Texas 1, Nebraska 0

May 5, 2002

Texas claimed its second-ever Big 12 Softball Tournament title with a 1-0 shutout over No. 3 seed Nebraska Sunday afternoon. The Longhorns scored an unearned run in the fourth inning as a throwing error by NU leftfielder Lisa Wangler allowed Erin Mahoney to cross the plate for the only run of the game. Mahoney had reached base on a one-out single and advanced to second on an error by Nebraska centerfielder Kim Ogee.

The single run was all freshman pitcher Cat Osterman needed to earn her 34th victory of the season against just seven losses. Ostermann gave up five hits and two walks while striking out 13 Huskers to move to 4-0 in the tournament. The complete-game shutout was her second of the day and she earned tournament MVP honors.

Nebraska starter Leigh Ann Walker was also exceptional on the mound, giving up the one unearned run on four hits and two walks. Walker fanned six Longhorns in six innings of work but fell to 25-5 this season.

Texas, now 48-11, also won the 1999 Big 12 Softball Tournament. Nebraska dropped to 45-12 on the year.

Texas Head Coach Connie Clark
On her team:
"I'm just really proud of our team the entire season. We got contributions across the board the entire time and that makes it even more special. I really felt like it was anybody's tournament. Nebraska is a really good ball club and the clubs are really competitive throughout the conference."

On the performance of tournament MVP Cat Osterman:
"Cat (Osterman) did a great job. We had a chat in the fourth inning, when I thought she was getting a little fatigued. We gave her a short-term caffeine boost and told her to just take it one pitch at a time. I think it was in the sixth inning that she came to me and said `this one-pitch-at-a-time thing really works,' and we've been telling her that all season. I think she did a good job focusing on the task at hand and that helped her get through because she was fatiguing."

Nebraska Head Coach Rhonda Revelle
On the loss:
"My thoughts are that the kids absolutely gave their heart and soul, and it's one of those situations where we had opportunities. I believe we had more baserunners than Texas. There were at least four innings where we had runners in scoring position. We had a couple of chances to squeeze bunt and didn't get it done. But it wasn't for lack of desire. The other thing is that we gave a little on defense. But I just told the team we got better this weekend and the thing about it is there is still a winner within. We did everything we could to win this ballgame."

On pitcher Leigh Ann Walker's performance:
"Leigh Ann pitched a beautiful game. She was fresh, she was poised and I just thought her presence on the mound was outstanding. She had all of her pitches working and hit every part of the zone. I think, for the most part, she had Texas fooled a little bit. It was really good to see that."

University of Oklahoma Athletics

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