Winning Pitcher: Jared Southard (4-1)
Losing Pitcher: Stevan Fairburn Jr (0-2)
Texas v. Air Force Box Score
QUICK SUMMARY
Travis Sthele started the game for Texas as Coach Pierce and staff decided that the best outcome was to have Sthele go three innings and then bring in power arm Jared Southard for two innings and then turn it over to Andre Duplantier. Sthele did not make it easy on himself in the first but he did put up a zero on the scoreboard which was the most important thing. Sthele once again made things interesting in the 2nd inning after giving up a 1 out hit and throwing back to back wild pitches, but Sthele bounced back by getting back to back strikeouts to end the frame.
In the 3rd inning, Austin Todd once again came through with a single through the right to get the Horns started. Skyler Messinger followed that up with a single through to put two runners on with no outs. Silas Ardoin attempted to bunt but in the end was able to sky a fly ball to RF to move Todd down to 3B with 1 out. Daly followed that up with another fly ball to RF, this time a sac fly to bring Todd home and make it 6-0 Texas. Sthele once again made it interesting by walking the first batter but finished out strong by getting three straight outs to end the frame.
In the 4th inning, Hodo led off by striking out, but the 2 hole hitter, Dylan Campbell came up big by hitting a solo shot to LF to make it 7-0 Texas. Coach Pierce turned to Jared Southard in the 4th inning and he came in with a 84-87mph slider and 94-98mph fastball striking out the first three batters he faced to continue the shutout for Texas.
In the 5th inning, Austin Todd again led the inning off, but grounded out. Skyler Messinger then hit a single to RF on a 3-2 count and then moved down to 2B following a wild pitch by Air Force reliever Rob Martin. Silas followed up by hitting a hard liner to right center for an RBI double to make it 8-0 Texas. In the bottom half of the 5th, Southard gave up a 2 out double to 1B Sam Kulasingam, but got a strikeout swinging to end the frame and scoring threat.
In the 6th inning, Texas went down quietly at the plate as Ivan Melendez hit a grounder to the SS who turned the double play. Southard started off the bottom half of the 6th strongly with back to back strikeouts but hit RF Greiving and then walked DH Altorfer. Southard bounced back to preserve the shutout by inducing a ground out to Ivan at 1B.
In the 7th inning, it was none other than Austin Todd again leading things off but grounded out. Skyler Messinger and Silas Ardoin followed up by both getting walked, but unfortunately Mitch Daly grounded into an inning ending double play to end the Horns scoring threat. In the bottom half of the 7th, Andre Duplantier came in to pitch for Texas and started off strong by inducing two groundouts to Faltine. Dre did give up a 2 out single to Kulasingam, but bounce back to get a strikeout swinging, continuing to preserve the 8-0 Texas lead.
In the 8th inning, Trey Faltine led things off for the Horns and drew a walk but was immediately erased on the base paths as Eric Kennedy, who came into the game for Hodo, hit into a double play. With 2 outs and no runners on, it was Dylan Campbell time again as he delivered a no doubter over the LF wall and into the street to make it 9-0 Texas. That was DC's 3rd hit of the Austin Regional and his 3rd home run. In the bottom of the 8th inning, Dre was back out on the mound for Texas and though he gave up a single to start off the inning, be utilized a heavy breaking ball down in the zone to induce a double play. Dre once again turned to his breaking ball to get a strikeout swinging to end the frame and preserve the 9-0 Texas shutout.
In the 9th inning, Austin Todd again led thing off for the Horns, his 4th time doing so on the night, but he came up empty as he grounded out to the excellent 2B from Air Force Tamiya. Skyler Messinger was then hit by a fastball up high, but thankfully was ok to continue on. After Silas struck out swinging on a high fastball inside, Mitch Daly delivered by driving a liner to right center to put two runners on with 2 outs. Trey Faltine then hit a 2-2 fastball down the RF line for an RBI double scoring Messinger to make it 10-0 Texas. Unfortunately the inning ended there as Mitch Daly blew through the stop sign that Coach Pierce threw up at 3B and was tagged out going home. For the bottom of the 9th, LBJ came in to pitch as the coaching staff continues to try and build depth in the bullpen. The first batter LBJ faced was the senior designated hitter, Lieutenant Altorfer who got a 3-2 fastball and hit a no doubter off the video board in left field in what would be his last ever collegiate at bat. LBJ bounced back though with an excellent fastball that sat betweem 95-98mph and a big breaking ball to get back to back strikeouts. Texas fans were on their feet as senior Lieutenant Zimmerman hit an 0-1 fastball to Skyler Messinger who made the throw across to Ivan at 1B for the last out.
Texas has persevered and though there were many bumps throughout the season, the Longhorns are headed to the NCAA Super Regionals, their 12 such Super Regional since the NCAA went to the new format in 1999. With the win, Texas also moves to 45-19 on the year.
Austin Regional All-Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player – Skyler Messinger, Texas
Catcher – Jorge Corona, Louisiana Tech
First Base – Ivan Melendez*, Texas
Second Base – Trayden Tamiya, Air Force
Third Base – Skyler Messinger*, Texas
Shortstop – Trey Faltine, Texas
Outfield – Jake Greiving, Air Force
Outfield – Murphy Stehly, Texas
Outfield – Dylan Campbell, Texas
Outfield – Gabriel Garcia, Air Force
Designated Hitter – Austin Todd, Texas
Pitcher – Tristan Stevens, Texas
Pitcher – Doyle Gehring, Air Force
BIG MOMENT
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE TO NOTE
THE ARMS
TAKEAWAYS
UP NEXT
HookEm!
Losing Pitcher: Stevan Fairburn Jr (0-2)
Texas v. Air Force Box Score
QUICK SUMMARY
- Texas wins 10-1 over Air Force
Travis Sthele started the game for Texas as Coach Pierce and staff decided that the best outcome was to have Sthele go three innings and then bring in power arm Jared Southard for two innings and then turn it over to Andre Duplantier. Sthele did not make it easy on himself in the first but he did put up a zero on the scoreboard which was the most important thing. Sthele once again made things interesting in the 2nd inning after giving up a 1 out hit and throwing back to back wild pitches, but Sthele bounced back by getting back to back strikeouts to end the frame.
In the 3rd inning, Austin Todd once again came through with a single through the right to get the Horns started. Skyler Messinger followed that up with a single through to put two runners on with no outs. Silas Ardoin attempted to bunt but in the end was able to sky a fly ball to RF to move Todd down to 3B with 1 out. Daly followed that up with another fly ball to RF, this time a sac fly to bring Todd home and make it 6-0 Texas. Sthele once again made it interesting by walking the first batter but finished out strong by getting three straight outs to end the frame.
In the 4th inning, Hodo led off by striking out, but the 2 hole hitter, Dylan Campbell came up big by hitting a solo shot to LF to make it 7-0 Texas. Coach Pierce turned to Jared Southard in the 4th inning and he came in with a 84-87mph slider and 94-98mph fastball striking out the first three batters he faced to continue the shutout for Texas.
In the 5th inning, Austin Todd again led the inning off, but grounded out. Skyler Messinger then hit a single to RF on a 3-2 count and then moved down to 2B following a wild pitch by Air Force reliever Rob Martin. Silas followed up by hitting a hard liner to right center for an RBI double to make it 8-0 Texas. In the bottom half of the 5th, Southard gave up a 2 out double to 1B Sam Kulasingam, but got a strikeout swinging to end the frame and scoring threat.
In the 6th inning, Texas went down quietly at the plate as Ivan Melendez hit a grounder to the SS who turned the double play. Southard started off the bottom half of the 6th strongly with back to back strikeouts but hit RF Greiving and then walked DH Altorfer. Southard bounced back to preserve the shutout by inducing a ground out to Ivan at 1B.
In the 7th inning, it was none other than Austin Todd again leading things off but grounded out. Skyler Messinger and Silas Ardoin followed up by both getting walked, but unfortunately Mitch Daly grounded into an inning ending double play to end the Horns scoring threat. In the bottom half of the 7th, Andre Duplantier came in to pitch for Texas and started off strong by inducing two groundouts to Faltine. Dre did give up a 2 out single to Kulasingam, but bounce back to get a strikeout swinging, continuing to preserve the 8-0 Texas lead.
In the 8th inning, Trey Faltine led things off for the Horns and drew a walk but was immediately erased on the base paths as Eric Kennedy, who came into the game for Hodo, hit into a double play. With 2 outs and no runners on, it was Dylan Campbell time again as he delivered a no doubter over the LF wall and into the street to make it 9-0 Texas. That was DC's 3rd hit of the Austin Regional and his 3rd home run. In the bottom of the 8th inning, Dre was back out on the mound for Texas and though he gave up a single to start off the inning, be utilized a heavy breaking ball down in the zone to induce a double play. Dre once again turned to his breaking ball to get a strikeout swinging to end the frame and preserve the 9-0 Texas shutout.
In the 9th inning, Austin Todd again led thing off for the Horns, his 4th time doing so on the night, but he came up empty as he grounded out to the excellent 2B from Air Force Tamiya. Skyler Messinger was then hit by a fastball up high, but thankfully was ok to continue on. After Silas struck out swinging on a high fastball inside, Mitch Daly delivered by driving a liner to right center to put two runners on with 2 outs. Trey Faltine then hit a 2-2 fastball down the RF line for an RBI double scoring Messinger to make it 10-0 Texas. Unfortunately the inning ended there as Mitch Daly blew through the stop sign that Coach Pierce threw up at 3B and was tagged out going home. For the bottom of the 9th, LBJ came in to pitch as the coaching staff continues to try and build depth in the bullpen. The first batter LBJ faced was the senior designated hitter, Lieutenant Altorfer who got a 3-2 fastball and hit a no doubter off the video board in left field in what would be his last ever collegiate at bat. LBJ bounced back though with an excellent fastball that sat betweem 95-98mph and a big breaking ball to get back to back strikeouts. Texas fans were on their feet as senior Lieutenant Zimmerman hit an 0-1 fastball to Skyler Messinger who made the throw across to Ivan at 1B for the last out.
Texas has persevered and though there were many bumps throughout the season, the Longhorns are headed to the NCAA Super Regionals, their 12 such Super Regional since the NCAA went to the new format in 1999. With the win, Texas also moves to 45-19 on the year.
Austin Regional All-Tournament Team
Most Valuable Player – Skyler Messinger, Texas
Catcher – Jorge Corona, Louisiana Tech
First Base – Ivan Melendez*, Texas
Second Base – Trayden Tamiya, Air Force
Third Base – Skyler Messinger*, Texas
Shortstop – Trey Faltine, Texas
Outfield – Jake Greiving, Air Force
Outfield – Murphy Stehly, Texas
Outfield – Dylan Campbell, Texas
Outfield – Gabriel Garcia, Air Force
Designated Hitter – Austin Todd, Texas
Pitcher – Tristan Stevens, Texas
Pitcher – Doyle Gehring, Air Force
BIG MOMENT
- First inning Hodo leads off with a hit but is caught stealing only for DC to walk on the next pitch bringing up Ivan Melendez to the plate who delivered a high fastball over the LF fence for an early 2-0 run. That is his 30th HR of the season, just one short of Kris Bryant's BBCOR record for 31 in a season.
INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE TO NOTE
- Dylan Campbell, inserted into the lineup in lieu of EK came up big with 2 home runs on the evening, while Skyler Messinger, playing in his first ever NCAA Regional continues to swing a hot bat and really helped propel Texas through the Austin Regional offensively, being named Regional MVP while doing so.
THE ARMS
- Travis Sthele got the start and went 3 innings without giving up a run, though not without struggles, but the righty who started the season so brightly for the Horns did not give up a run.
- Jared Southard went 3 innings, the longest of his career, giving up only 1 hit, 1 walk and striking out 6, while also not allowing a run.
- Andre Duplantier went 2 innings, giving up 2 hits and struck out 2, also not giving up a run.
- Lebarron Johnson Jr went 1 inning, giving up 1 run on 1 hit while striking out 2.
TAKEAWAYS
- The Longhorns did what they needed to do, winning all three games at Disch-Falk Field to make it to a Super Regional. No matter what has occurred up to this point, all that matters is that Texas is still alive and moving on.
UP NEXT
- The Horns will sit back and watch the East Carolina v. Coastal Carolina elimination game on Monday at Noon CST. If East Carolina wins, the Longhorns will head to Greenville, North Carolina. If Coastal Carolina wins, the Horns will host the Chanticleer’s in Austin for the Super Regional. We are all Chanticleer fans tomorrow!
HookEm!
