Texas Baseball: HR Derby gives Texas first win in two weeks

Texas Baseball was in Home Run Derby mode against Incarnate Word Tuesday night in Austin.

The Longhorns took care of Incarnate Word 10-3 thanks to home runs and plenty of extra base hits. It was the first win for Texas Baseball in two weeks dating back to their previous mid-week game on May 2 against UT-Arlington.

After the UTA game, Texas was swept on the road at TCU before the schedule called for an entire week off. The Longhorns came back refreshed on Tuesday night on their way to 10 runs on 15 hits.

Eight of the 15 hits were extra base hits:

• Patrick Mathis home run
• Michael Cantu home run
• Mathis double
• Kacy Clemens double
• Michael McCann double
• Bret Boswell with two doubles
• David Hamilton double

Texas has struggled to piece together extra base hits this season. But, the Longhorn hitters looked re-motivated after their sickening sweep at the hands of TCU the last time they were on the diamond. [ Full Box Score ]

Texas Pitching Just Enough vs. Incarnate Word

Manager David Pierce used seven pitchers in the victory against Incarnate Word. It was clear that Coach Pierce wanted to use as many arms as possible after the long break in-between games to get everyone sharp for the stretch run of the college baseball season.

Nick Kennedy started the game and went four innings, only throwing 57 pitches. Then, it was bullpen by committee trying to get everyone some quality work.

Eventually, Texas closer Beau Ridgeway finished off the game to erase the bad taste from the TCU series, where he blew two leads.

In the middle of the parade of pitchers, the pitching staff was also helped out by a great play in center field by Zane Gurwitz.

When the game was still in question at 7-3, UIW loaded the bases with two outs in the fifth inning. The Cardinals’ Garrett Terrell laced a ball to deep center field that Gurwitz nabbed at the last second. Otherwise, the ball would have bounced off the wall and all three runs would have scored to make it a very interesting one-run game.

That defensive gem allowed Texas to retake momentum. Then, Texas tacked on three runs for the final difference of 10-3.

Texas Baseball Finishes Mid-Week Schedule

Last year, the Longhorns struggled in mid-week games. That was a contributor to why Augie Garrido wrapped up his Hall of Fame career with Texas Baseball.

This year, the Longhorns went 12-2 in mid-week contests. The Horns went undefeated at home, 10-0. That has helped Texas’ postseason resume tremendously by avoiding bad losses during the season.

Now, the Longhorns get a chance to redeem the TCU series when they host West Virginia this weekend. It will be the last Big 12 series for the Horns, who are 9-11 in the conference.

Texas wants to build momentum for the Big 12 conference tournament, while also solidifying their spot in the NCAA Tournament. A few wins will take care of that. And, a sweep would drastically improve the Horns’ position for the Big 12 tournament.

Next: Texas Baseball Latest RPI Ranking

The first game is Friday night at 6:30 p.m. CST. Then, Saturday is at 4:00 p.m. and Sunday is at 1:00 p.m. All three games will air on Longhorn Network.