Texas softball continues to dominate.
Within a span of 72 hours last week, the Longhorns took down No. 10 Louisiana-Lafayette, No. 1 UCLA and No. 2 Washington. Defeating the top two teams in the country in consecutive games is the first in program history.
After suffering a loss to unranked Fresno State shortly after, Texas bounced back to defeat the No. 13 team in the country. Junior first baseman and outfielder Lauren Burke played a critical role in each of Texas’ key wins.
She was clutch at the plate, demolishing two home runs in crucial moments to propel Texas over UCLA and Washington. Burke hit .458 (11-for-24) with five doubles, six RBIs and a 1.375 OPS. Her consistent performances earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors.
She wasn’t the only Longhorn recognized, as sophomore pitcher Shea O’Leary was named Big 12 Pitcher of the Week after going 2-0 with 11 strikeouts over 15 innings. O’Leary also tossed a complete-game shutout to defeat No. 13 Michigan.
Texas’ impressive week on the west coast was enough to earn the No. 1 spot in Softball America’s Top 25 Poll.
WE'RE NO. 1⃣!! Texas climbs into the top spot in this week's @SoftbalAmerica Top 25 poll! Check out all our rankings:
No. 1⃣ – @SoftbalAmerica
No. 2⃣ – @espn/@USASoftball (five first-place votes)
No. 3⃣ – @USATODAY/@NFCAorg (two first-place votes)#OneTeamOneTexas | #HookEm pic.twitter.com/un9eqQiept— Texas Softball (@TexasSoftball) March 3, 2020
Texas is back at home this weekend to host New Mexico, Texas Southern and Liberty in the Longhorn Invitational.