Texas softball will face Alabama in Saturday’s SEC Tournament championship game after both teams won Friday in their respective tournament semifinals.
The No. 10 Longhorns (41-10), who are seeded fourth in the conference tournament, rallied from a late one-run deficit to beat Georgia 5-4 on a walk-off RBI single from shortstop Vivi Martinez. The No. 4 Tide (49-6), the second seed, blasted Florida 9-1 in a game shortened to five innings because of the run-rule.
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Earlier this season, Alabama beat Texas 2-1 in an SEC series in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Tide outscored Texas by a cumulative 19-17 in a series that featured two blowout wins by both teams.
Follow below for live scores and updates Saturday as the Texas Longhorns face the Alabama Crimson Tide in the SEC Tournament championship.
MORE: Texas softball’s Katie Stewart, Oklahoma’s Kendall Wells part of record-setting NCAA year
MORE: How ‘Smash Sisters’ Reese Atwood, Katie Stewart super-charge Texas softball
Texas Longhorns infielder Viviana Martinez (23) throws to first base in the first inning as the Texas Longhorns take on the Oklahoma State Cowgirls at McCombs Field in Austin, April 22, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
Leighann Goode and Reece Atwood smack back-to-back one-out singles, but the Longhorns can’t add to their lead. They are making Tide starter Jocelyn Briski work, though; she’s already thrown 70 pitches.
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Wow, maybe Teagan Kavan still has a full tank. The Texas starter works a quick 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts and is already up to four Ks for the game.
Texas had some success against Bama star Jocelyn Briski in the regular season, and the Longhorns bang out three hits and two runs in the second. Texas freshman Hanna Wells gets plunked by a pitch with one out, and LF Alissa Sneed follows with a looping single. Mike White quickly turns to a pinch hitter in Victoria Hunter and she delivers a bases-loaded infield single that scores pinch runner Taylor Anderson. CF Kayden Henry follows with a fielder’s choice that scores Sneed. Keep an eye on Katie Stewart; the Longhorn slugger fouled two balls off her left shin before popping out for the third out. She’s limping around.
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Alabama’s Alexis Pupillo launches a two-out solo homer way over the right-field fence to give the Tide an early lead. Texas starter Teagan Kavan enters the game after having thrown 173 pitches over the past two games; let’s see how much gas she has left in the tank this game.
It’s an intriguing matchup all game between Texas slugger Katie Stewart and Bama pitcher Jocelyn Briski, the SEC’s player of the year and pitcher of the year, respectively. Stewart gets her first hit of the SEC Tournament but she’s stranded at second.
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They’re off in Kentucky for the SEC Tournament championship. For the first time this tournament, Texas will bat first as the visiting team. The higher seed always serves as the home team at the SEC Tournament.
Texas coach Mike White will start junior ace Teagan Kavan for the third straight game, something he has rarely done in Kavan’s three seasons. For the season, Kavan is 21-4 with a 2.72 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Alabama will counter with Jocelyn Briski, the SEC’s pitcher of the year who boasts a 21-2 record, a 1.38 ERA and a .79 WHIP. Kavan threw a complete-game shutout in the Longhorns’ 6-0 win over Ole Miss Thursday but gave up six hits and four runs in 4⅔ innings in a 5-4 Longhorn win over Georgia in Friday’s semifinals. Briski gave up three hits and one run in a complete-game win over Arkansas in an SEC quarterfinal game Thursday and did not pitch in Friday’s win over Florida.
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Texas
Spot
Pos
# Player
Bats
Avg
1
cf
21 Kayden Henry
L
.410
2
1b
20 Katie Stewart
R
.429
3
ss
23 Viviana Martinez
L
.381
4
2b
43 Leighann Goode
R
.375
5
c
14 Reese Atwood
R
.351
6
dp
13 Hannah Wells
R
.302
7
lf
9 Alisa Sneed
R
.268
8
3b
24 Jaycie Nichols
R
.330
9
rf
7 Ashton Maloney
L
.289
10
p
17 Teagan Kavan
R
–
Alabama
Spot
Pos
# Player
Bats
Avg
1
2b
4 Jena Young
L
.331
2
1b
15 Brooke Wells
R
.412
3
dp
31 Alexis Pupillo
L
.404
4
rf
21 Ana Roman
L
.326
5
c
34 Marlie Giles
R
.388
6
lf
12 Audrey Vandagriff
L
.314
7
3b
36 Ambrey Taylor
R
.340
8
ss
47 Salen Hawkins
R
.292
9
cf
3 Kristen White
L
.328
10
p
23 Jocelyn Briski
R
–
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: John Cropp Stadium, Lexington, Ky.
TV/radio: ESPN; texaslonghorns.com
Reach Texas beat reporter Thomas Jones via email at tjones@statesman.com.