Texas softball falls to unbeaten LSU in a matchup of top-three national teams

After spending a week atop some national polls, Texas has slipped a few spots.

The Longhorns lost 7-4 to LSU in a marquee nonconference contest Tuesday in Louisiana, and now hope that such slipping stops once they resume Big 12 play with a three-game series against BYU starting Thursday at McCombs Field (6 p.m. Thursday, 5 p.m. Friday, noon Saturday, LHN).

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Texas (21-3, 2-1 Big 12) fell from No. 1 to No. 3 in both the ESPN/USA Softball and DISoftball polls on Tuesday, which didn’t take into account the loss to No. 2 LSU. The Longhorns fell from No. 2 to No. 3 in the NFCA/USA Today poll.

Texas coach Mike White saves his worry for conference play instead of polls. He thinks the hostile environment Tuesday not only served as a preview of what his team can expect in the SEC next season, but he also hopes his squad learned some lessons after falling behind by five runs in the first inning.

“You can’t practice this kind of adversity,” White said. “You can say you’re down by a bunch of runs and what are we going to do, but until you’re down there and in an environment like this — a packed house, a lot of noise — so for us to be able to chill it a little bit and get quality at-bats and score runs, it bodes well. Now we just have to build on that and play the game the right way from the very first pitch.”

Will Texas fall in the polls again? A road defeat against an undefeated LSU squad shouldn’t sway voters too much, but Texas needs to find its pitching form after allowing 27 runs over the last four games. Freshman Teagan Kavan suffered her first loss after giving up three hits and five earned runs in less than an inning against the potent LSU lineup, and reliever Estelle Czech couldn’t stem the tide, allowing four hits and two more earned runs.

Texas’ offense provided better news. Mia Scott went 2-for-4 with three RBIs and freshman Kayden Henry continued to impress in the leadoff spot with two hits and a run. Overall, seven of the nine UT batters were credited with a hit.

Texas will open its series with BYU Thursday at 6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas softball, now No. 3, drops road game against unbeaten LSU