No. 19 Texas baseball (2-1, 0-0 SEC) left Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX, with a winning record after a convincing 14-8 win over the No. 17 Oklahoma State Cowboys (1-2, 0-0 Big 12) on Sunday night. Texas and head coach Jim Schlossnagle won two straight games to close out the Shriners Children's College Showdown over the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday night and Oklahoma State last night.
Will Gasparino and Max Belyeu combine for double-digit runs batted in to help No. 19 Texas baseball close out the opening weekend with two victories
This was a strong response for the Longhorns after suffering a tough 4-3 walk-off defeat in 10 innings against the Louisville Cardinals on Feb. 14.
Texas was led with the bats by Max Belyeu and Will Gasparino, who had multiple hits and runs batted in for the wins, closing out the weekend at Globe Life Field vs. Ole Miss and Oklahoma State on Sunday. Belyeu's two home runs and five runs batted in included a game-winning RBI for the Longhorns over the weekend.
Gasparino boasted a team-high eight RBIs for the Longhorns and two home runs, good for a .357 batting average, in the College Showdown. With a team-high four RBIs, Gasparino was instrumental in Texas's middle-inning rally at the plate against Oklahoma State.
The Longhorns rallied behind an eight-run outburst in the bottom of the fifth inning to move its record to 2-1 after the Shriners Children's College Showdown last weekend in Arlington. Gasparino and freshman Adrian Rodriguez got the scoring started for Texas in the bottom of the fifth, driving in a couple of runs to tie the game at 4-4 after the Pokes had taken an early-inning lead.
Texas batted around, with Belyeu and Gasparino getting back up to the plate for a couple of RBIs to get Texas up to a 12-4 lead over Oklahoma State going into the sixth inning.
Will Mercer and Andre Duplantier II closed out the six-run win for the Longhorns with two shutout innings on the mound out of the bullpen.
Texas really found its grove at the plate in the last two games of the College Showdown, combining for two-dozen runs and a +16 run differential against Ole Miss and Oklahoma State.
Freshman Drew Rerick claimed the first win of his collegiate career out of the bullpen for the Longhorns against the Pokes yesterday. He helped to stabilize the Longhorns' pitching after it had allowed four earned runs in the game's first 3.2 innings.
Schloss and the Longhorns host the Houston Cougars (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) from the Big 12 at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in the home regular season opener on Tuesday night (Feb. 18) at 6:30 p.m. CT.