With the start of the postseason for Texas softball, junior pitcher Teagan Kavan returned to her familiar ace form.
Kavan, who earned last season’s Most Outstanding Player honor at the Women’s College World Series after leading the Longhorns to a national championship, threw a seven-inning shutout as the No. 10 Longhorns (40-10) opened the SEC Tournament with a 6-0 win over Ole Miss (34-24) Thursday at John Cropp Stadium in Lexington, Ky. The quarterfinal victory propels fourth-seeded Texas into a semifinal against either No. 1 Oklahoma or ninth-seed Georgia, who play Thursday evening.
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Bolstered by her devastating riseball and a wicked changeup, Kavan gave up just two hits and struck out nine batters in her fourth shutout win of the season.
“I kind of lived with that (riseball) today,” Kavan told reporters after the game. “I mixed in some other things, but it’s predominantly that. That’s my bread and butter.”
Kavan didn’t need much help, but the Longhorn bats provided plenty. More importantly for Texas coach Mike White, the production at the plate came from throughout the lineup. Leadoff hitter Kayden Henry had two of Texas’s six hits and Vivi Martinez had a 2-RBI single from the No. 3 hole, but pinch hitter Kaydee Bennett entered the game in the bottom of the fifth inning in the No. 7 hole and helped break the game open with a 2-RBI double.
“It’s, like, three hitters that are vying for that spot out there, and we kind of watch them all week and see how they’re doing,” White said. “You kind of get a feeling if someone’s struggling, we can make a pinch move, and we’re able to do that. And Kaydee came through and swung the bat like she can.”
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Read below for a replay and highlights from Thursday as the Texas Longhorns beat the Ole Miss Rebels in an SEC Tournament quarterfinal game.
MORE: Why Texas softball needs 1 more win to take a big step in its NCAA championship defense
MORE: How ‘Smash Sisters’ Reese Atwood, Katie Stewart super-charge Texas softball
Texas Longhorns pitcher Teagan Kavan (17) steps up to pitch during the game against Arkansas at Red & Charline McCombs Field on Thursday, April 30, 2026 in Austin.
Aaron E. Martinez/Austin American-Statesman
The sun gets to Kaydee Bennett, who’s now out in left field. She drops the fly ball for the Longhorns’ first error, but it matters not to Texas starter Teagan Kavan. The junior ace gets her first seven-inning, complete-game shutout win of the season after giving up just two hits with nine strikeouts and only one walk.
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Kyra Aycock enters the game for Ole Miss, and the right-handed pitcher manages to strike out Katie Stewart. Not easy to do. They will play at least a full seven in this SEC Tournament quarterfinal contest.
Line out, fly out, ground out. Texas starter Teagan Kavan makes quick work of the Rebels, and the Longhorns will try and get two more runs to end this game early.
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The Longhorns’ Smash Sisters – Katie Stewart and Reese Atwood – each draw a walk, and Hannah Wells is just a foot foul on what would have been a 3-run homer. Wells ends up loading the bags on a third walk of the frame from Ole Miss starter Emilee Boyer, and pinch hitter Kaydee Bennett smacks a double into left center to drive in two.
Teagan Kavan strikes out the side for the second time this game, and the Texas ace looks almost unhittable. She has allowed two hits, has nine Ks and just one walk. Fifty-two of her 81 pitches have been for strikes. Longhorns coach Mike White has to love the position his team has put itself in during this SEC semifinal.
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Hannah Wells draws a walk for Texas, and pinch runner Adayah Wallace steals the fourth base of the game for Texas. The Longhorns now have 70 stolen bases for the season. But the Longhorns can’t add to the lead after pinch hitter Alisa Sneed (for Ashton Maloney) and Kayden Henry ground out.
Teagan Kavan issues her first walk, but the Texas starter is also up to six strikeouts. I think her and Texas coach Mike White will take that ratio.
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Texas expands its lead after a bases-loaded single by SS Vivi Martinez. Jaycie Nichols opens the frame with a single, steals second and reaches third on a one-out single by Kayden Henry. The Rebels pitch around Katie Stewart to load the bags, and Martinez chops a 2-run single into right. Stewart adds to the lead after Martinez steals second, and the Rebels commit their first error of the game trying to throw her out.
Tenly Grisham gets the first hit of the game for Ole Miss off Texas starter Teagan Kavan on a little leadoff chopper. She gets pushed to second on a sac bunt but can’t get any further. One thing to watch: The Rebels had two hits in the frame, both on choppers into the dirt. Let’s see if they try to bang out more infield singles by chopping them into the dirt.
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Leighann Goode likes the first pitch she sees from Ole Miss starter Emilee Boyer, and the Texas 2B sends a moonshot 276 feet for a no-doubt, one-out solo home run. Wow, what a bomb from the eighth overall pick in the recent AUSL draft. That’s the first hit of the game for either team, and its the longest of 10 home runs on the season for Goode.
Texas pitcher Teagan Kavan opens the game with four straight Ks before she makes her defense do some work. Third baseman Jaycie Nichols responds with a nice play for the second out, and 2B Leighann Goode makes the play for the third out. Six up, six down for Kavan and the Horns.
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Emilee Boyer steps into the circle for Ole Miss. The righty has a 12-12 record, a 3.57 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP, numbers inflated by the Longhorns during their sweep of the Rebels in March. She likes the drop ball, and she uses it to force three quick groundouts.
Teagan Kavan has it working early with that riseball and changeup. For the 13th time this season, the Texas ace strikes out the side.
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They’re underway in Lexington, and Ole Miss is at the plate since the higher-seeded Longhorns are the designated home team. Texas ace Teagan Kavan steps into the circle. The right-hander has a 19-4 record, a 2.74 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP with 183 strikeouts and 47 walks in 150⅔ innings, but she traditionally pitchers her best in the postseason.
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SpotPos# PlayerBatsAvg1cf21 Kayden HenryL.41221b20 Katie StewartR.4483ss23 Viviana MartinezL.3784c14 Reese AtwoodR.35752b43 Leighann GoodeR.3776dp13 Hannah WellsR.2947lf44 Kaiah AltmeyerL.30883b24 Jaycie NicholsR.3309rf7 Ashton MaloneyL.29210p17 Teagan KavanR-SpotPos# PlayerBatsAvg1c8 Kennedy BunkerL.26422b1 Mackenzie PickensR.26531b3 Persy LlamasL.3784dp32 Madi GeorgeL.3925ss20 Cassie ReasnerR.3526rf26 Laylonna ApplinR.2387lf25 Tenly GrishamL.29283b28 Ryan StarrR.1439cf22 Taylor MalvinL.27810p7 Emilee BoyerR.182
Texas and Ole Miss will begin their SEC Tournament quarterfinal contest at 4:15 p.m. Earlier today, Alabama beat Arkansas and Florida held off Auburn. Those two winners will meet in a Friday semifinal, and the winner of the Longhorns’ game against Ole Miss will face either Oklahoma or Georgia in Friday’s other semifinal matchup.
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Where: John Cropp Stadium, Lexington, Ky.
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TV/radio: SEC Network; texaslonghorns.com
Reach Texas beat reporter Thomas Jones via email at tjones@statesman.com.