Matt Cotcher
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submitted Today, 06:00 PM in Texas Longhorns Baseball By Matt Cotcher
FINAL: Texas 6 – Kansas State 1
The Longhorns excelled in all three phases of the game – offense, defense, and pitching – on their way to a 6-1 victory over the Wildcats on Sunday afternoon. The win earned Texas a series sweep and improved the Horns' record in league play to 5-1.
On Saturday Kacy Clemens played the doubleheader at first base, flashing solid glovework throughout the two-game set. Then on Sunday, Clemens made the quick adjustment to the pitcher’s mound, starting the game for UT, and throwing five strong innings where he only allowed two hits and one earned run. Clemens' effort earned the win, while Connor Mayes picked up his first save of the year by throwing 2.2 hitless innings and striking out 2.
Clemens also had a first in the Augie Garrido era at Texas: he started at designated hitter (while being the starting pitcher), going 0-2 with a walk and a run scored. Every Texas batter had a hit or a walk in the game – the lineup was led by Ben Johnson and Tres Barrera who each scored a run, had multiple hits, and collected at least one RBI.
Collin Shaw slammed a homerun over the Texas bullpen in right field. The shot was Shaw’s first homer of the season and was good for 2 RBI, scoring Johnson.
Post Game
Augie Garrido
On the series sweep: “I'm really happy about the weekend. We responded well to the game in Arlington, we responded well to the game Saturday night against West Virginia, we had two great practices after those two games. They came with a different level of confidence in this series and where it showed up for me was based on the offense. The offensive players hit the ball hard [at defenders] throughout the series, they hit balls deep and could have taken the opportunity to be frustrated and selfish and disappointed and put their head down, but the true measure was not seeing any of that body language by the players.â€
On the role of the team’s defense: “The defensive plays were instrumental in the wins. We got our outs on time for the most part throughout the weekend and we backed up the pitching. We always ask to throw the ball to the mitt both offensively and defensively and that's a giant step forward for young players, for them to be able to move through a series and hit four or five balls on a line and have them catch two of them, and to not get frustrated and selfish is a big step forward; I don't think we saw any of that. That is a significant improvement over what most teams and most players are able to do.â€
On playing Kacy Clemens at DH and pitcher: “They were starting a right-handed pitcher and we intended to DH him because he has a presence about him that the other players respond in a positive way to. That presence is trusted because of the way he played last year. He had a lot of offensive challenges last year but at the same time he always played a high level of defense. In addition to that he was instrumental in the regional championship, the super regional championship and in the College World Series. He got his biggest hits with runners on base driving in runs and when they mattered the most to win the game and he has the heart of a champion and his teammates respect him tremendously for that and they trust him for that. He just has that presence that's real.â€
Kacy Clemens
On the quick turnaround from first base to pitcher: “I felt great, my legs were a little tired from the doubleheader yesterday but other than that the intensity levels were high for everybody. We really wanted to get the sweep and I was glad it turned out that way.â€
On his new role: “I love it. It's fun pitching, playing first and hitting. I love all of it. It's fun to come to the ballpark and just get the job done however it needs to be done to get the win.â€
Collin Shaw
On his approach at the plate: “We've just been going up there with the approach of helping the team win, whatever you can do no matter the situation.â€
On getting a Big 12 sweep: “It was very important. Anytime you can get a sweep in Big 12, a very competitive conference, it's good to get three wins on the weekend.â€
On if this was the best the team has played this year: “Yeah I think so for sure. We have great pitching and really great defense and we took good at bats 1-9 throughout the lineup.â€
Ben Johnson
On the offense: “I think we're just hitting the ball hard. The first game we hit some balls hard and it didn't really fall for us but we ended up coming through in the end. We had some guys with big hits. Sticking with the process that Coach Garrido talks about all of the time. Game two was the same thing, we were hitting the ball hard and some of them weren't falling; even today we hit some balls hard that didn't fall as well. C.J Hinojosa is ripping the ball; his average doesn't show it but if he just keeps doing what he's doing he'll be just fine.â€
On who the team leaders are: “I really think it's a group effort. If you look at [three] guys, Parker French and Collin Shaw and Brooks Marlow, they are all seniors who have been around this program for a long time, they've seen it at its worst and at its best and for young guys to look up to them and for them it's their last shot to get a National Championship. Parker French came back this year specifically to win it all and get us a ring so I think those three guys mainly but it's a group effort overall. We have six guys who are consistently in the lineup last year and as you get older you are going to become a leader on and off the field so there are some seniors who are doing a great job leading but I would say it's a group effort for sure.â€
