing back-to-back one-hitters against Stanford in the Women’s College World Series. Texas beat the Cardinal 1-0 on Monday night to advance to the best-of-three championship series.
The top-seeded Longhorns (55-8) are two wins away from their first national title. They will play the winner of Tuesday’s semifinal matchup between No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 4 Florida on Wednesday.
Kavan said she was even more comfortable playing at 13,000-seat Devon Park than she was when she shut down Stanford on the opening day of the World Series.
“Honestly, I was real calm today,” she said. “I was more in control of my breathing. Felt more in control of the game. Had no doubt we were going to pull through. I was real calm today and ready to get after it.”
Texas has won three games at Oklahoma City, all of them one-hit shutouts. Kavan blanked eighth-seeded Stanford on Thursday, throwing 124 pitches in a 4-0 win, and the Longhorns beat Florida 10-0 on Saturday, with Mac Morgan working five one-hit innings in a game shortened by the mercy rule.
Alyssa Washington scored the lone run for the Longhorns in the seventh inning Monday, beating the tag at the plate on a rundown attempt after a bunt by Ashton Maloney.
That was enough for Kavan, who retired the side in order in the bottom half. She struck out seven and walked one.
Kavan outlasted Stanford’s NiJaree Canady — the USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year and national leader in ERA and strikeouts.
Canady gave up one unearned run and five hits and struck out seven against the Longhorns, who lead the country in batting average. She threw every inning in four games for the Cardinal at the World Series.
“Obviously NiJaree was fantastic all week, fantastic today,” Stanford coach Jessica Allister said. “I mean, maybe one of the best performances in Oklahoma City that I’ve seen, at least. None of us that are around here all the time are surprised. Just gritty and tough and phenomenal.”
Washington led off the seventh with a grounder to Stanford second baseman Taryn Kern, who couldn’t field it cleanly. She moved to third on a double by Joley Mitchell. Maloney then tried to bunt Washington home, and she was called safe after the rundown. The call was upheld after a Stanford challenge.
Washington said she baited the Cardinal into the rundown.
“What was going through my head was whatever it takes to score,” she said. “I know in a ballgame like that, it takes one run to get ahead. It was going through my mind: whatever it takes.”
Stanford (50-17) was the last Pac-12 team left in the tournament. The traditional softball powerhouse league will split up next season. The Cardinal will head to the Atlantic Coast Conference.
“We all don’t know how it’s going to turn out in the future, what’s going to happen, how it’s going to play out,” said White, who previously coached in the Pac-12 at Oregon. “It was a money move just for TV and everything. I’m just sad to see that conference fold.”
Allister hasn’t given up hope.
“Hopefully one day it will come back in some form,” she said.
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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
