In the Longhorns' Big 12 debut, coach Connie Clark made a lineup change.
Not only did Clark mix up the batting order, but she decided to start freshman righty Brittany Barnhill in the circle. Under a great amount of pressure to pitch against the team's first conference opponent, Barnhill seemed to be the right choice.
The freshman earned the 5-1 win over Nebraska on Friday night after tossing five innings, allowing one run and fanning four batters. In the sixth inning, senior hurler Meagan Denny replaced Barnhill in the pitching circle to give another look.
If things go according to Texas' plan, Barnhill's win on Friday will be the first of many as they face off against the rest of the Big 12 in the next few weeks.
"[The win] felt amazing," Barnhill said. "I feel like a big girl now, holding my ground in the Big 12. I couldn't have done it without Meagan, though. She did a great job coming in for me, and I wouldn't want anything else."
In other sports, if a player gets substituted, it's usually for punishment or to get a breather. In softball, pitchers are not necessarily taken out of games for throwing poorly. The reason Denny entered the game was to shake the Huskers up a little bit.
"Barnhill could have easily stayed in the game," Clark said. "[Subbing Barnhill for Denny] was not a pitching change, but a momentum change. We got a couple of ground balls from Barnhill, kicked the ball around just a bit, so we put Denny in to change things up, and try to slow [Nebraska's] momentum down."
Clark has discussed numerous times with Barnhill and Denny - as well as the team's other two pitchers, sophomores Torrey Schroeder and Erin Tresselt - the importance of being a staff, and that each one of them should be ready to enter the pitching circle at any given time. As Barnhill put it, "We live, breathe, and die as a staff."
The Big 12 is arguably one of the toughest conferences in college softball, and the Longhorns showed this weekend that they are here to give each team a tough game.
Facing off against Big 12 opponents gives the Longhorns a different mindset.
"[Conference play] shouldn't be different, but it is because of the hype of the Big 12," Barnhill said. "We have one of the most incredible conferences out there. It made me step up my game a little bit."
Be the first to comment on this article!