After some missed plays in the field and some missed opportunities at the plate, Texas softball suddenly finds itself on the brink of elimination.

Clemson held on for a 7-4 win in the first game of the NCAA Tournament’s Austin Super Regional series Thursday, which means Texas must win game two at 8 p.m. Friday if it hopes to force a game three and keep its hopes alive of a second consecutive berth in the Women’s College World Series. The start of Thursday's game at McCombs Field was delayed by 94 minutes because of lightning strikes in the area.

Texas outfielder Kayden Henry went 3-for 4 with two RBIs against Clemson in the first game of the Austin Super Regional series Thursday at McCombs Field, but Clemson held on for a 7-4 win. Henry and the Longhorns face elimination in the second game of the series Friday at 8 p.m. at McCombs Field.

But Texas coach Mike White knows the sixth-seeded Longhorns (49-11) must play better if they hope to bounce back against 11th-seeded Clemson (48-12).

“There’s no Saturday if we don’t play better Friday,” White. “You’ve got to get outs when they're given to you, and you got to trust our offense. I mean, we scored four runs and we probably could have scored a few more if we'd come through in big situations.”

The Texas defense had its issues, especially in the third inning when Clemson scored three runs to overcome an early 1-0 Longhorn lead. Katie Stewart committed an error at shortstop and misplayed another ball that helped keep the inning alive, and Kaydee Bennett also had an error in left field.

Texas Longhorns outfielder Kaydee Bennett (5) misses a catch during the NCAA D1 Softball Tournament Super Regional against Clemson at Red and Charline McCombs Field on Thursday, May 22, 2025 in Austin, Texas.

Those miscues helped White make the decision to revert to a defensive lineup he used for most of the season with Stewart in left field, Bennett at second base and Leighann Goode at shortstop.

“Obviously the move we made, putting Leighann back at shortstop and KB (Bennett) at second, worked, so that could be something we see tomorrow,” he said. “We'll just have to kind of see what happens. But it is what it is right now. Clemson was able to exploit (our defense) today.”

Clemson also took advantage of a rare off night for Texas ace Teagan Kavan, who gave up nine hits and five earned runs in five innings before giving way to Citlaly Gutierrez. Two of those runs came in the sixth inning, when the Tigers built their lead to 7-1 while becoming just the second team in 39 games this season to rally for a win over Texas after trailing in the first inning.

White, who never tips his hand about his starting pitcher, said Kavan might throw Friday considering the stakes.

“We have to see how she's feeling,” he said. “Obviously, we've got to win two more games, so we'll make a decision on who we’re going to throw tomorrow at gametime.”

Texas racked up 10 hits against Clemson starter Reese Basinger and reliever Brooke McCubbin, including three from Kayden Henry. But the Longhorns stranded nine runners and never seemed to get the key hit against a steady Clemson defense.

“I would say, in general, we were all pressing a little bit,” Henry said. “I think it was more of everyone trying to be the hero.”

According to Goode, the Longhorns just need to be themselves rather than each other’s heroes

“I mean, tonight happened,” she said. “We learned from it. Coach White always says you're never losing, you're only learning. So just taking what we saw tonight as a team and going in tomorrow with Texas fight and better discipline, communication and backing up our pitchers, we're going to get it done.”

Clemson coach John Rittman expects nothing less than plenty of fight from a desperate Texas squad trying to keep its season alive.

“Hey, Texas has been there, done that,” he said. “Nothing's going to faze them. They came back and rallied tonight. They're a championship program for a reason, and we know we're going to have to have to bring our A-game (Friday).”

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