 "Photo: Chris Kominczak")
 "Photo: Chris Kominczak")
Texas players and fans are in for double the excitement this evening.
In the midst of their exceptionally competitive conference schedule, the Longhorns will take a break from Big 12 play tonight as they face off with Sam Houston State in a double-header that starts at 5 p.m. at McCombs Field.
However, the Sam Houston double-header is hardly a walk in the park. Non-conference games are significant for regionals.
"We need to continue to plug away," head coach Connie Clark said. "We have to get wins in [the Sam Houston games] to be able to progress and do the things that we want to do in our region."
Texas (20-16-2, 6-5 Big 12) leads Sam Houston (26-22, 11-10 Southland) nine games to one in the record books. The last time the Bearkats beat the Longhorns was in 1997, and since then, the Longhorns have won the last nine meetings.
The Longhorns' recent performances have gotten them a little media attention. For the second time this season, the NFCA released their Simulated Ratings Percentage Index in which the Longhorns currently hold the 40th spot. They are also ranked 15th in having one of the toughest schedules in the nation.
The Longhorns have had solid performances for the past few weeks in conference play. This past weekend, they had a split series with Kansas, dropping game one of their double-header 8-1, but then coming back in game two as they beat the Jayhawks 2-1. In their win, senior pitcher Meagan Denny tossed a complete game, with 11 strikeouts, and sophomore Tallie Thrasher lit up the scoreboard with both of the runs. In addition to those weekend highlights, sophomore Loryn Johnson extended her team-best and career-high hitting streak to 11 games.
Johnson leads the starters in RBI with 28 and is second on the team in batting average, hitting at a .366 clip.
Denny is currently 14-5 with a 1.77 ERA, and freshman Brittany Barnhill is 5-9 with a 3.02 ERA.
The Longhorns seem to have developed a habit of trailing in the first game of a two or three-game series. The team hopes to come out with the momentum that they usually gain in their second game in their first game tonight against Sam Houston. If the Longhorns are able to take care of business tonight, they will have enough drive and energy to keep them going through Thursday's game and weekend series.
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