AUSTIN, Texas – No. 3 Texas (16-1) cruised to a 9-1 (five innings) win over Houston to open the Longhorn Invitational Friday night at McCombs Field. The Longhorns have won 14-consecutive games and move to 16-1 on the season overall.

Friday night’s victory against the Cougars doubled as Texas’ eighth run-rule win of the season.

The Longhorns are 7-0 at home this season. Texas has won 10-straight games at home overall, dating back to the 2025 season.

Senior RHP Citlaly Gutierrez (4-0) secured the victory in her second start of the season. The Stamford, Texas, native went 4.0 innings and checked the Cougars to just one run on three hits while fanning two. Despite giving up a solo home run to begin the game, Gutierrez responded with three scoreless innings, including a 1-2-3 third frame. Gutierrez did not allow an extra-base hit the remainder of the game. Freshman RHP Hannah Wells threw the fifth in relief, retiring all three batters she faced with two strikeouts.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Longhorns combined for nine hits, including three extra-base hits (one home run and two doubles). Four different Longhorns accounted for two RBI on the night. Junior first baseman Katie Stewart went 2-for-3 with a two-run home run while drawing an intentional walk. It was Stewart’s team-leading 10th home run of the season and the 40th of her career. Stewart has homered in six of her last eight games.

Senior catcher Reese Atwood had a 2-for-3 performance with two RBI and a double. Junior shortstop Viviana Martinez was 2-for-3 with two RBI, and freshman designated player MaTaia Lawson drove in a pair of runs on a single to right.

The Longhorns have scored at least one run in the first inning in 14-of-17 games this season, including four games in a row.

Houston went up briefly in the first after hitting a leadoff solo home run in the first. Texas responded with four runs in the bottom half of the frame. With two outs, Atwood roped a bullet RBI single to the left field wall to plate Kayden Henry to tie the game at 1-1. Texas took a permanent lead on Lawson’s two-RBI single to right that scored Atwood and Stewart for a 3-1 lead. Freshman third baseman Jaycie Nichols knocked in Texas’ final run of the inning on her RBI single up the middle to push Altmeyer home for a 4-1 advantage.

Texas put up another four-spot in the second. Leighann Goode hit a one-out, double to left center to put a runner in scoring position for Martinez. Martinez then smacked a single off the pitcher’s glove to score Goode and extend the lead to 5-1. Atwood’s RBI double to right center scored Martinez, and Stewart’s two-run shot put Texas ahead 8-1. The Horns went up 9-1 in the third thanks to Martinez’s second RBI single of the game, scoring Kayden Henry.

Up Next

Texas continues the Longhorn Invitational with a doubleheader on Saturday. The Longhorns will take on St. Bonaventure at 2:30 p.m. CT followed by a 5 p.m. tussle against Prairie View A&M. Both games will be available on SEC Network+ with Lincoln Rose (play-by-play) and Megan Willis (analyst) on the call.