AUSTIN (KXAN) — There’s plenty of softball left to be played this season, but if Longhorns catcher Reese Atwood continues to hit like she has the first 13 games of the season, Texas will be playing well into the summer.
Atwood, a sophomore from Sandia, currently leads NCAA Division I with nine home runs, 31 RBIs and is second with a .632 batting average. She has 24 hits in 38 at-bats in the middle of a potent lineup that’s hitting .398, second-best in the country.
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Atwood also leads the country in slugging percentage, racking up 55 total bases in 38 at-bats for an eye-popping number of 1.447, but she’ll be the first person to tell you that she doesn’t have the hot start without her teammates.
“We’re focusing on being present and in the moment,” she said. “I’ve been getting a lot of texts from people, especially in my hometown, about our games, and getting a lot of support from those people gives us an edge.”
She found out she was named the national player of the week in the first week of the season just casually checking social media while walking to class. She hit .733 while the Longhorns rumbled through Southern California to four wins via mercy rule and a perfect 5-0 start.
Texas is 12-1 so far with the lone loss coming at the hands of Stanford. They had a couple of games against ranked opponents rained out in Clearwater, Florida, so they didn’t get to play against the full gauntlet of teams they assembled, but they look like a team that can make the Women’s College World Series.
“I love the family aspect of this team,” Atwood said. “This team has come together, on and off the field. We’re best friends, and to step on the field and trust your teammates, it’s great.”
The Texas pitching staff has also been tremendous this season with a 0.95 ERA, sixth-best in the country. Atwood said this is the most talented team she’s played on.
“It’s almost unreal some of the talent we have on this team, coming from every class and every position,” he said.
The No. 2 Longhorns are back at it Wednesday at 6 p.m. in San Marcos against Texas State.