Teagan Kavan threw a four-hit shutout to lift Texas to a 4-0 win over Mississippi State in an elimination game in the Women’s College World Series on Friday in Oklahoma City.

Kavan, the WCWS Most Outstanding Player during last year’s title run, struggled in a three-inning performance in Thursday’s opening-round loss to Tennessee. But the junior righty bounced back in a big way against the Bulldogs.

After Xiane Romero’s two-out double in the first, Kavan retired eight consecutive hitters until Romero singled in the fourth.

Kavan got all the run support she needed in the second on Kaiah Altmeyer’s two-run home run.

Altmeyer jumped on Delainey Everett’s first pitch to put Texas on top. The home run was Altmeyer’s first of the season.

The Longhorns added another on Kayden Henry’s solo home run in the fifth.

Texas added another insurance run in the seventh when Katie Stewart scored from first on Viviana Martinez’s double to left center off Peja Goold.

Romero led off the seventh with a single for her third hit of the game. But after Kinley Keller followed with another single, Kavan retired three consecutive hitters to finish off the shutout. Kavan struck out just two hitters in the win.

Texas (48-12) takes on the loser of Saturday’s Alabama-Nebraska game in an elimination game 3 p.m. Sunday.

Mississippi State, which was in the WCWS for the first time in program history, finished 43-21.

–Field Level Media

Michael Harris II went 3-for-5 with three RBIs, Ronald Acuna Jr. homered and the visiting Atlanta Braves posted an 8-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in the first contest of a three-game set on Friday.

Jorge Mateo drove in two runs and Dominic Smith had three hits and two runs for Atlanta, which earned its major league-leading 39th win and improved to 20 games above .500. Grant Holmes tossed 4 2/3 innings for the Braves, allowing three runs on seven hits, striking out five and walking one. Didier Fuentes (4-0) earned the win, throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings.

Chris Paddack (0-7) continued his winless start to the season, allowing four runs on seven hits and three walks across five innings for the Reds, who dropped their second straight after winning five of their previous six. JJ Bleday and Nathaniel Lowe each homered for Cincinnati.

Acuna opened the scoring with a leadoff homer in the first — his fourth home run of the season and second in as many games.

In the second, Smith singled before Austin Riley and Mike Yastrzemski both walked to load the bases with nobody out. Mateo then drove in the second Atlanta run with a groundout. Chadwick Tromp followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.

After Acuna’s walk, Harris’ RBI single extended the margin to four.

The Reds cut into their deficit in the bottom of the fourth, as Bleday launched his eighth homer of the season to begin the frame. Sal Stewart followed with a double, but was caught stealing by Tromp for the second out.

Lowe sliced the Reds’ deficit to 4-2 with a solo homer to right — his ninth of the year.

Holmes allowed TJ Friedl’s leadoff single in the fifth, before Bleday’s two-out base hit placed runners on the corners. Fuentes then replaced Holmes and surrendered an RBI single to Stewart, cutting the lead to 4-3.

Yunior Marte threw the sixth for the Reds, allowing Smith’s leadoff single before hitting Riley with a pitch. Yastrzemski laced a double to give the Braves a 5-3 edge. Mateo followed with a run-scoring single, and Harris drove in two more with a double to left.

–Field Level Media

A four-run first inning carried the Cleveland Guardians to a 4-3 victory over the visiting Boston Red Sox on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.

Boston had the game-tying run on base when Isiah Kiner-Falefa singled to open the ninth, but Cleveland closer Cade Smith struck out the next three batters to collect his 20th save.

Cleveland’s four-run first included RBI singles by Rhys Hoskins and Angel Martinez, a Ceddanne Rafaela error that allowed Hoskins to score, and a Patrick Bailey sacrifice fly that drove in Kyle Manzardo.

All four runs were charged to Tyler Samaniego (0-3), who was used as an opener before giving way to Brayan Bello after one inning. Samaniego allowed six hits in the inning.

Bello pitched seven scoreless innings. He limited Cleveland to four hits, struck out five and didn’t walk a batter.

The Guardians received two hits from both Manzardo and Chase DeLauter.

The Red Sox pulled within a run by scoring three times in the fifth. After Marcelo Mayer drove in Mickey Gasper with an RBI single and Kiner-Falefa scored on Caleb Durbin’s double, Mayer made it 4-3 by scoring on Jarren Duran’s sacrifice fly.

Cleveland starter Slade Cecconi was pulled with one out in the fifth. He gave up three runs on seven hits. Colin Holderman (3-0) picked up the win for recording the next four outs after Cecconi left the mound.

Boston’s Willson Contreras extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a single in the fourth inning. Contreras also singled with two outs in the eighth.

Nick Sogard pinch ran for Contreras in the eighth and moved to third on Masataka Yoshida’s single, but both runners were stranded when Gasper grounded out to first to end the inning. Gasper, Mayer and Kiner-Falefa each had two hits in the loss.

Boston was seeking its fourth straight road victory.

–Field Level Media