Fourteen innings and 199 pitches later, Hailey Dolcini sends Texas softball super regionals

SEATTLE — Texas is moving on to the NCAA softball super regionals, even if getting there was a bit more stressful than the Longhorns would've liked.

Thanks to a tremendous pitching performance from Hailey Dolcini and some timely hitting from Bella Dayton, the Longhorns pushed their way to the next round with a nail-biting 3-2 victory over Washington in the second game of a championship doubleheader at the Seattle Regional.

In the bottom of the seventh inning of the clinching game, the Huskies turned a 3-0 deficit into a 3-2 game with the possible winning run at the plate. But Dolcini struck out Kinsey Fiedler to end it. After the final out, the Longhorns jumped in celebration in the middle of the diamond.

“I thought our ladies gutted it out, especially Hailey Dolcini ...," Texas head coach Mike White said. “Just a tremendous job. I know she was getting tired, but you couldn’t tell. She just had that pitcher’s mentality ... and didn't want to give in.”

More:Eventually, Texas solved Washington ace Gabbie Plain in Saturday win

Texas had to play Washington twice on Sunday. Dolcini pitched both games for the Longhorns. She threw 14 total innings and gave up four runs, two of them earned. She threw 199 total pitches, but she made it clear that she would have her arm ready for the next round. 

“It’s hanging on,” Dolcini said of her right arm. “We’ll get her some good work before the weekend, but we’ll be good.”

Texas (41-18-1) will face the No. 4-seeded Arkansas Razorbacks in Fayetteville for the three-game super regionals series, starting Thursday. The Razorbacks beat Oregon 9-3 in their first game Sunday to take their region. In Sunday's first game, Washington's Madison Huskey clubbed a two-run home run in a 2-1 victory.

After four scoreless innings to start the game, Texas finally broke through in the bottom of the fifth when Dayton hit a line drive over the fence for a home run against Washington pitcher Gabbie Plain, putting the Longhorns up 1-0.

More: What are Texas' odds at winning the Women's College World Series?

But that lead didn't last long; after Huskey's homer in the sixth, Plain closed it out in the seventh.

But thanks to Texas' 8-2 win over Washington on Saturday, the Huskies needed to beat the Longhorns twice on Sunday to extend their season.

The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth, when Dayton put the Longhorns ahead yet again with an RBI double.

The inning saw a strange sequence of events, however, as Janae Jefferson hit a fly ball to left field that appeared to be caught for the third out. After the teams had left the field, though, the umpires called them back due to an illegal pitch thrown by Plain, saying that the Huskies pitcher was outside the pitcher's lane.

That call proved to be crucial, as Jefferson took advantage of her second chance by hitting an infield single.

Plain walked Mia Scott and then gave up a two-run double by Dayton to put Texas up 2-0. Dayton batted third in the lineup after hitting eighth in the first game and ended up with three RBIs on the day as well as a pair of go-ahead hits.

Earlier:Janae Jefferson, Estelle Czech help Texas cruise past Weber State in NCAA softball regional

“I just continued to tell myself, ‘stay calm and stay collected in the box,’" Dayton said. “When I am put in situations like that, ‘work with what I have.’ That is what I did today, and I will say that I am proud of myself and proud to play behind Hailey as well.”

As for the illegal pitch, neither Huskies head coach Heather Tarr nor Plain could explain why it had been called. With all the cleat spots near the pitcher’s circle, Tarr said it was “like a Dalmatian” in the dirt. 

“Obviously, it’s a tough situation to be in, to extend the inning a couple times,” Tarr said. “But we’re tough enough to handle that. We never place blame on 'that’s why we didn’t win the game.'”

In the top of the seventh, Jefferson clubbed a solo homer to right field that hit the back wall of the right field grandstand and put the Longhorns up by three runs. Two batters later, Tarr pulled Plain in favor of reliever Kelley Lynch. 

The Longhorns went into the bottom of the seventh with a three run lead, but the ending was anything but easy. Sami Reynolds reached base on an error, and after a flyout by Lynch, Reynolds scored on an RBI double by Brooke Nelson to cut the Texas lead to 3-1. 

Then pinch-runner Lilly Agan scored on an RBI single from Jenn Cummings to pull the Huskies to within one run. But Dolcini shut down the rally by striking out Fiedler to end the game.