Mike White praises Teagan Kavan for shutting Stanford down in early innings

Teagan Kavan, Texas - © BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

Texas isn’t saving standout pitcher Teagan Kavan for a later date. During a break in the action between Texas and Stanford’s Women’s College World Series matchup, Longhorns head coach Mike White evaluated Kavan’s performance on the mound through the first four innings.

“Well, we needed to shut [Stanford] out in the first couple innings and we were able to do that,” White said. “She did that pretty well. Obviously, they had a couple of base runners on. They had a walk and a hit but, overall, she’s done pretty good.”

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In the first four innings, Kavan only allowed one hit and two walks while throwing four strikeouts. Most importantly, Kavan did not allow the Cardinal to score. Fans would expect nothing less from the Iowa native.

Teagan Kavan entered Thursday with a mind-boggling 2.20 ERA and an 18-2 record this season. In 114.1 innings pitched, Kavan has tallied 120 strikeouts while only recording three wild pitches. For her efforts, she was named the Big 12 Conference Freshman of the Year.

Nonetheless, Texas isn’t the only one who put top talent on the mound. On Thursday, Stanford started NiJaree Canady, who leads the nation with 310 strikeouts this season. White revealed what his message was to his team before facing off against the All-American pitcher.

“We just got to get the ball in play. Get on top of it,” White said. “We tell them to chase a little bit early on there, but she’s a great pitcher and it’s tough sometimes.”

Women’s College World Series schedule

Thursday, May 30

Game 1: (6) UCLA 4, (14) Alabama 1
Game 2: (2) Oklahoma 9, (10) Duke 1
Game 3: (1) Texas vs. (8) Stanford, 7 p.m. | ESPN2
Game 4: (5) Oklahoma State vs. Florida, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN2

Friday, May 31

Game 5: Alabama vs. Loser Game 2, 7 p.m. | Elimination game | ESPN
Game 6: Loser Game 3 vs. Loser Game 4, 9:30 p.m. | ESPN

Saturday, June 1

Game 7: UCLA vs. Winner Game 2, 3 p.m. | ABC
Game 8: Winner Game 3 vs. Wimmer Game 4, 7 p.m. | ESPN

Sunday, June 2

Game 9: Winner of Game 5 vs. Loser Game 7, 3 p.m. | ABC
Game 10: Winner of Game 6 vs. Loser Game 7, 7 p.m. | ESPN2

Monday, June 3

Game 11: Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 9, noon | ESPN
Game 12 (if necessary): Winner Game 11 vs. Loser Game 11, 2:30 p.m. | ESPN
Game 13: Winner Game 8 vs. Winner Game 10, 7 p.m. | ESPN2
Game 14 (if necessary): Winner Game 13 vs. Loser Game 13 9:30 p.m. | ESPN2

Tuesday, June 5

WCWS Final Game 1: TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. | ESPN

Wednesday, June 6

WCWS Final Game 2: TBD vs. TBD, 8 p.m. | ESPN

Thursday, June 7

WCWS Final Game 3 (if necessary): TBD vs TBD, 8 p.m. | ESPN

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