Texas baseball eeks out a tight 1-0 win over Alabama in opener

The start to this weekend’s three-game series with the Alabama Crimson Tide out of the SEC didn’t really go as planned for head coach David Pierce and No. 1 ranked Texas baseball.  Yet, Texas was still able to come out with the win in the end over the Crimson Tide to keep their spotless record on the season through six games. When it’s all said and done, that’s what really matters.

Pierce and the Longhorns saw Pete Hansen take to the mound as the starting pitcher in this series opener against Alabama. And he spun yet another gem in his second start of the season. He gave the Longhorns six shutout innings in his first start of the season, which came in the opener last week against the Rice Owls.

And Hansen didn’t really slow down at all in this one. Hansen held a previously undefeated Alabama team that scored 24 runs in their last three games combined at bay.

Pete Hansen shuts out Alabama to give Texas baseball the tight 1-0 win in this series opener

Hansen gave the Longhorns five shutout innings on the mound with eight strikeouts, four hits allowed, and one walk.

Alabama couldn’t make good use of seven hits and one Texas error in this game. They would wind up stranding a dozen runners on base. That included Hansen getting out of a bases-loaded jam without giving up a single run at one point.

Meanwhile, the Longhorns were able to capitalize on a couple of fortunate bounces in the bottom of the seventh inning. Outfielder Skyler Messinger was able to score thanks to a couple of wild pitches from the Crimson Tide to get what wound up being the lone run in this game.

Texas’ bullpen held the Crimson Tide to two hits in the last two innings of this game to put it away for the men in burnt orange. Texas has really played it close to the vest in their last two games. In their last two games, the Longhorns beat the Crimson Tide and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders by one run.

Pierce and the Longhorns will be looking to come away with a more comfortable win when they take on Alabama in the second of three games in this weekend series at Disch-Falk Field on Feb. 26.

Following this close one-run win over the Crimson Tide, the Longhorns now sit with a record of 6-0 (0-0 Big 12). First pitch in Game 2 between Texas and Alabama in this weekend series is set for 1:30 p.m. at the Disch on Feb. 26.