May 27, 2025 • 9 mins
Texas Softball head coach Mike White joined The Craig Way Show to preview the Longhorns' upcoming WCWS game against the Florida Gators.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Please to be joined on the highline now by the
head coach of the Longhorn softball team, Mike White. Mike,
I'll start off with the true confessions thing, uh, and
Cameron just said that when it was two on with
nobody out and too in scoring position there and Teagan
really just task with the opportunity of trying to find
(00:22):
a way to get out of that inning and keep
the game alive and moving on to the next frame
on Friday night. From the department of true confessions, what
was going through your.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Mind at that time?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Would find a way to find a double play London drives?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
That was that was something else.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
But that says an awful lot about the resilience of
your broll club, don't it.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Yeah, it really does. I mean it's never had it
till it's over. And you know, that was true testament
to that situation. I mean, a lot of things could
happen to score a round, and you know, to get
a strikeout was big. There's another glimmer of hope, a
little more pressure on the next titter than a soft
line drive.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
You know. Then it just had to make sure that, hey,
you've done all the hard work.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Now I finish it, and she was able to do that,
did it also because Teagan had had her own challenges
in the run up to that.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
How instrumental, how important was it.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I mean, she's a kid with a lot of confidence anyway,
but still in all to have the success realized in
the most crucial of moments, you think, that's that's also
a little bit of that little mental psychological boost for
someone who'd had a tribulation or two in recent days.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Yeah, without a doubt, I mean, without being inside her
head and know exactly what she's saying to herself in
those moments, you know, for her to a buility, and
especially you know the night before and she didn't pitch
that well, got around a little bit, so to bounce
back the next day and come out and throw what
I considered was a real gritty game.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
She was very, very good. I mean you could just
see the movement on the ball.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Was better, her confidence was and you know when the
chips were down there because of what happened, she was
able to just kind of really sealed the deal as
it was to see.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
You also got a gritty performance from Mac morgan before
going back to Tegan. Uh and then and then Mac
with things being closed out. How how important was it
too for a veteran like that for mac to step
up in the circle for you.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Yeah, it kind of reminded me a little bit when
we went to Sophia Simpson back and Mack and Soar
and the super regionals and we did a huge performance
in that situation because Oulcini was just wore out, and
the same thing happened here. We knew that, you know,
Teagan was unlikely to go seven innings just because of
fatigue and everything, and we knew we had to step
someone had to step up, and we just felt mex
(02:40):
was the one, you know, hadn't pitched a whole lot
and would be strong, and she didn't disappoint us at all.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I'm curious how your conversations with her work, because the
last time that she'd been from was the unfortunate game
for everybody against Texas A and M and and for
her to step into that moment, clearly you got a
great deal of confidence in her, and I know she's
confident herself, but is that But is that also even
before those games come around, knowing that you're probably gonna
(03:07):
have to rely on her in a crucial moment, do
you have a conversation with her about those kinds of things.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
You always kind of telling them, hey, be ready, you know,
get ready. You know, whatever happens happened, and that's what
we do. But going forward, and you know we we
we told her that and she was able to believe
in that, and you know, she was ready.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
You know, she showed no signs of any kind of
worry at all.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
She was just had that look in her eyes, really
still a look, and said, give me the ball.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
I'm going to get this done.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So we've been talking about, uh, you know, the pitching
side of it, but but you also got some clutch
hitting as well. You know, the I think about Katie
Storre driving in Mia Scott on the sack bunt and
then Jolie Mitchell with coming in on the wild pitch
to get to get up five to one, and so
you had even the Cayden Henry ground out that that
(04:02):
scored Ashton Maloney from third. I mean those are important things,
right because that's the total team thing at work, the dynamic,
isn't it, where everybody's kind of pitching in and contributing
to the cause.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
Yeah, just find a way you know, and I think
we found a way. I wasn't pretty a lot of times.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
I mean I think there runs were probably scored pretty
or if you corny is a word, then owns. But
it didn't matter. We scored one more than they did,
and that's what really matters. And it doesn't matter how,
it's how many, and we certainly were We're part of
that saying for sure, you know, I just love the
grit we showed and determination and just found a way
to get it done.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Visiting with Mike White, Texas softball coach here on thirteen
hundred the zone, the other player want to ask you
about it? I've and we were talking. I've already brought
up some of the obvious ones there. But the other
player that I wanted to ask you about, who's who's
really come up and gotten some big moments for you,
is Leanne Good. And here's somebody who's batting to ninety
(04:58):
nine but coming up with some key play on both
sides of it. And again rolling back to finding a way,
isn't it when you have some other players maybe the
stat might not be quite as gaudy as somebody else,
but still coming through with clutch moments for you on
both sides.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Well, absolutely, I mean, you know, you got back to
her your freshman and sophomore year. She was pretty reliable
hit it for us, you know, and and did a
great job.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
And roam throughout the order any went from you know,
two or three up to like seven or eight.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
But this year was more in a struggle than normal,
and she was letting that affect everything else she was doing.
And so we just kind of to take some pressure off.
I said, hey, we're going to leave you down the
seven eight area and just worry about your defense. We
need you defensively right now, and and just let things happen.
And I think she was talking to herself in the
right way and understanding that, you know, she didn't have
(05:46):
to do it all offensively for us. We just wanted
her to contribute in lo and behold, she ended up
more than contributing. She really kind of led the bottom
house of that lineup.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
It's been over two months since you last played Florida,
and that was the deal with did things getting pushed
back with the weather and then wound wound up with
the doubleheader Saturday in the Monday game as well. How
much of your own team's experience in that weekend series
in Gainesville is factored into the preparation as opposed to
(06:16):
the way you view them now and how your own
team is performing right now.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Yeah, I mean they're I think they're a stronger team
now than they were at the start of the SEC season.
You know, they've got their number one ace back, Keegan
roth Rock, who's been the premier pitcher the last couple
of years. Now. We did face there last year in
the College World Series and did well, But it doesn't
always mean you're going to do the same thing again.
But we do have some experience with here, and so
we kind of know what she's going to bring to
(06:42):
the table. But you know, we've we've just got to
focus on what we can control, and that is, you know,
how we pitch, how we play defense, the energy we
bring and and just quality of bats against a good
team and see where the ships full.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Is this still an evaluative thing for you and the
staff with regard to who you want to start in
the circle on Thursday or is it the default to
go with Eagan.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
Well, we have in mind made up.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
I'm not going to kind of spill the bodies on
that one, but but I know what the order we're
going to do and how we're going to play it
at this point, and uh yeah, and it's you know,
as in the cultural series, it's so important to try
to get you know, definitely the first win for sure,
and you know, the second one is a bonus without
a doubt, because then you get two lives going into
the Sunday half of the bracket. Uh, you know, so
(07:30):
that's also important, but the first one is really that's that's.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Big Mike is as often as you've taken teams to
Oklahoma City, and and as often as you've taken the
Texas program to Oklahoma City, how regular do you try
to keep things as opposed to obviously the enjoyment of
the experience, uh for the student athletes, but by the
same to kind of business trip all that kind of
(07:54):
stuff that kind of gets melded together.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
How how do you view it.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Through the prism of getting a team ready to play
on the highest stage.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Yeah, we talked about that this morning and just said
there's gonna be you know, Unfortunately, there's only four players
that haven't been there before.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
You know, the rest of the.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Rest of the squad, the other sixteen players are all
there last year and that's a bonus for us. And and
you know, there's gonna be a lot of bells and
whistles and a lot of events and a lot of things.
I've got a barbecue tonight, and you know there's old Americans.
You know, I think that one of the top freshmen
of the year's being announced, which we don't have one
that race right now.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
But there's just a lot of other stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
And then tomorrow is a lot of media, a lot
of ESPN shoots and special things they do, and so
they'll take up a lot of our day. And then
we have a day of practice or an hour and
a half of practice, so.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
It should keep us pretty busy.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
But uh, you know, and then of course were the
first game on Thursday, which I think is good because
you know, with the weather issues sometimes here in ok See,
you can get pushed back. I remember a year we
had U C l A and Oregon when I was
coaching Oregon. You know, we didn't start to close to
midnight just because of the weather delays.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Wow, wow, something else.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Hey, I appreciate you taking the time and a busy
time and wish you all the best of success. Here
will obviously be carrying the broadcast live on Thursday, and
we'll look forward to the team doing really well in
ok See.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Thanks so much, Mike. I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
Thanks Craig, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
That's Mike White, Texas softball coach, joining us from Oklahoma City.
Please to be joined on the highline now by the
head coach of the Longhorn softball team, Mike White. Mike,
I'll start off with the true confessions thing, uh, and
Cameron just said that when it was two on with
nobody out and too in scoring position there and Teagan
really just task with the opportunity of trying to find
(00:22):
a way to get out of that inning and keep
the game alive and moving on to the next frame
on Friday night. From the department of true confessions, what
was going through your.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
Mind at that time?
Speaker 3 (00:35):
Would find a way to find a double play London drives?
Speaker 2 (00:38):
That was that was something else.
Speaker 1 (00:40):
But that says an awful lot about the resilience of
your broll club, don't it.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
Yeah, it really does. I mean it's never had it
till it's over. And you know, that was true testament
to that situation. I mean, a lot of things could
happen to score a round, and you know, to get
a strikeout was big. There's another glimmer of hope, a
little more pressure on the next titter than a soft
line drive.
Speaker 4 (00:59):
You know. Then it just had to make sure that, hey,
you've done all the hard work.
Speaker 1 (01:02):
Now I finish it, and she was able to do that,
did it also because Teagan had had her own challenges
in the run up to that.
Speaker 2 (01:12):
How instrumental, how important was it.
Speaker 1 (01:14):
I mean, she's a kid with a lot of confidence anyway,
but still in all to have the success realized in
the most crucial of moments, you think, that's that's also
a little bit of that little mental psychological boost for
someone who'd had a tribulation or two in recent days.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Yeah, without a doubt, I mean, without being inside her
head and know exactly what she's saying to herself in
those moments, you know, for her to a buility, and
especially you know the night before and she didn't pitch
that well, got around a little bit, so to bounce
back the next day and come out and throw what
I considered was a real gritty game.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
She was very, very good. I mean you could just
see the movement on the ball.
Speaker 3 (01:52):
Was better, her confidence was and you know when the
chips were down there because of what happened, she was
able to just kind of really sealed the deal as
it was to see.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
You also got a gritty performance from Mac morgan before
going back to Tegan. Uh and then and then Mac
with things being closed out. How how important was it
too for a veteran like that for mac to step
up in the circle for you.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Yeah, it kind of reminded me a little bit when
we went to Sophia Simpson back and Mack and Soar
and the super regionals and we did a huge performance
in that situation because Oulcini was just wore out, and
the same thing happened here. We knew that, you know,
Teagan was unlikely to go seven innings just because of
fatigue and everything, and we knew we had to step
someone had to step up, and we just felt mex
(02:40):
was the one, you know, hadn't pitched a whole lot
and would be strong, and she didn't disappoint us at all.
Speaker 1 (02:46):
I'm curious how your conversations with her work, because the
last time that she'd been from was the unfortunate game
for everybody against Texas A and M and and for
her to step into that moment, clearly you got a
great deal of confidence in her, and I know she's
confident herself, but is that But is that also even
before those games come around, knowing that you're probably gonna
(03:07):
have to rely on her in a crucial moment, do
you have a conversation with her about those kinds of things.
Speaker 2 (03:13):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (03:14):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:14):
You always kind of telling them, hey, be ready, you know,
get ready. You know, whatever happens happened, and that's what
we do. But going forward, and you know we we
we told her that and she was able to believe
in that, and you know, she was ready.
Speaker 4 (03:27):
You know, she showed no signs of any kind of
worry at all.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
She was just had that look in her eyes, really
still a look, and said, give me the ball.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
I'm going to get this done.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (03:38):
So we've been talking about, uh, you know, the pitching
side of it, but but you also got some clutch
hitting as well. You know, the I think about Katie
Storre driving in Mia Scott on the sack bunt and
then Jolie Mitchell with coming in on the wild pitch
to get to get up five to one, and so
you had even the Cayden Henry ground out that that
(04:02):
scored Ashton Maloney from third. I mean those are important things,
right because that's the total team thing at work, the dynamic,
isn't it, where everybody's kind of pitching in and contributing
to the cause.
Speaker 4 (04:13):
Yeah, just find a way you know, and I think
we found a way. I wasn't pretty a lot of times.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
I mean I think there runs were probably scored pretty
or if you corny is a word, then owns. But
it didn't matter. We scored one more than they did,
and that's what really matters. And it doesn't matter how,
it's how many, and we certainly were We're part of
that saying for sure, you know, I just love the
grit we showed and determination and just found a way
to get it done.
Speaker 1 (04:37):
Visiting with Mike White, Texas softball coach here on thirteen
hundred the zone, the other player want to ask you
about it? I've and we were talking. I've already brought
up some of the obvious ones there. But the other
player that I wanted to ask you about, who's who's
really come up and gotten some big moments for you,
is Leanne Good. And here's somebody who's batting to ninety
(04:58):
nine but coming up with some key play on both
sides of it. And again rolling back to finding a way,
isn't it when you have some other players maybe the
stat might not be quite as gaudy as somebody else,
but still coming through with clutch moments for you on
both sides.
Speaker 3 (05:12):
Well, absolutely, I mean, you know, you got back to
her your freshman and sophomore year. She was pretty reliable
hit it for us, you know, and and did a
great job.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
And roam throughout the order any went from you know,
two or three up to like seven or eight.
Speaker 3 (05:25):
But this year was more in a struggle than normal,
and she was letting that affect everything else she was doing.
And so we just kind of to take some pressure off.
I said, hey, we're going to leave you down the
seven eight area and just worry about your defense. We
need you defensively right now, and and just let things happen.
And I think she was talking to herself in the
right way and understanding that, you know, she didn't have
(05:46):
to do it all offensively for us. We just wanted
her to contribute in lo and behold, she ended up
more than contributing. She really kind of led the bottom
house of that lineup.
Speaker 1 (05:55):
It's been over two months since you last played Florida,
and that was the deal with did things getting pushed
back with the weather and then wound wound up with
the doubleheader Saturday in the Monday game as well. How
much of your own team's experience in that weekend series
in Gainesville is factored into the preparation as opposed to
(06:16):
the way you view them now and how your own
team is performing right now.
Speaker 3 (06:21):
Yeah, I mean they're I think they're a stronger team
now than they were at the start of the SEC season.
You know, they've got their number one ace back, Keegan
roth Rock, who's been the premier pitcher the last couple
of years. Now. We did face there last year in
the College World Series and did well, But it doesn't
always mean you're going to do the same thing again.
But we do have some experience with here, and so
we kind of know what she's going to bring to
(06:42):
the table. But you know, we've we've just got to
focus on what we can control, and that is, you know,
how we pitch, how we play defense, the energy we
bring and and just quality of bats against a good
team and see where the ships full.
Speaker 1 (06:55):
Is this still an evaluative thing for you and the
staff with regard to who you want to start in
the circle on Thursday or is it the default to
go with Eagan.
Speaker 4 (07:07):
Well, we have in mind made up.
Speaker 3 (07:08):
I'm not going to kind of spill the bodies on
that one, but but I know what the order we're
going to do and how we're going to play it
at this point, and uh yeah, and it's you know,
as in the cultural series, it's so important to try
to get you know, definitely the first win for sure,
and you know, the second one is a bonus without
a doubt, because then you get two lives going into
the Sunday half of the bracket. Uh, you know, so
(07:30):
that's also important, but the first one is really that's that's.
Speaker 1 (07:34):
Big Mike is as often as you've taken teams to
Oklahoma City, and and as often as you've taken the
Texas program to Oklahoma City, how regular do you try
to keep things as opposed to obviously the enjoyment of
the experience, uh for the student athletes, but by the
same to kind of business trip all that kind of
(07:54):
stuff that kind of gets melded together.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
How how do you view it.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Through the prism of getting a team ready to play
on the highest stage.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
Yeah, we talked about that this morning and just said
there's gonna be you know, Unfortunately, there's only four players
that haven't been there before.
Speaker 4 (08:11):
You know, the rest of the.
Speaker 3 (08:12):
Rest of the squad, the other sixteen players are all
there last year and that's a bonus for us. And and
you know, there's gonna be a lot of bells and
whistles and a lot of events and a lot of things.
I've got a barbecue tonight, and you know there's old Americans.
You know, I think that one of the top freshmen
of the year's being announced, which we don't have one
that race right now.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
But there's just a lot of other stuff.
Speaker 3 (08:30):
And then tomorrow is a lot of media, a lot
of ESPN shoots and special things they do, and so
they'll take up a lot of our day. And then
we have a day of practice or an hour and
a half of practice, so.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
It should keep us pretty busy.
Speaker 3 (08:42):
But uh, you know, and then of course were the
first game on Thursday, which I think is good because
you know, with the weather issues sometimes here in ok See,
you can get pushed back. I remember a year we
had U C l A and Oregon when I was
coaching Oregon. You know, we didn't start to close to
midnight just because of the weather delays.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
Wow, wow, something else.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
Hey, I appreciate you taking the time and a busy
time and wish you all the best of success. Here
will obviously be carrying the broadcast live on Thursday, and
we'll look forward to the team doing really well in
ok See.
Speaker 2 (09:12):
Thanks so much, Mike. I appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (09:14):
Thanks Craig, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (09:17):
That's Mike White, Texas softball coach, joining us from Oklahoma City.
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