 "Photo: Chris Kominczak")
There are no moral victories in sports, the saying goes. But even in the face of defeat Wednesday night to No. 5 Texas A&M, the Longhorns seemed to gain more from the experience than a simple "L" in the standings.
For five innings, they stood toe-to-toe with their illustrious rivals, with freshman Brittany Barnhill matching senior ace Megan Gibson in the circle, while the bat of Loryn Johnson ignited the crowd and the offense.
"It was a good battle, but we just came up short. I thought we competed pretty well, and we were in the game the entire time," coach Connie Clark said. "We had opportunities down the stretch, but we didn't quite get it done."
But with the luster of the Lone Star Showdown removed and a weekend road trip to Lawrence, Kan., looming, the Longhorns (19-15-2, 5-4 Big 12) must face the unrelenting grind of the softball schedule.
"We have a lot of games coming up, so my commitment to them is to instill some fun into practice," Clark said. "When you get to this time of the season and you are grinding like this, you have to make it fun to come out to the ballpark every day."
One player who has been enjoying the past three weeks is sophomore shortstop Loryn Johnson. Johnson provided all the Longhorns' offense Wednesday night, her 10th home run of the season that extended a career-best 10-game hitting streak.
"We're just trying to get some consistency in the way we play," Johnson said. "We can't let one loss get us down, because we still have a lot of ball games left and a lot of opportunities to win."
The first opportunity comes Saturday against the 29-10 Jayhawks, currently one spot behind Texas in the Big 12 standings at 3-3.
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