Texas Pulls Off Major Comeback to Stop Losing Streak
Texas Baseball rallied from a 7-0 deficit on Wednesday night to avoid a disastrous mid-week set of games.
For the first time this season, the Texas Baseball starters did not deliver in back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday. Fortunately, the Horns won 9-7 on Wednesday to snap a four-game losing streak.
On Tuesday, the Longhorns lost 11-10 in extra innings on the road against Texas State. In the late innings, Texas was up 9-5, 9-7, and then 10-7 entering the bottom of the ninth. But, the Horns gave up three runs in the last frame. Texas State then scored in the bottom of the tenth to win 11-10.
On Wednesday, UT-Rio Grande Valley strolled into Austin and dropped 7 runs in the top of the first inning. Yes, 7 runs.
Starter Connor Mayes only lasted one-third of the first inning. But, Jon Malmin came in and delivered an amazing six and two-thirds innings of shutout baseball.
Malmin’s work bought the Longhorns hitters enough time to chip away for five innings before finally taking the lead. [ Full Box Score ]
How Did Texas Baseball Recover vs. UT-RGV?
Before the crowd even settled into Disch-Falk Field on a Wednesday night, the Longhorns were down 7-0. So, the hitters decided they needed to start doing work.
Bret Boswell hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first.
Then, Ryan Reynolds hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second. This was followed by RBI singles by Tate Shaw and Boswell again to make it 7-6 after the second inning.
Texas did not threaten again until the fifth. Meanwhile, Jon Malmin continued to shut down UT-RGV after their first inning outburst.
In the fifth, Austin Todd hit a sac fly to tie the game at 7-7. Then, Texas took the lead 8-7 when LF Jose Garcia dropped a flyball near the warning track, allowing Kody Clemens to score. It was a tough play racing toward the wall but still catchable.
Texas then tacked on a ninth run in the bottom of the seventh when Kody Clemens drove in Michael McCann.
The Texas Bullpen, which struggled so mightily the night before, shut down UT-RGV in the final innings to secure the 9-7 comeback win.
It was such a flip from the first-half of the season when the Texas Baseball starters were dominant and the bullpen blew key games, such as the Stanford series a few weeks ago.
What Happened Against Texas State?
On Tuesday night, the Longhorns bullpen fell apart in the late innings. And, Texas State never led in the game until the Bobcats won 11-10 in the tenth inning.
It was unfortunate because the Texas hitters burst out with 10 runs on 15 hits – more hits than the entire Texas Tech series the weekend before.
Included were home runs by Kody Clemens and Travis Jones, who had a ridiculous statline of 3-5 with 4 runs scored, 1 HR, 2 RBI, and 1 walk. Also, Tate Shaw went 4-6 with 4 RBI.
As for the pitchers, Texas starter Nick Kennedy struggled to the tune of 5 runs in 5 innings. Then, Chase Shugart gave up two runs before Beau Ridgeway handed the ball off in the ninth.
But, in the ninth, Kyle Johnston struggled in his third straight game. Johnston nearly gave away the Texas A&M game last week, then served up batting practice during a tie game against Texas Tech on Sunday, and gave up three runs in the bottom of the ninth against Texas State. Something seems off with Johnston as of late.
Parker Joe Robinson then lost the game in the bottom of the tenth, sending Texas to their fourth straight loss after being swept by Tech. [ Full Box Score ]
Texas is fortunate to have rallied against UT-RGV on Wednesday night. The Horns went from winning six in a row to losing four in a row and they could not afford a fifth straight loss before another home Big 12 conference series against Kansas State.
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Texas is now 14-10 on the season. The Horns need to realign before the power-hitting Wildcats come to Austin starting Friday night.