Texas
AUSTIN, Texas (05/22/2026) — The Texas Longhorns blanked the Arizona State Sun Devils 5-0 on Friday night at McCombs Field, riding a dominant pitching performance from Teagan Kavan and a four-RBI showcase from Katie Stewart in front of 2,472 fans.
Texas controlled this one from start to finish, never trailing and never letting Arizona State back into the game. The Longhorns broke through in the third, added insurance in the fifth, and put it out of reach in the sixth — a tidy, methodical win built on quality at-bats and zero-margin pitching.
How It Happened
The game stayed scoreless through two before Texas finally cashed in during the bottom of the third. With Ashton Maloney and J. Nichols aboard, Stewart laced a single to center to plate both runners and give the Longhorns a 2-0 cushion. That early swing set the tone for the rest of the evening.
Arizona State starter Kenzie Brown battled through 4.1 innings, surrendering six hits, three earned runs, and striking out five. But the Sun Devils' offense never found traction against Kavan, who attacked the zone, mixed her pitches, and refused to give Arizona State anything resembling a rally.
In the fifth, Texas extended the margin when Viviana Martinez tripled to deep right field, scoring Kayden Henry from first to make it 3-0. Martinez's three-bagger was the loudest contact of the night and effectively closed the door on any thought of a Sun Devils comeback.
The Longhorns then broke it open in the sixth. With runners in scoring position, Stewart came through again, slashing a single to right center that brought home A. Wallace and Kaiah Altmeyer while pushing Henry to third. The two-RBI knock made it 5-0 and gave Kavan a comfortable lead to close things out.
Meika Lauppe took over for Brown in relief and worked 1.2 innings, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out two.
Turning Point
Stewart's third-inning single up the middle was the swing that defined this game. Arizona State had kept things scoreless through two and looked capable of riding Brown deep into the game. But once Stewart drove in Maloney and Nichols to put Texas up 2-0, the Sun Devils were forced to chase — something they couldn't do against Kavan. The Longhorns' 5-0 run from that 2-0 lead spanned the rest of the night and reflected just how thoroughly Texas seized control after that single moment.
Star of the Game
It's a coin flip between Kavan in the circle and Stewart at the plate, but Kavan's line edges it. The Texas right-hander tossed 6.0 innings of shutout ball, scattering four hits while striking out four and walking nobody worth mentioning. She never allowed Arizona State a clean look at scoring position and finished with a complete-game shutout effort that headlined the win.
Stewart, however, deserves co-billing. She went 2-for-4 with four RBI, driving in nearly every Texas run on the board with two clutch hits to the opposite field. Henry (2-for-3, run scored) and Martinez (2-for-3, RBI, walk) rounded out a balanced top of the order that produced consistent traffic for Stewart to clear.
For Arizona State, Yannixa Acuna provided the offensive bright spot, going 2-for-3 in a lineup that managed just four hits all night.
What It Means
For Texas, this was the kind of complete performance that contenders deliver in May — front-line pitching, situational hitting from the heart of the order, and zero defensive cracks. Kavan's outing reinforces her status as the staff anchor, and Stewart's bat continues to come up big when runners are on. The Longhorns leave McCombs Field with momentum and a blueprint they'll want to replicate.
For Arizona State, it's a tough night at the plate against quality pitching. The Sun Devils generated baserunners but couldn't string together the kind of sequence that flips a game like this. Acuna's two hits give the lineup something to build on, but Arizona State will need more production up and down the order to match the level of competition it's facing.
