Reese Atwood blasts Texas' first walk-off grand slam in 7-3 win over LSU
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Reese Atwood's only hit of the game against Louisiana State on Thursday ended up in the Texas softball record book.
She blasted the first walk-off grand slam in Longhorns softball history, lifting No. 3 Texas to a 7-3 victory over the No. 9 Tigers at McCombs Field.
Atwood's line drive homer to win the game bounced off the graduate student apartments beyond the left field fence, almost 300 feet from home plate. It was her 15th home run of the season and capped a tremendous late-game rally.
"I was just going up there and looking for a ball over the plate and I thought that was one," she said. "I've always been one to not be afraid to swing at the first pitch. I feel it always just comes down to that."
Texas trailed 3-0 into the sixth inning before getting to LSU pitcher Sydney Berzon, scoring all seven runs off long balls. Mia Scott smashed a 2-run home run, and then Joley Mitchell hit a solo blast to tie the game.
MORE THAN THE SCORE: Stay up to date on sports stories like these, and sign up for our More than the Score sports newsletter at kxan.com/newsletters
After Teagan Kavan worked out of a small jam in the seventh, the Longhorns' offense did just enough to get Atwood to the plate. Kaydee Bennett reached on an LSU error with one out, and with two outs, Kayden Henry reached on what was ruled a single after the LSU first baseman missed a tag attempt to put two runners on. Scott drew a walk to load the bases, setting the stage for Atwood's dramatic game-ending laser beam out of the yard.
All four runs were unearned due to the error that Bennett reached on.
LSU out-hit Texas 9-6, but Kavan got outs when her team needed her to. She struck out five with a walk, allowing one earned run on nine hits. LSU left nine runners on base and was 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position.
It's Texas' 40th win of the season and head coach Mike White's 300th win of his Texas career. The series continues at 4:30 p.m. Friday.