Texas softball ace Teagan Kavan just had the busiest weekend of her career—and it couldn't have come at a better time. After throwing 12 strikeouts in a complete-game, 7-1 victory over Alabama in the SEC Tournament title game, Kavan admitted to reporters she was exhausted. She started three consecutive games on three straight days in Lexington, Kentucky, a workload she had never shouldered before.

But here's the thing: exhaustion might actually be her secret weapon. "Maybe she needs to be tired to pitch well, because she had all her pitches working," Texas coach Mike White said with a grin. "I think the adrenaline must have kicked in, because getting 12 strikeouts against Alabama, she couldn't have been too tired."

White knows a thing or two about the toll innings can take. As a former professional and international men's fastpitch pitcher, he understands the physical and mental grind of being a team's ace. That's why he's careful not to overwork Kavan, always checking in with her before asking for more. "We always ask the question, 'How you feeling?'" White said. "We want to make sure that she's in on it and that it's her idea."

Kavan's 18⅔ innings at the SEC Tournament is the most she's thrown over a three-day span in her three-year college career. Her 280 pitches across those three days is just five shy of the career-high she threw in last season's Austin Super Regional series against Clemson—a series Texas won 2-1 to punch its ticket to the Women's College World Series.

So, is she ready for the NCAA Tournament? If her performance against Alabama is any indication, the answer is a resounding yes. "I was just trying to compete and compete for my teammates, no matter what the score was going to be," Kavan said. With that mindset, and a coach who knows when to push and when to pull back, Texas fans have every reason to believe their ace is primed for another deep postseason run.