Texas vs – Texas, the No. 2 overall seed, begins a best-of-three Austin Super Regional at McCombs Field against No. 19 Arizona State on Friday. The Longhorns (45-10) bring a streak of perfect postseason results into Game 1, while ASU rides momentum after winning the Big
The first pitch finally settles in at McCombs Field, and for Texas softball, it feels like the air has been waiting all postseason to tighten. This is the Austin Super Regional — a best-of-three series with a trip to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City on the line — and Game 1 is here.
Texas enters as the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. fresh off a run that has stopped opponents cold: 45-10 overall and six straight postseason wins. The Longhorns have already won all six of their postseason games. including three straight victories while taking the SEC Tournament. then three more wins in last week’s Austin Regional.
Arizona State arrives as the No. 19 team, 44-16, and the Sun Devils have learned how to play hot, too. ASU beat Texas Tech for the Big 12 title, then won three games at the College Station Regional — including two wins against host Texas A&M. The temperature is matching. The stakes are not.
Winner of the Austin Super Regional Series advances next week to the Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.
As Game 1 unfolds, the early exchange turns quickly into a pitch-and-battle kind of night.
Texas gets a leadoff runner in for the third straight inning. Ashton Maloney laces a single up the middle, then reaches third after a single by Vivi Martinez. Reese Atwood lines a sharply hit ball right to CF Kaylee Pond — a critical out — and Texas ends up with three hits for each team in the early frame. but an error by Texas in the prior inning becomes the difference.
That first mistake by either side already proves expensive. Tiare Ho-Ching, the No. 9 hitter for ASU. leads off with a single and reaches second on a throwing error to first by Texas pitcher Teagan Kavan. Ho-Ching eventually comes around to score on a two-out single by catcher Samantha Swan. a local product from Georgetown High School.
At the other end, Leighann Goode keeps Texas moving. Goode leads off with a walk and even adds a little OU-style bat throw to celebrate. She advances to third after a fielder’s choice and a stolen base, but ASU starter Kenzie Brown cuts the inning short by striking Jaycie Nichols out.
It’s a pitchers’ duel after that. Each team has one hit so far.
Ashleigh Mejia then puts ASU’s first real punctuation on the board. With two outs, Mejia rips a double into the right center gap for ASU’s first hit and immediately steals third. Teagan Kavan answers with her third strikeout of the game, getting Brooklyn Ulrich for the third out.
Texas keeps trying to build innings the way it can. Kayden Henry leads off with an infield single, but Brown strands her at first.
Through 11 pitches and three outs, Teagan Kavan handles the early Texas start with two strikeouts — an efficient beginning that feels like a message: the ace is ready.
Game 1 also sets up a rare head-to-head between two of the most reliable arms in college softball.
Arizona State’s Kenzie Brown. a graduate right-hander. is a recent 15th overall pick in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League collegiate draft. She has anchored the Sun Devils’ staff since joining the program for the 2022-23 season after one year at Tulsa. This season, Brown is 17-6 with a 2.23 ERA and ranks fourth in the nation in strikeouts with 246 over 153⅔ innings.
On the Texas side, Teagan Kavan — a junior — is carrying MVP momentum. She earned MVP honors at last season’s Women’s College World Series and is 23-4 with a 2.57 ERA and 1.12 WHIP. with 215 strikeouts over 174⅓ innings. She has also thrown two consecutive complete-game shutouts in the NCAA Tournament.
If that’s the story on paper, the moments of the game make it real: Kavan setting the tone, Brown fighting through Texas runners, and defense flashing when it matters.
In the field, Leighann Goode is in midseason form. In one sequence. ASU gets its fourth hit of the game from Yannixa Acuna. but Goode makes the stop at second base. Acuna is thrown out on a brilliant defensive play: Goode dives to her right and flips the ball to SS Vivi Martinez while laying on the ground. It’s the kind of routine that doesn’t look routine when the spotlight is on.
For Texas’s Game 1 lineup:
SpotPos# PlayerBatsAvg
1cf21 Kayden HenryL.410
21b20 Katie StewartR.437
3ss23 Viviana MartinezL.387
4c14 Reese AtwoodR.353
5 52b43 Leighann GoodeR.375
6dp13 Hannah WellsR.296
7lf9 Alisa SneedR.260
8 83b24 Jaycie NicholsR.339
9rf7 Ashton MaloneyL.300
10p17 Teagan KavanR-
ASU’s Game 1 lineup:
SpotPos# PlayerBatsAvg
1dp44 Tanya WindleL.398
2cf42 Kaylee PondR.348
3c32 Samantha SwanR.382
4b17 Emily ScheppR.360
5 5 51b12 Katie ChesterR.351
6rf24 Ashleigh MejiaL.326
7lf21 Yannixa AcunaL.294
8ss49 Brooklyn UlrichR.92
9b18 Tiare Ho-ChingR.259
10p10 Kenzie BrownR-
Texas enters Game 1 with Super Regional history sitting on the edges of its mind. Mike White may always advance out of regionals. but he’s also never won a Game 1 in a Super Regional series in his seven years at Texas. In the past two seasons. the Longhorns dropped the first game in a best-of-three series to Texas A&M in 2024 and Clemson in 2025 before advancing to the Women’s College World Series.
Where the game is: McCombs Field, Austin.
TV/radio: ESPN2; texaslonghorns.com.
For now, Game 1 is still being written one pitch at a time — with Texas’s streak and ASU’s momentum meeting in the only way they can: at the plate, in the circle, and in the moments defense decides what counts.
Texas softball Arizona State Sun Devils Austin Super Regional McCombs Field NCAA Tournament Teagan Kavan Kenzie Brown Women’s College World Series