Following a 6-2 loss on Friday night, Texas Baseball recorded a doubleheader sweep of Northwestern on Saturday, 10-7 and 16-3. Kody Clemens finished the day with 6 RBI’s and the Longhorn’s received an outstanding pitching performance from Blair Henley in game 2. The pair of wins pushes Texas’ record to 7-4 on the season, while Northwestern drops to 3-6.
Game 1
In game 1 of the doubleheader, Texas hit 3 home runs en route to a 10-7 victory. Starter Nolan Kingham received the win and lasted 5 ⅔ innings, allowing 3 runs and striking out 7. Beau Ridgeway threw the final ⅔ innings, notching his 2nd save of the season. At the plate, Kody Clemens led the way with a 2 for 4 performance with 3 RBI’s.
In the first, Texas got the scoring started after a 1 out single by Masen Hibbeler. Kody Clemens connected on a deep home run to right field, giving the Longhorns an early 2-0 lead.
Northwestern responded in the 3rd. Ben Dickey reached base on a 1 out single and scored on a RBI double by Jack Dunn. Two batters later, Willie Bourbon blasted an opposite field 2 run homer to give the Wildcats a 3-2 lead.
Ryan Reynolds quickly gave the Longhorns the lead back with a 2 run home run in the 4th, making the score 4-3.
Texas extended their lead with a big 6th inning. Ryan Reynolds led off with a walk. Tate Shaw followed with a hit by pitch. Michael McCann then laid down a bunt single, and a wild throw to first base allowed Reynolds to score and Shaw to move up to third. A sacrifice fly by Duke Ellis drove in Shaw and pushed the lead to 6-3. After a David Hamilton walk and stolen base, Masen Hibbeler drove a single into RF, scoring McCann. The Longhorns scored the final run of the inning when a Kody Clemens fly ball was dropped in left field, scoring David Hamilton and giving Texas a 8-3 lead.
The Wildcats cut the lead to 8-5 in their half of the 7th. Leo Kaplan delivered a RBI single and later scored on a throwing error by Michael McCann.
Duke Ellis hit his first home run of the season in the bottom half of the inning to stretch the lead to 9-5.
Jake McKenzie delivered the final run for the Longhorns in the bottom of the 8th when he doubled home Kody Clemens, who reached on a single.
In the 9th, Kaplan again cut into the Texas lead by hitting a 2 run double into left center. The Wildcat’s would bring the tying run to the plate in the inning, but Beau Ridgeway recorded the final two outs to give Texas the victory.
Game 2
The Longhorns scored 11 runs in the first 3 innings, and cruised to a 16-3 victory in game 2. Blair Henley threw 6 scoreless innings and received the win. The right-hander only allowed two hits and struck out 4. Masen Hibbeler finished the game with 4 RBI’s and Kody Clemens added 3 RBI’s.
Texas quickly jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 1st. David Hamilton led off a bunt single and advanced to 2nd on a sacrifice bunt by Hibbeler. Hamilton later advanced to third base on a passed ball and scored on the wild pitch.
In the 2nd, Texas padded their lead. DJ Petrinsky led off the inning with a walk and advanced to 2nd when Jake McKenzie was hit by a pitch. The runners moved up to 2nd and 3rd following a groundout by Duke Ellis. Following a Kamron Fields walk to load bases, Hamilton lifted a sacrifice fly to bring the lead to 2-0. Hibbeler then smacked a double off the wall in left center, scoring 2 runners and doubling the Longhorns lead to 4-0.
The Longhorn offense put up another crooked number in the 3rd. Texas loaded the bases with 0 outs after a pair of singles and a walk. Duke Ellis came through with a sacrifice fly to extend the lead to 5-0. After Fields was hit by the pitch to load the bases again, David Hamilton walked to force in another run. Masen Hibbeler followed with a RBI on a hit by pitch. Kody Clemens put an exclamation point on the inning by blasting a opposite field home run to make it a 11-0 game.
Texas tacked on a couple more runs in the 5th. Andy McGuire led off the inning with a opposite field double down the first base line. Zach Zubia then drove home McGuire with a single up the middle, with an error that allowed him to advance to 2nd. After a groundout moved him to third, Zubia scored on a wild pitch to give Texas a 13-0 lead.
Willie Bourbon finally got Northwestern on the board with a RBI single in the top of the 7th to cut the lead to 13-1.
Texas quickly responded with 3 runs of their own in the bottom of the 8th. Hibbeler drove home Joe Baker with a sacrifice fly. Later, Zach Zubia grounded into what appeared to be a 5-4-3 double play, but a wide throw to first base allowed 2 runs to score.
The Wildcats scored 2 runs in the 9th on a two run home run by Kyle Burnett, but Bryce Verplank eventually ended the game by striking out Charlie Maxwell.
