No. 3 Texas walks off No. 9 LSU again to capture crucial SEC softball series
AUSTIN (KXAN) — It wasn't quite as dramatic as Reese Atwood's walk-off grand slam in Game 1 of the series, but it still did the job.
Kayden Henry scored from second base on a Mia Scott infield single in the bottom of the seventh inning to lift No. 3 Texas to a 6-5 win over No. 9 Louisiana State on Saturday at McCombs Field, giving the Longhorns a 2-1 series victory.
Texas won Thursday's opener 7-3 on Atwood's late blast and lost the second game Friday 6-1.
Texas trailed 5-4 in the seventh before Henry delivered an RBI single with two outs into left field to score Leighann Goode. Henry swiped second base to get into scoring position, and then Scott hit a dribbler in front of LSU pitcher Sydney Berzon.
Scott hustled down the line and beat Berzon's throw to first base, and with her elite speed and awareness, Henry raced around third and headed to the plate. The throw home was up the third base line and popped out of the catcher's glove, allowing Henry to slide in safely for the game-winning run.
"We needed to get this win," Henry said. "When I saw the throw out of her hand, it was like, what do we have to lose at this point? We could go to another inning or win it right here. I just took the risk."
Getting the series win was particularly important to Texas, coming off its first series loss in Southeastern Conference play last weekend against Tennessee. Henry, who had a .564 batting average with runners in scoring position for the season before her clutch hit, said head coach Mike White pumped her up before she tied the game.
"He believed in me and said that this was the situation that I lived for," she said. "He said that this is where I wanted to be and to believe in myself."
It was a wild ride leading up to the final play. Tied 1-1 through five innings, the Tigers moved ahead in the top of the sixth on a McKenzie Redoutey 2-run home run off Teagan Kavan. The Longhorns responded with a 3-run homer by Joley Mitchell with two outs in the bottom half, swinging the game toward Texas 4-3.
The Tigers regained the lead with two runs in the seventh, but the Longhorns had the final at-bat. Goode smacked a double to lead off the Longhorns' half and advanced to third on an Ashton Maloney ground out before scoring on Henry's clutch single.
Atwood gave Texas a 1-0 lead in the second with a home run, her 16th of the season and 50th of her career. She and Henry had two hits for the Longhorns, helping the squad out-hit the Tigers 8-6. LSU left six runners on base and was 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position.
"That was about Texas Fight," White said. "Teagan didn't have her best stuff, but LSU is an excellent hitting team, but she just didn't give in."
Kavan picked up her 20th win of the season in the circle, allowing four earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts and three walks. Two of the free passes came in the seventh inning, but she buckled down and worked around the second walk to strand a runner and give her offense a chance.
It doesn't get easier next week for the Longhorns (41-6, 13-5 SEC). They'll begin an Oklahoma road trip Wednesday in Stillwater to take on former Big 12 foe No. 22 Oklahoma State, and then they're in Norman for a 3-game set with the No. 4 Sooners at Love's Field.