For the second straight weekend, the Longhorns earned a Big 12 series win. Texas took two-out-of-three from the Jayhawks at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.
The Texas baseball team played Kansas in Austin this past weekend. The Longhorns finally returned home to host a Big 12 series after playing Kansas State and Oklahoma on the road the previous two weekends.
The series started Friday night with a double-header. Kansas took the first game 11-5. Texas struck early, scoring one in the first and two in the second, but the Jayhawks plated two in the third and fourth and three in the fifth. Texas scored two more in the fourth but couldn’t keep up with Kansas as the Jayhawks scored one in the seventh and three in the eighth. Morgan Cooper took the loss. Cooper allowed seven runs with five of them earned. Kacy Clemens, Michael Cantu and Tyler Rand all recorded multi-hit games with two hits each. Rand, Cantu, Kacy, Travis Jones and Kody Clemens all picked up one RBI.
Game two on Friday night started out the same as game one with Texas scoring in the bottom of the first again, but the Longhorns did not let this one get away from them and earned an 8-6 victory. Jones led off the bottom of the first with a double, and Barrera followed with a double of his own, scoring Jones and giving Texas the early lead. Zane Gurwitz added to Texas’ run column with a three-run homerun on a 0-2 count. Gurwitz plated Barrera and Kacy before touching home himself, giving Texas a 4-0 lead after the first inning. Kyle Johnston earned his second win of the season, pitching 5.2 innings. Johnston allowed only two runs while striking out four. The sophomore held Kansas hitless through the first three innings. Travis Duke relieved Johnston in the sixth inning, recording his 106th appearance as a Longhorn. He passed Huston Street and tied J. Brent Cox and Randy Boone for second all-time appearances at Texas. Austin Wood is the only player left between Duke and first. Wood owns 118 appearances. The Jayhawks rallied in the ninth, scoring four runs before Texas made the final out of the game and sealed the win.
The Longhorns secured the series win in only seven innings on Saturday as Texas run ruled Kansas 12-2. The Longhorns’ offense struck early again with three runs in the home half of the first. Kansas countered with one in the top of the second and fourth. But Texas scored four in the third, two in the fourth and fifth and one in the seventh to run rule the Jayhawks. Kacy finished the game 2-for-2 with three walks. He recorded two RBIs. Ty Culbreth earned his seventh win of the season after pitching all seven innings, allowing only eight hits and two runs. He struck out four and finished his second complete game in a Texas uniform.
Texas hosts UT Rio Grande Valley this Tuesday, looking for its first Tuesday night win since March 22 against UTSA. The Longhorns then travel to Lubbock for a three game series against the Red Raiders. Texas Tech sits first in the Big 12 standings with an 11-1 conference record and undefeated at home. Texas owns a 7-5 conference record and a 3-3 record on the road. The Longhorns sit in the middle of the Big 12 standings with two teams ahead of them and five teams below them.
