Did you see the Texas win over Florida on Saturday?

If you did, what was the thing that stands out in your mind the most?

For me, it was the intense, focused look that Texas Longhorn star pitcher Mac Morgan had when looking in at the batter.

Mac came one hit away from a no-hitter on Saturday and tossed her second consecutive shutout in the Women’s College World Series in the 10-0 over Florida. She struck out five in five shutout innings, allowing Texas to have Sunday off before facing Monday at 6 pm the winner of Stanford and UCLA.

The Longhorns are 53-8, the No. 1 seed in Oklahoma City and, if they win Monday, would make it to the best of three championships series for the second time in three years. If UT loses Monday, the team would still have a chance to make the title series by playing a double-elimination doubleheader.

Here are highlights of Saturday’s big win at Devon Park in OKC:

Morgan was amazing, but it’s not hard to have seen that coming years ago when she played for Aces Fastpitch coached by Ryan and Taylor Taylor.

If you did watch the game, you’ll remember that look of intensity as Morgan stared in at the plate; you’d understand why ANY batter facing the pitching great would be intimidated!

I had Morgan ranked No. 4 in the Class of 2019 as she was a dominating pitcher way back then, even.

At the prep level, she was the 2019 Missouri Gatorade Player of the Year as her Sherwood High team won the Missouri Class 2A State title and Morgan she went 26-3 with a 0.12 ERA and 366 strikeouts in 175.1 innings.

In my rankings write-up for the pitcher, I noted of Mac, who was then an Arizona State commit, the following thoughts:

Mac is known as a ferocious competitor and a bulldog in the circle. She dominates opposing hitters and has gotten better as she’s moved from a 5th place finish at PGF 16U Nationals to compile a 1.08 ERA with the 18U team.

Mac has a great work ethic and a typical workout will entail her throwing 300 pitches. Last year she had a WHIP of under 1 and that included her great performances to win a Boulder IDT championship.

The junior even increased her strikeouts (259), home runs allowed (two) and extra base hits allowed as she moved up an age division.

The power pitcher can crank it up to the high 60’s, but it’s her change-of-pace pitches that make her doubly tough.

She also led her Sherwood (Creighton, Missouri) High team to a its first state title and earned All-State honors herself. Mac committed to the Sun Devils in February of 2018.

Notice three key words in the opening sentence of that bio write-up:

• “ferocious,”
• “competitor”
• “bulldog.”

Yes, the pitcher has great physical tools and pitches, but, wow, does she present a scary image when she stares in at the plate and her catcher! Shoot, if I was the umpire, I would even be intimidating!!!

Seeing this weekend’s playoff game, you certainly would have caught that look of focus… but if you watched Mac back in her Sherwood High and Aces Fastpitch days, you’d have already known that intimidating stare!

— Brentt Eads/Line Drive Media