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Texas Baseball Erases Memory of Last Tuesday with 4-1 Win

By James Caldwell

Apr 5, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base coach Mickey Morandini (12) grabs a baseball off the warning track at Great American Ball Park. The Reds won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 5, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first base coach Mickey Morandini (12) grabs a baseball off the warning track at Great American Ball Park. The Reds won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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Texas Baseball played their worst game of the season last Tuesday. This Tuesday, the Longhorns returned to their standard.

Texas beat Texas-Arlington 4-1 on Tuesday night in Austin, winning their third straight game.

Texas has now won 8 out of 9 games, with the lone blemish being last Tuesday’s terrible performance in Sugar Land against Louisiana-Lafayette.

But, Texas regained confidence over the weekend when they swept Oklahoma State on the road in Stillwater.

That carried over to the win against UTA with a combination of great pitching, timely hitting, and the trademark double play. [ Full Box Score ]

Texas Baseball a Double Play Machine

Texas is one of the NCAA leaders in ERA and double plays. That is not a coincidence since the infield erases so many runners for the Texas pitching staff.

There was no better example than Tuesday night. Starter Kyle Johnston only lasted two and one-thirds innings as he dealt with wildness. Johnston allowed five hits, three walks, and one run before exiting.

Nick Kennedy then came in and pitched three and two-thirds of one-hit baseball to get his seventh win of the season to go with zero losses.

After Tyler Schimpf pitched two innings of middle relief, Beau Ridgeway got his 11th save of the season.

To help out the pitching staff, there were four double plays to match the number of pitchers used.

  • 2nd Inning: Inning-ending double play with a runner on third to keep the score 1-1
  • 3rd Inning: Line-out double play with a runner on third to keep the game 1-1
  • 4th Inning: Inning-ending DP to keep Texas ahead 3-1
  • 5th Inning: Double Play to erase a leadoff hitter

Which players were in the middle of those plays? Freshman sensation shortshop David Hamilton and his counterpart second baseman Bret Boswell.

Travis Jones Provides the Offense

Travis Jones was struggling entering Tuesday’s game against UTA. But, Jones broke out in a big way with a key hit-and-run double to right field in the first inning. The throw to second base got away, allowing Kody Clemens to score, so Jones did not get an RBI on the double.

But, Jones picked up an RBI in the fifth inning when he belted a home run to left field to book-end the scoring.

In-between, Texas got a sac fly from Kacy Clemens and RBI double from Ryan Reynolds.

Texas did not have a typical Tuesday night offensive outburst. But, they were playing a red-hot baseball team from Arlington that fell to 26-18 on the season.

Interestingly enough, UTA swept Louisiana-Lafayette over the weekend, just a few days after Louisiana handed Texas its worst loss of the season.

Meanwhile, Texas improved to 31-16 on the season heading into their huge weekend road series against Top 10 TCU.

Next: Have You Seen this Play by David Hamilton?

The Longhorns will bring a 9-8 Big 12 conference record into the TCU series, which starts Friday night in Ft. Worth.

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