No. 8 Longhorns Softball Drops Opener vs. Tennessee in Knoxville Super Regional

The Texas Longhorn Softball program fell short to the No. Tennessee Volunteers on Friday in the Knoxville Super Regional game opener. The Longhorns will need to win their next matchup to stay alive in the NCAA Tournament.

After an undefeated 2023 NCAA Tournament run so far, the No. 8/8 Texas Longhorns softball program received a wake-up call on Friday in the first game of the Knoxville Super Regional against the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers.

With a 5-2 loss recorded for the Longhorns, Texas will not be dwelling on its setback. Rather, the team will be looking toward any possible game plan that could aid in avoiding a double elimination situation.

“Congratulations to Tennessee for its win during the first game of the series," Texas head coach Mike White said. "Softball is a game of taking the most of your opportunities and they were able to do that. They did a great job with the top of their order, and we knew they were going to be a problem. ... Ultimately, they just capitalized on their opportunities, and we were unable to.”

The Volunteers took charge quickly in the second inning, scoring four runs off of sophomore and right-handed pitcher Mac Morgan. Unfortunately for the Longhorns, the score deficit was too large of a gap to catch up to, but Texas never hesitated to fight to the end.

The goal of the Longhorns for game two of the Knoxville Super Regional: bring energy and momentum from the first pitch of the game and maintain it.

“After the game, Coach White said game two will be the biggest in terms of momentum, so tomorrow, our goal is to bring the energy all the way throughout," freshman shortstop and second baseman Viviana Martinez said.

The Longhorns will look to redeem themselves on Saturday at 2 p.m. against the Volunteers in hopes of staying alive in the 2023 NCAA Division 1 Softball Tournament.

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