Payback

/topic/9868-texas-vs-wvu-game-2-thread-sat-5-pm-cst/" rel="">FINAL: West Virginia 7 â€“ Texas 6, 10 innings

For the second night in a row, the Longhorns trailed WVU for the majority of the game but tied it up with late inning drama. However the team was not as fortunate as they were on Friday night - on Saturday it was the Mountaineers who scored a run in the 10 th frame, winning 7-6, and leveling the weekend series at 1-1.

For Texas, the story of the night was freshman pitcher Connor Mayes. Entering the game in the third inning with Texas already facing a five run deficit, Mayes pitched 6.2 innings of scoreless relief, scattering only three hits while striking out 10. Mayes gave up an RBI single to Cam Oâ€™Brien that scored an inherited runner, but otherwise turned in a virtually flawless performance.

While Mayes held the Mountaineers in check, the Texas offense steadily dug out of a six run hole, scoring single runs in the third and fourth innings, followed by two runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings.

Collin Shaw hit a solo homer, but the star at the plate on Saturday was Michael Cantu. The Hornsâ€™ freshman catcher was 3-4 with a walk, 2 RBI, and a run scored.

Starter Josh Sawyer struggled with command only lasting two innings and giving up six runs. Reliever Kirby Bellow took the loss after walking the game-winning run in the 10 th frame.

Post-game

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Augie Garrido on Saturdayâ€™s game: "I thought that we battled really well. We played really well to come back into it. We showed a lot of grit and a lot of competiveness. Obviously, there were mistakes that you can see as clearly as I can where we couldâ€™ve outscored them in the regulation nine innings."

However, from my point of view, coming back like that and playing the way they played and giving themselves a chance to win and then enduring the tough little plays that were all involved in the 10th inning and losing the game by one in the top of the 10th, is always difficult. But I feel like the team is going in the right direction. I think it continues to grow and develop the way we hoped it would, and I think this will just be another experience that weâ€™ll learn from and be even more competitive as a result of it."

On if the team was despondent during post-game, Augie Garrido : "Their demeanor was the same as it was as they competed. They werenâ€™t deflated as a result. They understood that the good far outweighed the bad."

Augie Garrido on what he takes away from a game like this, as the coach: "The mentality of not quitting, of not being entitledâ€¦ Iâ€™m satisfied. They fought. They fought like Longhorns should fight. They played with grit. They played to win. Iâ€™m satisfied."

Augie Garrido on conference play in the Big 12: "I think itâ€™s going to be like this every time. I hope it is because it makes you better. Itâ€™s going to be very challenging, but thatâ€™s what makes you better."

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Connor Mayes on WVUâ€™s lineup: "The first inning was rough. I had to get adjusted, see what they were like. Once I got out there again, started using my slider a little bit, which was a new pitch the way Iâ€™ve been using it lately, once I started throwing it for strikes and they started swinging and missing it was like â€˜alright, now weâ€™re pitching.â€™ It felt good."

Connor Mayes on his pitch mix on Saturday night: "In high school, you can kind of blow it by with the fastball, but I think Iâ€™ve learned here in Texas and in college, the hitters, they can hit the fastball. Youâ€™ve got to mix it up. I think the big change tonight was I started throwing my off-speed a lot better, and that made the fastball even better. When weâ€™re using a changeup thatâ€™s a great change of speed, it makes the fastball look faster and makes the changeup look slower. With the slider, we throw it up, throw the fastball up and then come low with the slider. It makes it hard to hit. It worked out really well. Michael Cantu did a great job behind the plate. Skip (Johnson) did a great job calling pitches."

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Collin Shaw on Saturdayâ€™s game: "It was a hard-fought game. We didnâ€™t lay down. We came back from a pretty big deficit, and that says a lot about our team and what weâ€™re going to bring to the yard every single day. Just fight every single inning. We didnâ€™t come out on top, but we learned a lot about ourselves."

Collin Sha w on the mood in the locker room after the game: "Obviously we were deflated about the loss, but at the same time, we were like â€˜wow, itâ€™s over?â€™ We were so in the moment of the battle and it just kind of ended on a line drive like that. Weâ€™ll just be ready to play tomorrow and come out with a lot of fire and try and win the rubber match."

Collin Shaw on Connor Mayes : "He was awesome. That was pretty cool to see him come out of the bullpen and battle as a freshman and come in during a tight spot and attack the mitt. He just pitched awesome."