The Texas Longhorns are on their way to the Women’s College World Series for the third straight season and for the fourth time in the last five seasons, ending Arizona State’s tournament run.

After an inconsistent regular season, the Sun Devils won the Big 12 Tournament as the No. 6 seed and gave the defending national champions all they could handle in the Austin Super Regional.

Yet the Longhorns showed their championship experience, rallying to win Game 2 and handling business in Game 3 on Sunday, May 24, to advance to the WCWS. Texas took the winner-take-all matchup 5-0 at Red & Charline McCombs Field, as junior right-handed pitcher Teagan Kavan shut down ASU at the plate.

One day after being pulled in the third inning, Cavan pitched a complete game shutout, striking out five Sun Devils en route to a WCWS-clinching win.

After scoring four runs in Game 1 and bringing home two runs in the first three innings of Game 2, ASU’s bats went cold.

The Sun Devils only scored one run over the final 11 innings of the series.

ASU had opportunities, as the Sun Devils got runners in scoring position in four different innings in Game 3, yet no one could provide the clutch hit.

ASU’s biggest chance came in the top of the second, where it loaded the bases but failed to score.

The Longhorns scored the final seven runs of the series, and did just enough on Sunday to score off senior right-hander Kenzie Brown, who went 4⅓ innings.

One of the Longhorns to best the Sun Devils’ ace was Junior first baseman Katie Stewart, who had a pair of clutch hits.

The SEC Player of the Year drove in four runs with a pair of two-run singles, finishing 2-for-4 at the plate.

Stewart drove in Texas’ first two runs in the bottom of the third on a shallow fly ball that was just out of the reach of senior center fielder Kaylee Pond.

Stewart drove in two more runs in the bottom of the sixth with a hard-hit single to right field that extended the Longhorns’ lead to 5-0.

Junior shortstop Viviana Martinez also had a multi-hit day.

Martinez went 2-for-3 including an RBI triple in a 17-pitch at-bat against Brown.

Martinez has a four-game hitting streak going back to Texas’ final Regional game against Baylor.

Junior center fielder Kayden Henry also had two hits, extending her hitting streak to 11 games.

The Longhorns had to win out in a best-of-three after dropping Game 1, but they’ve been in that position before.

Texas has lost Game 1 of the Super Regional in all seven of its attempts since head coach Mike White arrived, yet the Longhorns came back to win four of those series. 

After the win, Texas heads to Oklahoma City for the WCWS, where it will take on No. 7 seed Tennessee in its first game.

On the other side, ASU, which was just four outs away from advancing to the WCWS on Saturday, is heading home.

Despite the season ending at the doorsteps of a World Series birth, the Sun Devils look to build on their most successful season under head coach Megan Bartlett.