OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Teagan Kavan pitched a complete-game four-hitter, Kaiah Altmeyer and Kayden Henry each belted a home run, and defending-champion Texas defeated Mississippi State 4-0 on Friday to stay alive at the Women’s College World Series.
Kavan (26-6), who was the losing pitcher in the Longhorns’ 6-3 loss to Tennessee on Thursday, returned to the form that led Texas to the WCWS title in 2025. On Friday, she threw only 78 pitches with two strikeouts and no walks.
Second-seeded Texas (48-12) advances to another elimination game on Sunday against the loser between Alabama and Nebraska, which face off in the winner’s bracket on Saturday. Unseeded Mississippi State (43-21), playing in the WCWS for the first time, was eliminated after back-to-back shutout losses.
Altmeyer’s home run, her first of the season, gave Texas a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Henry’s home run to right field was her 13th hit of the postseason, eight of them for extra bases. Henry’s third-inning double to left field missed clearing the wall by just a couple of feet.
Texas also lost its opening game in the super regional against Arizona State and it took a two-run pinch-hit home run by Victoria Hunter to force a Game 3. The Longhorns then advanced with a 5-0 win in the decisive game. If the Longhorns reach the championship series, they would be trying to become the fifth team to win the title after losing their opening game.
Mississippi State starter Delainey Everett (3-2) pitched through the fourth, allowing Altmeyer’s home run and just two other hits. She was the winning pitcher in both of the Bulldogs’ wins in the super regional against Oklahoma, Game 1 in relief and Game 3 with a complete-game shutout. She missed much of the season with a shoulder injury and pitched only 20 innings prior to Friday.
Xiane Romero had three hits for the Bulldogs.
Mississippi State faced the two teams from the 2025 championship series — Texas and Texas Tech.
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AP college sports: https://apnews.com/hub/college-sports
