The Texas Longhorns women’s softball team is headed back to the finals after a 4-0 victory against Tennessee in the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series on Monday — and a lucky ladybug might be on the Horns’ side.
During the ESPN broadcast, Hall of Fame reporter Holly Rowe shared that Hannah Wells, a freshman pitcher and utility player for Texas, has a superstition dating back to childhood that if she sees a ladybug, she eats it for good luck.
“Swallows it whole,” Rowe said. “And so I was told that at the SEC Tournament in Kentucky [which Texas won last month] she had a nice home run and she had ingested a ladybug before that.
“So this is a superstition. I have this on two different sources in that Texas dugout. What a cute and weird superstition.”
Rowe did not say if Wells had ingested a ladybug on Monday.
The defending national champion No. 3 Longhorns had to win three consecutive elimination games — and six overall in the 2026 NCAA Tournament — to reach their third consecutive WCWS championship.
Texas swept a doubleheader versus No. 8 Tennessee, with a 5-2 victory in the first game, and 4-0 shutout in the winner-take-all second game at Devon Park in Oklahoma City.
Wells went 2-for-4 with a team-high two RBIs in Game 1. She had two hits in Game 2.
The Longhorns improved to 51-12 overall.
The Longhorns will play Texas Tech — winner of two straight against Alabama — in the WCWS Championship Series June 3-5.
Game 1 is set for Wednesday at Devon Park and will be broadcast on ESPN.
