{"id":307024,"date":"2026-05-24T14:27:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T14:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/307024\/"},"modified":"2026-05-24T14:27:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T14:27:09","slug":"texas-vs-arizona-state-pinch-hitting-star-victoria-hunter-shines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/307024\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas vs Arizona State: Pinch-hitting star Victoria Hunter shines"},"content":{"rendered":"

Victoria Hunter <\/a>decided not to speak to reporters after her latest postseason clutch moment Saturday night.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

She was saving her energy for Game 3 after saving Texas softball<\/a>\u2019s season.<\/p>\n

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\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns infielder Viviana Martinez (23) celebrates a score by designated player Victoria Hunter (12) during the NCAA Softball Championship Super Regional against Arizona State at Red & Charline McCombs Field on Saturday, May 23, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not to say the Longhorns’ pinch-hitter would see action in Sunday’s Austin Super Regional rubber match against upset-minded Arizona State because the .231 hitter hasn\u2019t been part of Texas’ regular rotation (just three starts this season after making 20 in 2025). The only numbers that matter are the two runs that crossed the plate after her two-run pinch-hit blast in the sixth inning lifted the defending national champions from the precipice of\u00a0NCAA elimination to\u00a0an electrifying 4-3 win<\/a>\u00a0at McCombs Field.<\/p>\n

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Sign up for Cedric Golden\u2019s newsletter for hot takes and expert analysis each Tuesday on Texas Longhorns football and beyond. \u00a0It’s called Ced\u2019s Corner, from the mind of the American-Statesman\u2019s resident sports columnist who was named the NSMA’s 2025 Texas Sportswriter of the Year.<\/p>\n

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Hunter\u2019s heroics and Citlaly Gutierrez’s\u00a0clutch relief pitching sets up a Sunday afternoon finale and an opportunity to make it to a third straight Women\u2019s College World Series.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cardiac kids are still alive,\u201d UT coach\u00a0Mike White<\/a> said.<\/p>\n

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This kind of win could be the fire-starter the Horns needed to rid themselves of the pesky Sun Devils, who caught fire in the postseason after finishing sixth in the Big 12.\u00a0<\/p>\n

White would like nothing more than to get it done at McCombs Field and if it comes with a spike in his blood pressure, so be it.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns pitcher Citlaly Gutierrez (77) celebrates winning game two of the NCAA Softball Championship Super Regional against Arizona State at Red & Charline McCombs Field on Saturday, May 23, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

\u201cWinning any way is good, but obviously you\u2019d much rather do it the easy way,” he said. “But this game is not built that way anymore. I remember back when it was like a 1-0 pitchers\u2019 duel and that\u2019s not the case anymore. It\u2019s a rarity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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His team earned it because Arizona State played near-perfect softball, that is until third baseman Emily Schepp’s error opened the fifth inning and helped start a Texas rally from 2-0 deficit to a 2-2 tie on Katie Stewart\u2019s double and Reese Atwood\u2019s single. Undaunted, the Sun Devils regained the lead on Georgetown product Samantha Swan\u2019s solo homer in the bottom half, pushing the Horns ever closer to the offseason.<\/p>\n

Then Hunter stepped into the batter\u2019s box.<\/p>\n

Hunter was ready<\/p>\n

A three-time TAPPS All-State selection at Houston St. Pius IX \u2014 the same school that produced NFL quarterback\/head coach Gary Kubiak \u2014 Hunter has settled in mostly as a pinch-hit option. She\u00a0obviously subscribes to the mantra we learned from our wisest elders.<\/p>\n

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If you stay ready, you don\u2019t have to get ready.<\/p>\n

We all remember when Hunter came off the bench cold in the 2024 Austin Regional and hit a grand slam with two outs in the bottom of the sixth to spur a near-comeback win over Texas A&M. That came two weeks after she hit a pinch-hit bomb in a win over Baylor in a Big 12 Tournament semifinal.<\/p>\n

Neither compares to what she did Saturday. It’s been a history making spring for Hunter, who graduated in three years with a bachelor\u2019s degree in public relations along with being accepted into the McCombs School of Business to pursue a Master\u2019s of Science in Finance.<\/p>\n

That makes sense because she was absolute money with her team’s postseason hanging in the balance.<\/p>\n

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\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Longhorns designated player Victoria Hunter (12) celebrates a home run during the NCAA Softball Championship Super Regional against Arizona State at Red & Charline McCombs Field on Saturday, May 23, 2026 in Austin.<\/p>\n

Aaron E. Martinez\/Austin American-Statesman<\/p>\n

\u201cShe\u2019s very carefree and she does have that fire to her,\u201d Stewart said. \u201cShe brings life to this team and she\u2019s really ready for any moment \u2014 any opportunity that she gets \u2014 and so when she gets them, she\u2019s going to leave it all out there for anybody.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the Sun Devils, coach Megan Bartlett made no excuses after coming oh so close to ending Texas\u2019 season. She also had no regrets with replacing starter Meika Lappe while up 2-0 in the fifth inning with Kenzie Brown, who went from unhittable in Friday\u2019s opener to giving up five hits, including Hunter\u2019s big blow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to take our shot,\u201d Bartlett said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to hand it over to our first-team All-American.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The way the Sun Devils have played these last two evenings, nothing suggests they have lost any confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith playing with house money,\u201d Bartlett said. \u201cWe just pushed Texas into a Game 3 of the Super (Regionals) and we are not supposed to be here, so I\u2019m excited. I love postseason softball. I think it\u2019s the big part of why I still coach, honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s on the line Sunday?<\/p>\n

Only eight teams get a chance to play in Oklahoma City each year and Sunday\u2019s winner will have its hands full with Tennessee.<\/p>\n

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While the Sun Devils are playing with house money, the Horns still haven\u2019t played their best all-around game. The good news on the Forty is the usual suspects \u2014 Kayden Henry, Stewart and Reese Atwood \u2014 flashed championship form in Game 2 while Gutierrez \u00a0was solid with five innings of three-hit ball while surrendering just one run on Shaw\u2019s homer.<\/p>\n

Whoever wins it will earn it and carry a heavy dose of momentum and confidence into OKC.<\/p>\n

Expect to see All-Americans Teagan Kavan and Brown renew acquaintances as starters in Game 3 with everything on the line.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s time to see if Hunter\u2019s titanic blast will lead to Texas sinking the Sun Devils for good.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Victoria Hunter decided not to speak to reporters after her latest postseason clutch moment Saturday night. She was…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[414,11511,9602,81030,63519,47588,27,29,537,28703,28,111052],"class_list":["post-307024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-arizona-state-sun-devils","tag-cedric-golden","tag-columnists-opinions","tag-katie-stewart","tag-mike-white","tag-reese-atwood","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-longhorns","tag-texas-longhorns-softball","tag-texas-news","tag-victoria-hunter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}