Texas baseball cruises past Kansas State in finale to take series

In the series finale on April 9, No. 21 ranked Texas baseball and head coach David Pierce got the best of the stingy Kansas State Wildcats at home at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin. Texas topping Kansas State at home to cap the weekend gives Pierce’s squad the series win two games to one.

The first game of this series between Texas and Kansas State took place on April 7, one day after the three-game series was originally scheduled to begin. Weather delays wound up pushing back the series opener from April 6 to April 7.

Texas would ultimately get the best of Kansas State in the series opener on April 7, by the final score of 6-5. The Longhorns had to pull off a big-time rally late in the game in the series opener on April 7, which saw this squad score five runs in the bottom of the eighth to take the lead by one.

Kansas State got revenge in the second game of this series, though. On April 8, Kansas State pulled off a late-inning comeback of its own, scoring four runs in the top of the sixth and seventh. Kansas State nabbed the win in the second game of this series, also coming by a score of 6-5.

That left the series finale on April 9 as the decider between Texas and Kansas State this weekend. Texas left its fate in the hands of the towering 6-foot-8 junior Charlie Hurley, who let up two earned runs and four hits in five innings on the mound. Hurley got his third win of the season while striking out three Kansas State batters.

Texas’ bullpen really shut things down in the closing innings of this game. DJ Burke and Sam Walbridge combined for four scoreless innings on the mound, allowing just two hits while striking out four Wildcats.

But it wasn’t just the Texas pitching that got the job done on April 9. Led by a big day from senior outfielder Dylan Campbell, Texas’ bats had a lot of pop to cap this series. Texas registered a dozen hits on the day, which included two home runs.

Dylan Campbell leads No. 21 Texas baseball to a convincing series win over Kansas State

Campbell, in particular, gave the Longhorns three hits in five at-bats, good for one run scored and two runs batted in. One of those three hits for Campbell in this game was a double that helped the Longhorns put this one away late. Campbell’s double in the bottom of the fourth inning scored two runs, which extended Texas’ lead to 6-2.

Texas’ defense also showed up in this game. Campbell made some crucial plays with the glove in the outfield. He had four putouts, the most of any game in the series this weekend for Campbell. In the top of the third inning, Campbell also had a nice shoelace catch on the run for the second out.

As a team, Texas didn’t have any errors on the day. This was the second consecutive game where the Longhorns didn’t have any errors.

The combination of solid pitching, reliable defense, and a steady supply of hits resulted in a comfortable win for the Longhorns in this series finale on April 9 by a score of 8-2.

The series win over the Wildcats moves Texas’ record on the season to 23-10 (6-3 Big 12). Texas has regained its spot atop the Big 12 standings following the win over Kansas State in the series finale, 0.5 games ahead of the upstart Kansas Jayhawks.

Next up for Pierce, Campbell, and the Longhorns is a weekday home-and-home series against the Texas State Bobcats. The home-and-home against Texas State starts on the road on April 10 in San Marcos. And then, the Longhorns return home to the friendly confines of the Disch on April 11 for the second of two matchups against the Bobcats.