Texas baseball scorching hot with the bats ahead of regular season finale

Head coach David Pierce and No. 22 ranked Texas baseball got back in action as this team comes close to rounding out the regular season slate this week. In the final non-conference game of the regular season, Texas hosted Sam Houston State at home at UFCU Disch-Falk Field on May 17.

This was the second meeting during the regular season between Texas and Sam Houston State. The first came back on March 1, when the Longhorns traveled to face the Bearkats on the road in Huntsville. That first meeting between Texas and Sam Houston State back on March 1 this season resulted in a convincing 10-2 win for the good guys.

Texas had a shot to sweep the regular season series in two games when they faced Sam Houston State on the night of May 17 at the Disch. And that’s exactly what Pierce and the Longhorns were able to do behind another explosive outing for the offense along with a solid outing on the mound from redshirt sophomore left-hander Zane Morehouse.

In five innings of work on the mound, Morehouse gave up just one earned run, four hits, and had five strikeouts en route to racking up his third win of the season. Morehouse now boasts a record of 3-0 following this win over Sam Houston State this week.

Texas also did a lot of damage in this game with their bats. With the nine runs that the Longhorns put up in this game, they’ve now scored at least eight runs in five of the last seven. Texas has also put up at least five runs in seven games in a row.

Zane Morehouse and Ivan Melendez power Texas baseball to 9-2 win over Sam Houston State

Texas got the jump on Sam Houston’s pitching staff from the get-go in this one. Breakout superstar Ivan Melendez led the way for the Longhorns with two hits (and one additional at-bat where he reached safely on a Sam Houston error), one of which was a three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning.

Moreover, Melendez and the Longhorns put up a whopping seven runs on Sam Houston in the first inning alone. In fact, Texas already had enough runs to beat Sam Houston in this game by the time Melendez (just the third batter in the order) came up to the plate in the first inning.

The four runs batted in for Melendez in this game pushes him to second in the country (with 80 on the season so far) in that stat category, ironically only behind Sam Houston State outfielder Carlos Contreras (87). Melendez also leads the nation in batting average (.421), home runs (26), slugging percentage (.935), and OPS (1.475).

It’s hard to find a hotter hitter in the entire country this season than Melendez. What he’s doing with the bat this season for the Longhorns is nothing short of astronomical.

Melendez helped contribute two of the 12 hits for the Longhorns on May 17, and four of the nine runs batted in. The dozen hits for Texas compounded with a solid effort from the pitching staff and the defense to get the seven-run win over the Bearkats in the final non-conference game of the regular season.

Following this win over Sam Houston, the Longhorns have now won five of their last six games and two in a row heading into the weekend series finale in a few days. Texas is now sitting with a record of 36-17 (11-10 Big 12) after this 9-2 win over Sam Houston.

All that remains for Melendez and the Longhorns before the Big 12 Tournament arrives is a weekend series at home at the Disch against the Kansas Jayhawks for three games. The first of three games in this weekend series against the Jayhawks to cap the regular season is set for May 19, with the first pitch time set for 6:30 p.m. CT.