The Texas baseball team is keeping its postseason alive in the Big 12 tournament, hanging on with a win today after a loss in game one
The No. 7 seed Longhorns lost 4-10 to the No. 2 seed Oklahoma State on Wednesday, putting Texas in the losers bracket. However, the Horns beat Baylor 15-3 in seven innings today to keep moving towards the championship game.
In the loss against the Cowboys, Texas scored first, plating two runs in the first inning. With one out and Zane Gurwitz on first, Travis Jones hit a double to score Gurwitz. The very next batter, Tres Barrera, singled to score Jones. Ty Culbreth took the mound in the bottom of the first, pitching four shutout innings before Oklahoma State clawed its way back into the game. In the top of the fifth, the Longhorns scored two runs, taking a 4-0 lead. Jake McKenzie started the inning off with a single and took second on a sac bunt by Tyler Rand – Augie ball as some would call it. McKenzie scored on a Gurwitz single to center field, who advanced to second on the throw. Barrera brought Gurwitz to the plate with a single before the Cowboys could get out of the inning. However, the bottom of the fifth became disastrous for Texas. Oklahoma State loaded the bases with no outs when shortstop Joe Baker committed a fielding error, and the Cowboys scored their first run. Two more runs crossed the plate, making it 4-3 Texas, before the Longhorns recorded their first defensive out. Beau Ridgeway replaced Culbreth with one out and immediately gave up a grand slam, giving Oklahoma State a 7-4 lead. One more run – unearned – crossed the plate before Texas could get out of the fifth inning, which ended up being an eight-run inning for the Cowboys. The Longhorns gave up two more runs and couldn’t score any more the rest of the game to lose 4-10. Culbreth took the loss, pitching 4.1 innings and giving up six runs – five earned. He struck out six, walked one and allowed seven hits. Texas used a total of six pitchers in the game. Barrera was the only Longhorn to record a multi-hit day, going 2-for-4 while plating two runs.
Today, the Longhorns came out in revenge mode, beating the Bears 15-3 in seven innings. Texas scored three in the first inning. Rand led off the game with a single, and with one out, Jones singled to center, plating Rand. Kacy Clemens singled with two outs, scoring Jones, and Patrick Mathis roped a triple to score Kacy Clemens. Morgan Cooper stepped on the mound in the bottom of the first with a 3-0 lead. The Longhorns added four more runs in the top of the third. Barrera hit a three-run home run, and Kacy Clemens followed with a solo shot of his own. Baylor got one run back in the bottom of the third inning, making it 7-1 after three innings. Each team added a run in the fifth inning – Texas scored first with Bret Boswell leading off the inning with a triple and scoring on a wild pitch. Baylor added a run with a sac fly, and scored one more in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homer. Entering the seventh with the score 8-3, Texas’ offense exploded. The Longhorns recorded a total of five hits in the inning including a three-run home run by Mathis. Texas scored seven runs in the seventh – all on two outs. Cooper held the Bears scoreless in the bottom of the seventh to take the win in a run-rule. The Longhorns won 15-3, advancing to the next round in the tournament. Cooper pitched all seven innings, earning his third win of the season. He scattered 10 hits, giving up three earned runs while striking out three. Four Longhorns finished with multi-hit days: Jones, Barrera, Kacy Clemens and Mathis. Barrera and Mathis each recorded four RBIs.
The Longhorns next opponent will be TCU or Oklahoma State, depending on who loses tonight. Texas took two of the three games against TCU earlier in the season; however, the Longhorns have yet to beat Oklahoma State this year. Last year the Longhorns defeated the Cowboys in the championship game.
Texas’ next game is scheduled for Friday at 7:00 CT – a must win game for the Longhorns to keep advancing.
