FINAL SCORE
Texas - 9
Texas Tech - 7
Winning Pitcher: Easton Tumis (2-0)
Save: Gage Boehm (2)
Losing Pitcher: Trendan Parish (1-1)
BOX SCORE
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RECAP
A game of momentum and breaks.
In the 1st inning, the Horns went down in order having seen only 4 pitches. The scouting report must have indicated that one of the best ways to attack starter Washburn was to hit early in the count as they did not take a lot of pitches.
In the Bottom of the 1st, starter Charlie Hurley ran into trouble immediately giving up a single and 2 run home run. Then with 2 outs, Hurley gave up a double and then an RBI single to give Tech an early 3-0 lead. It was evident early on that Hurley would have a very short leash as Tanner Witt started warming up early in the 1st inning.
In the Top 2nd, the Horns struck back when Porter Brown led off with an infield single and then Rylan Galvan reached on a dropped ball at 1B by Gavin Kash. Max Belyeu strode to the plate and on a full count hit an opposite field liner, plating two runs and pulling the Horns within one. Unfortunately, the Horns could not capitalize further with back to back strikeouts and a pop up.
In the Bottom 2nd, Tanner Witt care in to pitch for Charlie Hurley and it was immediately evident that he was having command issues. His fastball sat 89-91 but had to much cut and rise on it. Witt’s changeup which he has been using to keep batters off balance had too little movement and was very flat. Despite getting two quick outs, Witt gave up an absolute moon shot over the batters eye in CF to Gavin Kash, giving the Red Raiders a 4-2 lead.
In the Top 4th, the Horns again got production from Max Belyeu as he hit a solo shot to left CF to cut the lead to 4-3. Unfortunately, that was all that the Horns could muster in the top half of the frame, though there were some fireworks. On a ground ball and throw to 1B, Gavin Kash and Jack O’Dowd ran into each other, though fairly harmless. On the very next play though, a routine grounder to 2B led to Gavin Kash stending in the base path immediately past 1B with his back to home plate and a hard charging Will Gasparino, trying to leg out a single ran right into Kash. That immediately led to tempers flaring and plenty of words, though the coaches were able to keep the players in check.
In the bottom of the 4th, the command issues from Witt and a fired up Tech lineup led to back to back home runs making it 6-3 and chasing Witt from the ball game. LHP Chase Lummus, making his first appearance of the season came into the game, but not for very long as he walked a batter, then getting a strikeout before walking another batter. Freshman Easton Tumis entered the game with 1 out and and two runners on, inducing back to back fly outs on the second pitch each batter saw.
In the Top of the 5th, the Horns answered back with a Powell blast to left CF to cut the lead to 6-4. This time on the Powell home run he put enough charge into it tho ensure it got over the wall, unlike earlier in the game when Powell was robbed of a home run by CF Gage Harrelson. Unfortunately, the Horns could only come up with the lone run in the inning as Max Belyeu struck out looking with 2 outs and runners on the corners.
In the Bottom of the 5th inning, Easton Tumis walked a batter, but put up a massively important zero on the board to keep the Horns in spitting distance of Tech.
In the Top of the 6th, the Horns broke through against Trendan Parish as they Kimble Schuessler reached base on an error by SS TJ Pompey, which was followed up by a double down the RF line by Jack O’Dowd to make it 6-5. Jack O’Dowd then moved over to 3B on a Gasparino fly out to keep the pressure on. This brought Jared Thomas to the plate, who despite a tough weekend came through with a clutch hit, a single down the RF line that tied the game up at 6-6. Not to be out done, Peyton Powell then hit a screaming liner past the outstretched glove of Gavin Kash into the RF corner for an RBI double, giving Texas their first lead of the game at 7-6.
In the Bottom 6th, Gage Boehm came in to pitch in relief of Easton Tumis and got a 1-2-3 inning, the first for the Horns against the Red Raiders since Friday night.
In the Top 7th, the Horns added valuable insurance as Max Belyeu led off the inning with a double down the RF line, followed up by Kimble Schuessler reaching base on a sac bunt, where Gavin Kash dropped the ball out of his glove, advancing Belyeu to 3B. Jack O’Dowd then hit a deep fly ball to LF that appeared as though it had a chance to leave the park, but was caught at the wall. That sac fly scored Max Belyeu making it 8-6. Will Gasparino then hit a single to shortstop putting runners on 1B and 2B with just 1 out. Jared Thomas then loaded the bases as he hit a soft liner to CF, bringing up Peyton Powell. Powell hit a fly ball to LF and despite nearly committing a base running error, Kimble Schuessler slid in safely to score, as the throw was offline, making it 9-6 Horns.
The Bottom of the 7th did not start out promising as Boehm hit a batter and gave up a single, putting two runners on with no outs. The collective heart rate of the Texas Baseball fan base was not at a healthy rate with visions of another bullpen implosion staring them in the face. After getting a strike out, Boehm hit another batter loading the bases with just 1 out. The next batter up, TJ Pompey hit a fly ball to LF which was caught by Porter Brown, but the throw home was not in time, plating a run for Texas Tech and making it a 9-7 ballgame. Boehm battled back though inducing a ground out to 1B with Thomas flipping Boehm who JUST got his foot down on the base in time, ending the frame.
Gage Boehm closed the game out for the Horns, preserving the win and in the process, earning his second save of the season. GAME, BLOUSES.
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BIG MOMENT
In the Bottom of the 7th, with 2 outs and runners on corners, Gage Boehm gave up a hit to the right side that Jared Thomas ranged to his right to field and flipped a perfect throw to Boehm who, despite his large size, stepped on 1B just ahead of the speedy Tracer Lopez to get the out. If Boehm had been a moment late, a run would have scored bringing Tech within one run and they would still have a runner in scoring position.
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INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCE
Max Belyeu, have yourself a day sir. Belyeu went 4 for 5 on the afternoon with 3 RBIs and a HR. Belyeu didn't just hit though, he hit in critical situations, scoring the first Texas runs in the 2nd, homered in the 4th, and scoring in the 7th.
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TAKEAWAYS
While there were certainly some interesting moments, the Horns head back to Austin with a Big 12 conference opening series win. The fact that the series win comes against Texas Tech, a team and fan base that love to hate the Horns and seen by many as a potential challenger for the conference championship makes it that much sweeter.
This is not a perfect team by any means, make no doubt about that, but regardless of the circumstances, the Horns continue to battle and grind. While it can be very tough, single games cannot be looked at in a vacuum but instead have to be looked at with the entirety of the season in mind. This weekend was a perfect representation of that. In game one, the Horns could do no wrong and battered the Red Raiders. On Saturday, the Horns could not find a hit or come up with any response. On Sunday, the Horns were immediately in trouble in the 1st inning, but responded in the next inning, only to fail to keep Tech from responding. Thankfully the Horns did not back down from the challenge and did not let the fact that Texas Tech got all the breaks early on dissuade them.
It would be easy to call this series a season defining win, yet I think there are still far too many questions around starting pitching and the bullpen to make that bold of a statement yet. Coach David Pierce and staff are going to have to take another look this week and next at what they are going to do with the starting rotation before Baylor rolls into town. The good news is that the Horns have a fairly weak non-conference foe in Washington up next and Baylor is certainly not at the top of the heap in the Big 12.
Offensively, it feels like there is still some refining to do as guys figure out their roles and get the reps, but they continue to progress and have shown that they can adjust. The biggest worry I have about the lineup is the rhythm and adjustment to pitchers have sharp command of the breaking ball, especially the slider outside. The continued development of Max Belyeu, the emergence of Will Gasparino, and the dynamic duo of Rylan Galvan and Kimble Schuessler help create a more balanced lineup, despite the early struggles of guys like Porter Brown and Jack O’Dowd, or even an off-weekend for Jared Thomas.
Lastly, the bullpen is going to have its ups and downs, there is no denying that. The good news is that there are numerous guys on the staff that have the mentality required to be a reliever and be put in high leverage situations. Freshman Easton Tumis, Sophomore Max Grubbs, and Junior Gage Boehm all have the looks of guys that have enough stuff and mentality to help. Ace Whitehead, despite a physical limitation is another guy that has the guys and determination to do whatever is needed.
UP NEXT
Tuesday at 6:30pm v. Incarnate Word (13-4, 0-0 Southland)
